Virtual STA Travel

Wandering Art Show - Extended through the End of the Year!

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:35:23 -0500

Due to the success of the STA Travel Wandering Art Show in November, we are pleased to announce a running Wandering Art exhibition at STA Travel Main Island. The Wandering Art Exhibition will run through the end of the year, showcasing single works by the artist who participated in the Wandering Art Show. In addition, we've set out a voting form, for people to choose their overall favorite work, or artist. Votes will be tallied at the conclusion of the exhibition and we will award a cash prize, in addition to some STA Travel merchandise. We hope you take some time to enjoy some of the art during the holiday season and keep posted for our 2008 arts calendar at STA Travel Second Life Island. -Bob

Wandering Art Show This Weekend!

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:29:21 -0500

The weekend of November 24th and 25th, STA Travel will host the Wandering Art Show, a Second Life art exhibition. We are excited to throw open our island to over 35 artists from around the world, working in a variety of media. Over the weekend we'll be holding a number of social events. We hope that the varying times allows as many people as possible to enjoy the works which will be on display, and get opportunities to speak with some of the artists. Friday we'll be holding an opening party at 2pm SLT, as we open the Wandering Art Show to the public. Saturday evening we'll be having our regularly scheduled Saturday Night Party at the STA Dorms at 6pm SLT, with Wandering Art being the theme. We'll begin Sunday early, with a morning reception at 7am SLT. Finally our weekend of Art will conclude as Sean conducts his weekly tour of SL with a Wandering Art Tour at 7pm SLT. So, join us next weekend at STA Travel SLI, as we marvel in the artistic potential that Second Life offers us all, both to create and enjoy alike. - Bob

STA Travel Bush Party and Upcoming Dorm Party!

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:17:44 -0500

Last week STA Travel through its first virtual bush party at the The Pond, Telsta's 11 sim island of SL. For two hours, our in house DJ Laketa Rin got the party going before clearing the stage for live artists, Funky Rang, and Takamura Keiko. The party was considered a wild success, and The Pond has asked us back for future collaborations. During the next month, our Ozzie Outback Stage will be set up at the STA Travel Dorms, creating a bbq area for events. This weekend, Laketa Rin will be kicking off our revamped events calendar with a 4 hour beach party at the Dorms, starting Saturday, October 20th at 5pm SLT. -Bob

Free Tours in Second Life

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:16:45 -0500

In October, STA Travel began sponsoring free weekly tours of Second Life in partnership with Landmark Island. Every Wednesday at 7pm SLT, Sean Voss takes SL residents on an hour free tour. Using a metahud, Sean is able to give everyone on the tour an itinerary beforehand, which keeps the group relatively intact as they teleport about SL (Sean did lose a few folks in Greenie's, but who hasn't?). These tours are designed for both new and older SL residents, to give them some history on some of the better known sims on SL, and to see some new places. Sean has recently finished a guide to SL, "Second Life In-World Travel Guide," which will be on sale at STA Travel SLI, as well as RL retail bookshops. "Second Life offers an almost endless amount of destinations for the virtual traveler. My hope is to catalog, and more importantly, share the best of the best with the community." Each week, Sean will conduct a different tour of SL. If you can't make it, the tours will be available on metahuds so that SL residents explore on their own. But come down to STA Travel on Wednesday and join the group on a new exploration of SL. Sean's promised that Greenie's will no longer be the first stop. -Bob

Outback Bush Party: Costumes, Prizes and LIVE Music!

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:51:06 -0500

Grab your best costume and head for the Outback at the Big Pond sim, on Thursday, October 11th, at 1pm SLT, for an Outback Bush Rave sponsored by STA Travel and Lonely Planet. Out live DJ will kick things off for our event, the 3 F's of Australia: Filmstars, Furries, and Felons. In addition to 1000L cash prizes for best costumes, we'll be giving out free travel vouchers worth 6,500L for any STA Travel office, and RL copies of Lonely Planet Australia. Once things are swinging, Takamura Keiko will take the stage for her Australian debut. As the sun set's on Ayer's rock, Keiko will ignite the shadows as we party on into the night. And as darkness falls, Funky Rang will be landing the Mothership in the Outback. Put on your sunglasses folks, and get up on the down beat; Funky's going to rock in in the shadow of an Outback Mothership. Big Pond's virtual Outback and Ayer's rock let us celebrate in the shadow of one of the World's most awe inspiring objects, free of the concerns facing RL tourism and Uluru today, as Uluru is considered sacred to Australian Aboriginal culture. So come for the prizes, come for the music, come for the costumes. Come for the Outback, and maybe you too can say you've kissed a kangaroo! -Bob

Virtual Association of RL Tourism

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 14:25:42 -0500

This Sunday, September 30th, 12 pm SL time, the Virtual Association for RL Tourism will hold its first meeting at STA Travel Second Life Island. This group was created by several tourism professionals who are working in the area of RL tourism on SL. At this inaugural meeting, we will have a series of presentations by each member, explaining what their projects in SL consist of, what services they offer and anything else they might wish to share. Also, an agenda will be set for ongoing meetings of this group, as RL tourism continues to grow in the virtual world. More virtual tourism professionals are entering SL. It is our hope to create a network of communication to share ideas, stories and successes. =While the Virtual Association for RL Tourism is a group for professionals in this area, these meetings will be open to the public, and we invite anyone interested in the developments for RL Travel and Tourism on SL to attend, whether they are a professional in tourism, an avid traveler, or just an interested party. A transcript of the meeting will be posted on a separate blog for public viewing. For more information, please contact GlobetrekkerBob. -Bob

Buy Real-life Flights in Second Life!

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:29:45 -0500

In August 2007, STA Travel Second Life Island opened the doors of its branch office, which came fully online for live bookings and sales. For the first time, clients could inquire and purchase the full range of STA Travel products within Second Life. A student from Tennessee, who had used STA Travel in the past, having heard of the SL branch decided to investigate before using the toll free number. She was able inquire about international airfare for several dates, and after reviewing the various options made a reservation which was subsequently purchased. Asked about the experience, STA Travel’s virtual client responded enthusiastically about the ease and quality of service. She found the overall experience less stressful, not having to wait at an office or on hold for an agent. Further she was able to ask specific questions that were easily answered rather than hunting for the proper link on a website. After purchasing her trip, she sent a final note saying, “I bought the itinerary you prepared ...thank you so much...you made the process so much easier.” STA Travel believes that it can provide its clients with a new level of service, and thus far the results have been promising. -Bob

STA Travel Unveils its New Globe!

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:22:10 -0500

Last week, STA Travel unveiled its latest addition to its Second Life property, installing a 10 meter globe at its Orientation Island. Embedded in the globe are Landmarks for Real Life themed sims such as: London, Costa Rica, Casablanca and New Berlin. It is STA Travel's hope that SL residents will find this globe a fun new way to explore the virtual world. -Bob

STA Travel Island Presents The Sunday Travel Series

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 12:24:28 -0500

Sundays, at 3 p.m. SLT, STA Travel will host a series of discussions about various aspects of travel . Travel experts will share knowledge and experience specific to their field which will include everything from gear and budget to specialty travel. These discussions are open to everyone from first-time travelers to seasoned pros. Come to share your travel experience or learn something new. For our inaugural discussion group, I'd like to throw open the floor to whomever decides to attend. I'd like to start at the beginning and ask people attending why they travel, or why they'd like to. Other than that, I'm happy to let the discussion take its own course. In the coming weeks, the focus of the talks will continue on subjects regarding travel preparation, from gear and packing to choosing the best airline tickets and why travel insurance is good or bad for you. From there, I'd like to open up the scope to discussions on different world regions, specialized travel concerns and whatever other subjects that might arise. So, come to STA Travel Second Life Island this Sunday and participate in the first of our ongoing travel talks, for those who dream of travel and those dreamers who do! -Bob

STA Travel Community for the Arts

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 11:03:04 -0500

After introducing the first virtual travel branch to Second Life, STA Travel constructed a public sand box in which artists can sculpt and showcase works of art. Second Life allows for a new dimension in creative conception and STA Travel is excited to help residents of Second Life develop these new skills. Xeric Lustre has been a fixture in STA Travel's sandbox since its opening and I was pleased when he agreed to become the first artist on the STA Travel Island. Since then, Xeric has been displaying his work around STA Travel SLI, and has created a work studio so residents can follow his progress. During his evening studio sessions, Xeric has been wonderfully helpful to those who have an interest in learning to build and sculpt in SL. Finally, while Xeric's post as Artist in Residence is not a permanent one, we will eventually hold a search to find a new artist in residence. If you're interested in the position, contact Xeric or GlobetrekkerBob and we will be happy to provide more details on the search.

Dorms: Grand Opening!!

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 09:55:06 -0500

That's right folks, the dorms are finished and finally ready to open ! We are excited to unveil them to all residents of Second Life on Thursday, July 12th . We will start the day at 9am SLT by holding our weekly Lonely Planet trivia contest at the dorms, where one lucky contestant will win a free RL Lonely Planet guidebook in addition to the cash prizes. Throughout the day the dorms will be open to the public and staff will be available to answer questions concerning the dorms. That evening we will be having an event at the dorms, to celebrate their opening for all those people whose hard work has made this a reality, and for those who look forward to calling the STA Travel Dorms their home. If you have any questions , please contact GlobetrekkerBob Lane during his office hours at the main island, otherwise we look to seeing y'all soon! -Bob

STA Travel's "GlobetrekkerBob" makes booking travel a virtual reality!

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 17:47:47 -0500

Hello, my name is GlobetrekkerBob Lane , and I am the Branch Manager of STA Travel Island. For nearly a decade, travel has been a passion in my life; I have spent over 3.5 years traveling internationally in 29 countries, in addition to spending 2 years working as a travel advisor in Cambridge, MA. I left STA Travel in 2004 to undertake a personal journey in which I traveled around the world in 800 days. I won't bore you with the details but I did get to surf with butterflies. I have returned to STA Travel as the first virtual travel agent, setting up an office for Real Life travel plans in the virtual environment of Second Life. I will provide the same services found in any retail branch of STA Travel to our online customers who have internet access, be it your home or an internet café on the banks of the Mekong River. I have posted office hours in the lobby of the main office at STA SLI, and will be happy to schedule consultations outside of the posted times. I believe that SL is changing the way the travel industry operates today and am tremendously excited to be a part of that change. If you have any questions for me, be it about travel, STA Travel Island, or whatever happens to be on your mind, please drop by, and we'll talk. My Office Hours are: Monday: 4-7pm SLT Tuesday: 4-7pm SLT Wednesday: 4-7pm SLT Thursday: 10am-1pm SLT Friday: 10am-1pm SLT Saturday: No scheduled hours Sunday: No scheduled Hours Thanks, Bob

Dorm Update!

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:36:56 -0500

As many people have noticed, the dorms are still being finalized. We apologize about the delay. At this point, we are running some final testing and working to bring the entire dorm system online. Please rest assured, the moment we have a date, we will let you know! We are excited to introduce this new concept to Second Life!

Come Tomorrow for a Fun-Filled Trivia Morning

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:43:49 -0500

Love trivia? Come to STA Travel's Events Pavillion at 9 am SLT on Thursday, June 21st for our exciting new trivia contest that is proudly sponsored by Lonely Planet! This week, we are going to test your knowledge of Europe and give prizes! The first place winner receives L$500 and the second place winner earns L$250. Also, be sure to answer the bonus question to receive a RL copy of a Lonely Planet guidebook for FREE! Make sure to invite your friends and come hang out at STA Travel!! -Jane

June 8th - Kristen Corleone is performing!

Tue, 29 May 2007 11:21:46 -0500

Kirsten Corleone will be singing LIVE at the STA Travel Events Pavilion on Friday, June 8th at 8pmSLT. Kirsten is new to the SL music scene, but already has a growing fan base. She will be covering a little bit of country and of course a little bit of rock n' roll! Come hear one of SL's newest talents and invite your friends for a night to remember! -Jane