• February 11, 2011

The magazine's debut of a Quick Response code application for mobile platforms in the February issue in an exclusive partnership with the hotel chain.

The QR codes are matrix barcodes readable by QR scanners and smartphones with cameras. Readers who have a smartphone and have downloaded a QR code reader application, scan the QR code (found on page 11 in the Reader Tips section) and are immediately connected to a custom mobile-enabled site where they can access family-friendly reader tips from the Budget Travel book, "The Smart Family's Passport" (a compilation of 350 tips from real readers of Budget Travel).

The site, sponsored by La Quinta Inns & Suites, will be updated monthly with useful tips in four categories: planning, traveling, lodging, and sightseeing. Users can then share these tips on social networks and elsewhere online.

As the launch sponsor, La Quinta Inns & Suites has a full-page magazine ad facing the Reader Tips content, as well as branding within the QR code copy. When users land on the mobile site, they will also see La Quinta branding, essentially turning the experience into a custom mobile microsite.--Tanya Irwin