Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Cardiff Welcome Card
travmedia.com: "Visitors to Cardiff can save money at the city%27s top attractions%2C restaurants and shops with the launch of a new discount and all-day travel card.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe Cardiff Welcome Card offers unlimited travel around Cardiff and Penarth and discounts at attractions such as Cardiff Castle%2C Techniquest and Millennium Stadium tours%2C as well as savings in a variety of restaurants and shops around the city.%0D%0A%0D%0ACards cost %A37%2C %A311 or %A315 for one%2C two or three days and offer savings that can top %A3100. They are on sale at Tourist Information Centres in Cardiff Bay and the Old Library in The Hayes%2C and from Arriva Bus travel centre in Wood Street.%0D%0A%0D%0AFor further information%2C please contact Mike Evans on 01656 672931%2C or at %0D%0Atravel@southernwales.org"
Trailfinders
travmedia.com: "On Monday 16th August Trailfinders opens its thirteenth UK Travel Centre in Covent Garden London Located on the 1st Floor of Stanford flagship store you can now find the unique combination of Trailfinders extremely well travelled enthusiastic and knowledgeable consultants and the UKs leading specialist retailer of maps and travel books. Your holiday is sure to be the trip of a lifetimeOpen Monday-Saturday 10am to 7pm and Sunday 12pm to 6pm their team of experienced consultants can tailormake the perfect holiday for you combining the widest range of airfares hotels tours cruises and vehicle hire around the globe priced amongst the lowest you will find anywhereTrailfinders has no hidden extras no credit card surcharges no premium phone numbers and no extra postal fees.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Robust recovery on the cards for London hotel industry
eyefortravel.com - Travel Distribution News, Events and Analysis: "HotStats revealed that revenue per available room in the first three months has jumped 13.5%. Provincial hoteliers apparently saw a slightly lower but still healthy 4.9% rise in revpar. This meant that, for the entire HotStats sample of 544 hotels, revpar climbed by 7.9%.
'This is the clearest signal yet that the industry is now on a recovery path, ending the challenging trading environment of the last three years,' says Jonathan Langston, Managing Director of TRI Hospitality Consulting. "
'This is the clearest signal yet that the industry is now on a recovery path, ending the challenging trading environment of the last three years,' says Jonathan Langston, Managing Director of TRI Hospitality Consulting. "
Top 10 Global 'Travel - Destinations and Accommodation'
eyefortravel.com - Travel Distribution News, Events and Analysis: "Top 10 Global 'Travel - Destinations and Accommodation' sites for the week ending 14 August, 2004 based on visits: (8/16/2004)
1. (8.28 %) lastminute.com
2. (2.99 %) Trip Advisor
3. (2.33 %) Active Hotels
4. (1.85 %) Holidays Uncovered
5. (1.75 %) SuperBreak 6. (1.26 %) Travelodge UK
7. (1.21 %) InterContinental Hotels Group
8. (1.16 %) Open Roads
9. (1.10 %) Travel Inn
10. (0.97 %) This is Travel"
1. (8.28 %) lastminute.com
2. (2.99 %) Trip Advisor
3. (2.33 %) Active Hotels
4. (1.85 %) Holidays Uncovered
5. (1.75 %) SuperBreak 6. (1.26 %) Travelodge UK
7. (1.21 %) InterContinental Hotels Group
8. (1.16 %) Open Roads
9. (1.10 %) Travel Inn
10. (0.97 %) This is Travel"
"Agents earn more online" - Average 18%Travelscene - 13-Aug-04.
"Agents earn more online" - Travelscene - 13-Aug-04.: "Average commission earnings on accommodation-only bookings have risen by 18% for agents booking online rather than using viewdata, Travelscene claims."
"Agents earn more online" - Average 18%Travelscene - 13-Aug-04.
"Agents earn more online" - Travelscene - 13-Aug-04.: "Average commission earnings on accommodation-only bookings have risen by 18% for agents booking online rather than using viewdata, Travelscene claims."
Optimise press releases for news search... Yahoo News and Google News Audience Story
Yahoo News and Google News Audience Story: "News search engines cull information from thousands of 'news sources' - including the press release distribution services. Just do a search on Google News for Mike Grehan - just to pick a name out of the hat. You'll not only find articles in ClickZ News, e-consultancy, and Search Engine Watch that mention him, you'll also see press releases distributed by eMediaWire and PR Web that mention him, too.
This means you can optimize a press release for the news search engines - just as you can optimize a page on a website. They difference, however, is that the news search engines only contain stories from the past 30 days, while it can often take up to 30 days to get the search engines to index a new page.
Got news?
This isn't a trick question. If you optimize a press release that doesn't contain compelling news, then you might get someone to click on your headline, but you won't get them to click through to your website after reading the first few paragraphs. If you do have compelling news, you can generate web traffic and sales leads as well as publicity.
One optimized press release generated more than $80,000 in ticket sales for Southwest Airlines as well as articles in The New York Times, Washington Post, and more than a dozen other media. And this doesn't work just for the big brands. One optimized press release prompted CNN to interview the editor of HSToday Magazine. Using ClickTracks Analyzer Hosted, WineZap was able to see that 32% of the people who read their press release clicked on one of the three links to relevant pages on their new website. "
This means you can optimize a press release for the news search engines - just as you can optimize a page on a website. They difference, however, is that the news search engines only contain stories from the past 30 days, while it can often take up to 30 days to get the search engines to index a new page.
Got news?
This isn't a trick question. If you optimize a press release that doesn't contain compelling news, then you might get someone to click on your headline, but you won't get them to click through to your website after reading the first few paragraphs. If you do have compelling news, you can generate web traffic and sales leads as well as publicity.
One optimized press release generated more than $80,000 in ticket sales for Southwest Airlines as well as articles in The New York Times, Washington Post, and more than a dozen other media. And this doesn't work just for the big brands. One optimized press release prompted CNN to interview the editor of HSToday Magazine. Using ClickTracks Analyzer Hosted, WineZap was able to see that 32% of the people who read their press release clicked on one of the three links to relevant pages on their new website. "
tripsight new travel site claims to use AI
eyefortravel.com - Travel Distribution News, Events and Analysis: "Symmetric Technologies has launched TripSight.com, a unique new website that provides instant destination advice for leisure travellers. (8/13/2004)
� Print Version
� Send to a Friend
The objective of TripSight is to save travellers� time and fill what Symmetric Technologies refers to as �the gap in travel search� by finding destinations that perfectly fit traveller interests. If you want to find the best hiking destinations close to home � or the top places for antique shopping in the US, simply �ask� TripSight.
With detailed ratings on 54 travel interests in over 300 destinations around the world, TripSight can apparently provide insight on just about any trip. Each destination is painstakingly researched and has detailed, independent information.
With expert rankings and opinionated writing on what�s �Great� and what�s �Not So Great� about destinations, travellers can discover new places, balance pros and cons and make informed decisions. The travel knowledge powering TripSight was contributed by dozens of experts and researchers, from travel agents to seasoned writers and even professional athletes.
�More than 50% of leisure travellers use the Internet to make travel choices, and we�re giving them the advanced tools to make those choices confidently,� comments Rob Roberts, COO at Symmetric. �Touted by Gartner Group, this technology was funded by leading travel companies, and now we're making it available directly to the public.�
�TripSight clearly represents the next generation of travel planning,� concludes Nick Athanasiou, Travel Industry Consultant at Chrysalis Consulting. "
Trip Sight: "TripSightTM uses AI technology and huge amounts of travel knowledge to provide you with expert insights about destinations around the world. For the first time, you can get high quality destination information tailored to your specific interests and priorities.
Where is the best golf within 6 hours away by car from your house? TripSightTM can answer questions like that, and thousands of others.
Two key components make the TripSightTM technology work: Knowledge and our Advice Engine.
TripSightTM Knowledge
We’ve gathered information from experts in 54 categories of vacation activities, from beaches to snowmobiling to antique shopping. Our experts have traveled the globe and have given us specific knowledge to paint the full picture of what you’ll find at each destination.
These experts are travel writers, travel agents, enthusiasts, and even professional athletes. They’ve been immersed in their specialty for 10 years or more, so they provide the deep kind of insight that you just can’t get anywhere else.
TripSightTM Advice Engine
The TripSightTM Advice Engine has been referred to as “the next generation of travel planning.” Built from the ground up with the complexities of travel in mind, the Advice Engine uses factors like climate, attraction quality, distance, and topography to provide personalized, expert information about destinations and travel products."
� Print Version
� Send to a Friend
The objective of TripSight is to save travellers� time and fill what Symmetric Technologies refers to as �the gap in travel search� by finding destinations that perfectly fit traveller interests. If you want to find the best hiking destinations close to home � or the top places for antique shopping in the US, simply �ask� TripSight.
With detailed ratings on 54 travel interests in over 300 destinations around the world, TripSight can apparently provide insight on just about any trip. Each destination is painstakingly researched and has detailed, independent information.
With expert rankings and opinionated writing on what�s �Great� and what�s �Not So Great� about destinations, travellers can discover new places, balance pros and cons and make informed decisions. The travel knowledge powering TripSight was contributed by dozens of experts and researchers, from travel agents to seasoned writers and even professional athletes.
�More than 50% of leisure travellers use the Internet to make travel choices, and we�re giving them the advanced tools to make those choices confidently,� comments Rob Roberts, COO at Symmetric. �Touted by Gartner Group, this technology was funded by leading travel companies, and now we're making it available directly to the public.�
�TripSight clearly represents the next generation of travel planning,� concludes Nick Athanasiou, Travel Industry Consultant at Chrysalis Consulting. "
Trip Sight: "TripSightTM uses AI technology and huge amounts of travel knowledge to provide you with expert insights about destinations around the world. For the first time, you can get high quality destination information tailored to your specific interests and priorities.
Where is the best golf within 6 hours away by car from your house? TripSightTM can answer questions like that, and thousands of others.
Two key components make the TripSightTM technology work: Knowledge and our Advice Engine.
TripSightTM Knowledge
We’ve gathered information from experts in 54 categories of vacation activities, from beaches to snowmobiling to antique shopping. Our experts have traveled the globe and have given us specific knowledge to paint the full picture of what you’ll find at each destination.
These experts are travel writers, travel agents, enthusiasts, and even professional athletes. They’ve been immersed in their specialty for 10 years or more, so they provide the deep kind of insight that you just can’t get anywhere else.
TripSightTM Advice Engine
The TripSightTM Advice Engine has been referred to as “the next generation of travel planning.” Built from the ground up with the complexities of travel in mind, the Advice Engine uses factors like climate, attraction quality, distance, and topography to provide personalized, expert information about destinations and travel products."
Friday, August 13, 2004
Visit London marketing sponsor Meeting Professionals International (MPI)
travmedia.com: "Visit London have announced a major push for the capital in the European meetings and events sector by becoming the first ever visitor organisation and destination to Europe. This strategic partnership aims to increase London�s profile and win business from the European meeting and events market by targeting MPI�s excellent educational events and professional network of meeting planners."
Totally London Festivals Month Sept travmedia.com
travmedia.comVisit London is launching a definitive guide to all things festival to make sure you make the most of all this fabulous free entertainment as well as other activities in the exciting locations in which these festivals are taking place. The Totally Festivals guide will be available to download at the Visit London website from 19th August at www.visitlondon.com. What’s more, hundreds of special offers in the capital will be available on the website to take advantage of during the month of September. What more incentive do you need to take a trip to the capital?
There are around 180 festivals taking place in the capital in September – far too many to list! So we’ve selected 10 main events taking part in Totally London Festival Month - here’s your at-a-glance guide:
There are around 180 festivals taking place in the capital in September – far too many to list! So we’ve selected 10 main events taking part in Totally London Festival Month - here’s your at-a-glance guide:
Yahoo! Search Results for http://www.totaltravel.co.uk 3pages!
Yahoo! Search Results for http://www.totaltravel.co.uk: "
Shortcuts | Advanced Search | Preferences
Results 1 - 3 of about 3 for http://www.totaltravel.co.uk. Search took 0.14 seconds. (About this page...)
WEB RESULTS
Britain on View
Britain on View. Ambleside in autumn. Barnard Castle. Ben Nevis & Loch Linnie. Boats on Lerwick Harbour. Buckingham Palace, Central London. Cheviout Hills from Rothbury Hill. Council House at night, Bristol. Covent Garden shopping
www.totaltravel.co.uk/photographer/british-images/york/st-marys-abbey-york - 7k - Cached
Britain on View
Britain on View. Ambleside in autumn. Barnard Castle. Ben Nevis & Loch Linnie. Boats on Lerwick Harbour. Buckingham Palace, Central London. Cheviout Hills from Rothbury Hill. Council House at night, Bristol. Covent Garden shopping
www.totaltravel.co.uk/photographer/british-images/york/glorious-york-minster - 7k - Cached
The Collingham Suites And Apartments
Collingham Serviced Apartments are the perfect alternative to hotel...
www.totaltravel.co.uk/travel/london/greater-london/sw-london/accommodation/hotels/the-collingham-sui t - 9k - Cached "
Unfortunatly the AU dross redirects are still in the index...
Yahoo! Search Results for link:http://www.totaltravel.co.uk: "Australia Total Travel - Discount Australian Accommodation, Tours
Australia travel guide covering accommodation and attractions with photos, maps, transport and more.
www.hollywoodvip.com.au/4.html - 21k - Cached
Britain on View
Britain on View. Ambleside in autumn. Barnard Castle. Ben Nevis & Loch Linnie. Boats on Lerwick Harbour. Buckingham Palace, Central London. Cheviout Hills from Rothbury Hill. Council House at night, Bristol. Covent Garden shopping
www.totaltravel.co.uk/photographer/british-images/york/st-marys-abbey-york - 7k - Cached
Britain on View
Britain on View. Ambleside in autumn. Barnard Castle. Ben Nevis & Loch Linnie. Boats on Lerwick Harbour. Buckingham Palace, Central London. Cheviout Hills from Rothbury Hill. Council House at night, Bristol. Covent Garden shopping
www.totaltravel.co.uk/photographer/british-images/york/glorious-york-minster - 7k - Cached
The Collingham Suites And Apartments
Collingham Serviced Apartments are the perfect alternative to hotel...
www.totaltravel.co.uk/travel/london/greater-london/sw-london/accommodation/hotels/the-collingham-sui t - 9k - Cached
Brighton Dome - Events - East Sussex - UK
Brighton Dome is committed to bringing the very best in international Music, Dance and Theatre to the South East of England, involving all sectors of our community in the arts through innovative ...
www.brighton-dome.org.uk/Venues/Concert_Hall.asp - 31k - Cached "
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Results 1 - 3 of about 3 for http://www.totaltravel.co.uk. Search took 0.14 seconds. (About this page...)
WEB RESULTS
Britain on View
Britain on View. Ambleside in autumn. Barnard Castle. Ben Nevis & Loch Linnie. Boats on Lerwick Harbour. Buckingham Palace, Central London. Cheviout Hills from Rothbury Hill. Council House at night, Bristol. Covent Garden shopping
www.totaltravel.co.uk/photographer/british-images/york/st-marys-abbey-york - 7k - Cached
Britain on View
Britain on View. Ambleside in autumn. Barnard Castle. Ben Nevis & Loch Linnie. Boats on Lerwick Harbour. Buckingham Palace, Central London. Cheviout Hills from Rothbury Hill. Council House at night, Bristol. Covent Garden shopping
www.totaltravel.co.uk/photographer/british-images/york/glorious-york-minster - 7k - Cached
The Collingham Suites And Apartments
Collingham Serviced Apartments are the perfect alternative to hotel...
www.totaltravel.co.uk/travel/london/greater-london/sw-london/accommodation/hotels/the-collingham-sui t - 9k - Cached "
Unfortunatly the AU dross redirects are still in the index...
Yahoo! Search Results for link:http://www.totaltravel.co.uk: "Australia Total Travel - Discount Australian Accommodation, Tours
Australia travel guide covering accommodation and attractions with photos, maps, transport and more.
www.hollywoodvip.com.au/4.html - 21k - Cached
Britain on View
Britain on View. Ambleside in autumn. Barnard Castle. Ben Nevis & Loch Linnie. Boats on Lerwick Harbour. Buckingham Palace, Central London. Cheviout Hills from Rothbury Hill. Council House at night, Bristol. Covent Garden shopping
www.totaltravel.co.uk/photographer/british-images/york/st-marys-abbey-york - 7k - Cached
Britain on View
Britain on View. Ambleside in autumn. Barnard Castle. Ben Nevis & Loch Linnie. Boats on Lerwick Harbour. Buckingham Palace, Central London. Cheviout Hills from Rothbury Hill. Council House at night, Bristol. Covent Garden shopping
www.totaltravel.co.uk/photographer/british-images/york/glorious-york-minster - 7k - Cached
The Collingham Suites And Apartments
Collingham Serviced Apartments are the perfect alternative to hotel...
www.totaltravel.co.uk/travel/london/greater-london/sw-london/accommodation/hotels/the-collingham-sui t - 9k - Cached
Brighton Dome - Events - East Sussex - UK
Brighton Dome is committed to bringing the very best in international Music, Dance and Theatre to the South East of England, involving all sectors of our community in the arts through innovative ...
www.brighton-dome.org.uk/Venues/Concert_Hall.asp - 31k - Cached "
Another comparison website BookingBuddy.com Growing in Popularity as the Web's Ultimate Time and Money Saving Search Engine Travel Tool
Sound clunky...opens new window for each search
Covers mainly USA aports with some international destinations ( main airports)
Hotels usa only
BookingBuddy.com Growing in Popularity as the Web's Ultimate Time and Money Saving Search Engine Travel Tool: "BookingBuddy.com, the popular website that allows travelers to search and compare airfares quickly and easily recently launched a new service featuring dozens of hotel and motel websites. Visitors to BookingBuddy.com can enter their travel itinerary once and find the lowest price from more than two dozen hotel and motel partners, including all of the major online travel agencies. More than 2.5 million travelers have used BookingBuddy.com for airline travel planning since it was launched in September, 2003."
Covers mainly USA aports with some international destinations ( main airports)
Hotels usa only
BookingBuddy.com Growing in Popularity as the Web's Ultimate Time and Money Saving Search Engine Travel Tool: "BookingBuddy.com, the popular website that allows travelers to search and compare airfares quickly and easily recently launched a new service featuring dozens of hotel and motel websites. Visitors to BookingBuddy.com can enter their travel itinerary once and find the lowest price from more than two dozen hotel and motel partners, including all of the major online travel agencies. More than 2.5 million travelers have used BookingBuddy.com for airline travel planning since it was launched in September, 2003."
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Ten Years Ago Today, the Internet Began to Pay eMarketer: eNews -
eMarketer: eNews - the latest Market Research, Internet Statistics: "
It seems impossible, but it was only ten years ago that the first e-commerce sale was made. According to the myth, the first online retail transaction was the purchase of a Sting CD, 'Ten Summoner's Tales.' A company called NetMarket sold the recording to a Swarthmore College student for $12.48, plus shipping costs. Daniel Kohn, founder of NetMarket, told CNET that the online sale got him airtime on National Public Radio and CNBC. 'At the time, it was a huge deal,' he said. 'It was our 15 minutes of fame.'"
It seems impossible, but it was only ten years ago that the first e-commerce sale was made. According to the myth, the first online retail transaction was the purchase of a Sting CD, 'Ten Summoner's Tales.' A company called NetMarket sold the recording to a Swarthmore College student for $12.48, plus shipping costs. Daniel Kohn, founder of NetMarket, told CNET that the online sale got him airtime on National Public Radio and CNBC. 'At the time, it was a huge deal,' he said. 'It was our 15 minutes of fame.'"
Sidestep..more: Travel Advertisers Soar to Success With SideStep (Press release)
Travel Advertisers Soar to Success With SideStep: "SideStep was named Silicon Valley's third fastest growing private company in October, 2003, by PricewaterhouseCoopers and The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal."
SideStep�, Inc. (www.sidestep.com), the traveler's search engine(SM), is rapidly expanding its roster of advertising clients, and recent success with travel leaders such as Independence Air and Best Western International has underscored SideStep's ability to deliver valuable frequent travelers at the right cost.
ADVERTISEMENT
Low-fare airline Independence Air has leveraged SideStep's geo-targeting capabilities to build awareness and drive sales from consumers searching for flights from the airline's key cities, such as Washington D.C.
SideStep�, Inc. (www.sidestep.com), the traveler's search engine(SM), is rapidly expanding its roster of advertising clients, and recent success with travel leaders such as Independence Air and Best Western International has underscored SideStep's ability to deliver valuable frequent travelers at the right cost.
ADVERTISEMENT
Low-fare airline Independence Air has leveraged SideStep's geo-targeting capabilities to build awareness and drive sales from consumers searching for flights from the airline's key cities, such as Washington D.C.
Major competitor for future.... SideStep
Sidestep.com
I have flagged this up before but will download it this time to see what it does & where it covers…http://www.sidestep.com/?redir=A
Title: Cheap Airfare, Travel Deals, Discount Hotels - SideStep "Find travel deals from dozens of sites � with one search!
Search dozens of sites at once to save on airfares, hotels and rental cars
Automatically compare prices side-by-side with sites like Expedia and Travelocity.
Discover deals from travel providers that other sites miss � like JetBlue.
Book your bargains directly with the airline, hotel or rental car companies, or with your favorite online agencies or consolidators"
History
SideStep was founded in November of 1999 with the aim of making travel search dramatically better for the average consumer. SideStep’s founding team worked for a full year to develop its sophisticated dynamic search technology. SideStep launched both the company and the service in November of 2000.
Since that time, SideStep has grown rapidly to emerge as one of the Web's most popular travel resources. Winner of the Forbes "Best of the Web" award, SideStep has been praised by The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, the CBS Early Morning show and other major news outlets as a key source for travel bargains. More than six million people have downloaded the SideStep toolbar to help them in their hunt for flight, hotel and rental car values. In addition, the company has forged marketing partnerships with some of the most respected names in the travel sector, from travel suppliers like British Airways and Thrifty Car Rental to online agencies such as Orbitz.
Funding
SideStep has raised $17M in funding from Trident Capital and private investors. The company is privately held.
Headquarters
SideStep, Inc.
3131 Jay Street, Suite 210
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Phone: 408.235.1700
Fax: 408.235.1717
http://www.sidestep.com
http://sidestep.com/company/backgrounder.html
Heavyweight management team and advisory board..
SideStep has also begun to make its travel search capabilities available via the Web. Starting with hotel search (www.sidestephotels.com), the company recently added car search (www.sidestepcars.com) and will bring flight search to market in Q4. SideStep’s Web-based search offerings enable it to reach consumers unable to use the popular SideStep toolbar, such as those behind restrictive corporate firewalls
http://www.cio.com/archive/120101/successful.html
WEB STRATEGIES - Web Business 50 winners demonstrate that there's no substitute for practical business strategies - CIO Magazine Dec 1,2001: "The $15.4 billion online travel industry is crowded with well-known brands. To carve out a niche, Sidestep acts as an intermediary between consumers and travel-industry suppliers such as airlines, hotels and rental car companies. As a self-described purchase facilitator, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company searches the websites of its suppliers, presents the options it finds in their entirety and takes the customer to the suppliers' websites for the purchase. That approach allows Sidestep to offer consumers a variety of travel options including specials that appear only on supplier websites and not on those of competitors such as Travelocity and Orbitz. It also relieves Sidestep of any fulfillment and customer service responsibilities.
Suppliers prefer Sidestep because fees are as much as 50 percent less than those charged by travel agents or other sites, according to Jung Shin, vice president of engineering and operations. And consumers like Sidestep because they know they won't get a cheaper quote at a supplier website. That combination has garnered the company more than 1 million users in the year it's been operating."
Trident Capital newsletter announcement re sidestep....
http://www.tridentcapital.com/Trident_SPRING_Newsletter_2004.pdf
Woody Marshall, Managing Director of , noted, “We’ve been scouting for the next big winner in online travel for some time now and believe that SideStep is it.The company has built a successful and scalable business based on a combination of outstanding technology and deep industry relationships. With a strong head start and additional capital to accelerate its growth, SideStep will quickly emerge as a formidable player in travel search.”
http://66.102.11.104/search?q=cache:EGnLnxEO9E8J:www.stockupticks.com/profiles/1-13-04.html+sidestep.com+individual+investors&hl=en
"SideStep: $15 Million in New Funding Goes to Private Online Travel Co.
SANTA CLARA, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Jan 6, 2004 -- SideStep, Inc. (www.sidestep.com), the travel search engine, today announced that it has secured $8 million in financing from Trident Capital (www.tridentcap.com). SideStep, which has been profitable and cash flow positive since April of 2002, has raised a total of $15 million to date. The company will use the additional funding to accelerate product development and expand its strategic relationships.
SideStep is positioned at the intersection of two of the Internet's fastest growing market sectors: online travel and Web search. SideStep serves as a marketing vehicle for travel providers, driving consumers directly to the sites of trusted brands to book their travel. More than two million active travelers turn to SideStep's popular search engine each month to find flight, hotel and rental car values. "
Time: "SideStep offers airlines the prospect of removing an expensive link or two from the travel reservation chain--namely, the so-called global distribution systems, like Sabre, that complete about 75% of all travel bookings."
I have flagged this up before but will download it this time to see what it does & where it covers…http://www.sidestep.com/?redir=A
Title: Cheap Airfare, Travel Deals, Discount Hotels - SideStep "Find travel deals from dozens of sites � with one search!
Search dozens of sites at once to save on airfares, hotels and rental cars
Automatically compare prices side-by-side with sites like Expedia and Travelocity.
Discover deals from travel providers that other sites miss � like JetBlue.
Book your bargains directly with the airline, hotel or rental car companies, or with your favorite online agencies or consolidators"
History
SideStep was founded in November of 1999 with the aim of making travel search dramatically better for the average consumer. SideStep’s founding team worked for a full year to develop its sophisticated dynamic search technology. SideStep launched both the company and the service in November of 2000.
Since that time, SideStep has grown rapidly to emerge as one of the Web's most popular travel resources. Winner of the Forbes "Best of the Web" award, SideStep has been praised by The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, the CBS Early Morning show and other major news outlets as a key source for travel bargains. More than six million people have downloaded the SideStep toolbar to help them in their hunt for flight, hotel and rental car values. In addition, the company has forged marketing partnerships with some of the most respected names in the travel sector, from travel suppliers like British Airways and Thrifty Car Rental to online agencies such as Orbitz.
Funding
SideStep has raised $17M in funding from Trident Capital and private investors. The company is privately held.
Headquarters
SideStep, Inc.
3131 Jay Street, Suite 210
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Phone: 408.235.1700
Fax: 408.235.1717
http://www.sidestep.com
http://sidestep.com/company/backgrounder.html
Heavyweight management team and advisory board..
SideStep has also begun to make its travel search capabilities available via the Web. Starting with hotel search (www.sidestephotels.com), the company recently added car search (www.sidestepcars.com) and will bring flight search to market in Q4. SideStep’s Web-based search offerings enable it to reach consumers unable to use the popular SideStep toolbar, such as those behind restrictive corporate firewalls
http://www.cio.com/archive/120101/successful.html
WEB STRATEGIES - Web Business 50 winners demonstrate that there's no substitute for practical business strategies - CIO Magazine Dec 1,2001: "The $15.4 billion online travel industry is crowded with well-known brands. To carve out a niche, Sidestep acts as an intermediary between consumers and travel-industry suppliers such as airlines, hotels and rental car companies. As a self-described purchase facilitator, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company searches the websites of its suppliers, presents the options it finds in their entirety and takes the customer to the suppliers' websites for the purchase. That approach allows Sidestep to offer consumers a variety of travel options including specials that appear only on supplier websites and not on those of competitors such as Travelocity and Orbitz. It also relieves Sidestep of any fulfillment and customer service responsibilities.
Suppliers prefer Sidestep because fees are as much as 50 percent less than those charged by travel agents or other sites, according to Jung Shin, vice president of engineering and operations. And consumers like Sidestep because they know they won't get a cheaper quote at a supplier website. That combination has garnered the company more than 1 million users in the year it's been operating."
Trident Capital newsletter announcement re sidestep....
http://www.tridentcapital.com/Trident_SPRING_Newsletter_2004.pdf
Woody Marshall, Managing Director of , noted, “We’ve been scouting for the next big winner in online travel for some time now and believe that SideStep is it.The company has built a successful and scalable business based on a combination of outstanding technology and deep industry relationships. With a strong head start and additional capital to accelerate its growth, SideStep will quickly emerge as a formidable player in travel search.”
http://66.102.11.104/search?q=cache:EGnLnxEO9E8J:www.stockupticks.com/profiles/1-13-04.html+sidestep.com+individual+investors&hl=en
"SideStep: $15 Million in New Funding Goes to Private Online Travel Co.
SANTA CLARA, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Jan 6, 2004 -- SideStep, Inc. (www.sidestep.com), the travel search engine, today announced that it has secured $8 million in financing from Trident Capital (www.tridentcap.com). SideStep, which has been profitable and cash flow positive since April of 2002, has raised a total of $15 million to date. The company will use the additional funding to accelerate product development and expand its strategic relationships.
SideStep is positioned at the intersection of two of the Internet's fastest growing market sectors: online travel and Web search. SideStep serves as a marketing vehicle for travel providers, driving consumers directly to the sites of trusted brands to book their travel. More than two million active travelers turn to SideStep's popular search engine each month to find flight, hotel and rental car values. "
Time: "SideStep offers airlines the prospect of removing an expensive link or two from the travel reservation chain--namely, the so-called global distribution systems, like Sabre, that complete about 75% of all travel bookings."
Hotels.com Survey Reveals Accommodation Preferences & Booking Concerns plus Emarketer analysis & gd chart
Dollars and Sense: Travelers Selective When Choosing Hotels; Hotels.com Survey Reveals Accommodation Preferences and Booking Concerns:
"Quality and price reign supreme for consumers who book hotel reservations online. According to a new Hotels.com survey, consumers are getting savvier in their hotel selection process relying on more than just price for their buying decisions.
Overall, the Hotels.com survey found that more than 67 percent of people feel more confident about booking hotels online when they see a photo of the property; the most important amenity for 64 percent of respondents is complimentary breakfast and 72 percent prefer a traditional hotel room when traveling "
When asked what concerns them most about making a hotel reservation online, more than half indicated that the hotel they book is in the right location and that the website description about the hotels is accurate.
In order to address each of the booking preferences, Hotels.com gives customers the ability to search for a hotel by price, location and/or amenities ensuring that customers are able to find the right hotel for their trip.
"This survey validates a growing trend that consumers want more than just a good price but are looking for those value-added savings that can help them to make their buying decisions easily and confidently," said Cheryl Rosner, president of Hotels.com. "Hotels.com is the only travel site today offering such a variety of additional benefits with bookings such as complimentary breakfasts, roadside assistance, gas rebates, entertainment coupons and even free steaks." **
About Hotels.com
Hotels.com is a leading provider of lodging worldwide, providing service through its own websites (including http://www.hotels.com and others), thousands of affiliated websites, and its toll-free call centers (1-800-2-HOTELS). Hotels.com provides accommodations to travelers at over 12,000 properties in more than 400 markets in North America, Europe, the Caribbean and Asia. The company offers a one-stop shopping source for hotel pricing, amenities and availability, and also specializes in providing travelers with accommodations for sold-out periods. Hotels.com is an operating business of IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI). CST: 2059975-40.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Nicole Hockin
Hotels.com
469-335-1595
nhockin@hotels.com
Helpful Hints for Hotels to Target Online Travelers: "PhoCusWright reports 60% of online travelers had purchased hotel room reservations online in 2003, a rise from 51% in 2000 and just 39% in 1999. "
PhoCusWright reports 60% of online travelers had purchased hotel room reservations online in 2003, a rise from 51% in 2000 and just 39% in 1999.
Visit link for chart showing most frequently purchased items..roughly
Airline tickets 92%
Hotel rooms 60%
Car rental 44%
Air, car & hotel together 24%
Holiday & tour packages 19%
Cruises 8% 919 2002)
"Quality and price reign supreme for consumers who book hotel reservations online. According to a new Hotels.com survey, consumers are getting savvier in their hotel selection process relying on more than just price for their buying decisions.
Overall, the Hotels.com survey found that more than 67 percent of people feel more confident about booking hotels online when they see a photo of the property; the most important amenity for 64 percent of respondents is complimentary breakfast and 72 percent prefer a traditional hotel room when traveling "
When asked what concerns them most about making a hotel reservation online, more than half indicated that the hotel they book is in the right location and that the website description about the hotels is accurate.
In order to address each of the booking preferences, Hotels.com gives customers the ability to search for a hotel by price, location and/or amenities ensuring that customers are able to find the right hotel for their trip.
"This survey validates a growing trend that consumers want more than just a good price but are looking for those value-added savings that can help them to make their buying decisions easily and confidently," said Cheryl Rosner, president of Hotels.com. "Hotels.com is the only travel site today offering such a variety of additional benefits with bookings such as complimentary breakfasts, roadside assistance, gas rebates, entertainment coupons and even free steaks." **
About Hotels.com
Hotels.com is a leading provider of lodging worldwide, providing service through its own websites (including http://www.hotels.com and others), thousands of affiliated websites, and its toll-free call centers (1-800-2-HOTELS). Hotels.com provides accommodations to travelers at over 12,000 properties in more than 400 markets in North America, Europe, the Caribbean and Asia. The company offers a one-stop shopping source for hotel pricing, amenities and availability, and also specializes in providing travelers with accommodations for sold-out periods. Hotels.com is an operating business of IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI). CST: 2059975-40.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Nicole Hockin
Hotels.com
469-335-1595
nhockin@hotels.com
Helpful Hints for Hotels to Target Online Travelers: "PhoCusWright reports 60% of online travelers had purchased hotel room reservations online in 2003, a rise from 51% in 2000 and just 39% in 1999. "
PhoCusWright reports 60% of online travelers had purchased hotel room reservations online in 2003, a rise from 51% in 2000 and just 39% in 1999.
Visit link for chart showing most frequently purchased items..roughly
Airline tickets 92%
Hotel rooms 60%
Car rental 44%
Air, car & hotel together 24%
Holiday & tour packages 19%
Cruises 8% 919 2002)
Media Masterclass details 27th Sept
travmedia.com: "Media Masterclass For The Tourism Industry"Berners Hotel on Monday 27th September from 6.30pm. Ticket prices start at �25 per person. Please visit www.tourismsociety.org/event_calendar.htm for more information or ring Flo Powell on 020 7488 2789.
-ENDS-
For further information, please contact:
Flo Powell Tel: 020 7488 2789 flo@tourismsociety.org| www.tourismsociety.org
-ENDS-
For further information, please contact:
Flo Powell Tel: 020 7488 2789 flo@tourismsociety.org| www.tourismsociety.org
Growth and profits for the big three in travel distribution: Travel Weekly -
:: Travel Weekly - The National Newspaper of the Travel Industry ::: "Q2: Growth and profits for the big three in travel distribution (08/12/2004)
WASHINGTON -- Three big names in travel distribution -- IAC Travel, Amadeus and Orbitz -- reported revenue growth and rising profits in the second quarter.
Expedia and its corporate cousins sold $3.4 billion worth of travel in the second quarter, generating a third of the revenue and all of the operating profits of parent IAC/InterActive Corp. Of the total travel sales, Expedia accounted for $2.6 billion, the company said.
At IAC Travel, which includes Expedia, Hotels.com and Hotwire, total revenue rose 34%, to $556 million. Operating income rose 46%, to $129 million. (The 2003 revenue figure was adjusted to report hotel merchant revenue in the same manner across all brands.)
On the downside, the corporate parent's operating profit was flat at $110 million on revenue of $1.5 billion, and corporate net income fell 25%, to $70 million. The company also scaled back its forecast. The initial reaction on Wall Street was disappointment, and the stock price plunged.
Orbitz said it boosted revenue 30%, to $75.6 million, in the second quarter and generated net income of $10.4 million, reversing a net loss of $2.9 million a year ago. Gross travel bookings rose 21% and topped $1 billion.
Air revenue rose 12%, to $44.2 million, and all other travel revenue rose 96%, to $22 million. Orbitz's merchant hotel program is in the latter category, and sold 327,000 room nights in the second quarter, a 600% increase.
Amadeus also had a good quarter: Revenue rose 10.2%, to $620.9 million. Net income was up a much heftier 47.7%, to $68.8 million. Total bookings on Amadeus"
WASHINGTON -- Three big names in travel distribution -- IAC Travel, Amadeus and Orbitz -- reported revenue growth and rising profits in the second quarter.
Expedia and its corporate cousins sold $3.4 billion worth of travel in the second quarter, generating a third of the revenue and all of the operating profits of parent IAC/InterActive Corp. Of the total travel sales, Expedia accounted for $2.6 billion, the company said.
At IAC Travel, which includes Expedia, Hotels.com and Hotwire, total revenue rose 34%, to $556 million. Operating income rose 46%, to $129 million. (The 2003 revenue figure was adjusted to report hotel merchant revenue in the same manner across all brands.)
On the downside, the corporate parent's operating profit was flat at $110 million on revenue of $1.5 billion, and corporate net income fell 25%, to $70 million. The company also scaled back its forecast. The initial reaction on Wall Street was disappointment, and the stock price plunged.
Orbitz said it boosted revenue 30%, to $75.6 million, in the second quarter and generated net income of $10.4 million, reversing a net loss of $2.9 million a year ago. Gross travel bookings rose 21% and topped $1 billion.
Air revenue rose 12%, to $44.2 million, and all other travel revenue rose 96%, to $22 million. Orbitz's merchant hotel program is in the latter category, and sold 327,000 room nights in the second quarter, a 600% increase.
Amadeus also had a good quarter: Revenue rose 10.2%, to $620.9 million. Net income was up a much heftier 47.7%, to $68.8 million. Total bookings on Amadeus"
BRAND IRELAND: 35,000 eurosagents commision on 3 night package : Travel Weekly - The National Newspaper of the Travel Industry ::
:: Travel Weekly - The National Newspaper of the Travel Industry ::ULTIMATE PACKAGE: Talk about commissions: Five-star hotel The Merrion in Dublin is paying agents 5% on "Out of this World," a three-night, ultra-luxury package available through December 2005. What's the big deal? For one, the package is priced at around $840,000 (more accurately, 700,000 euros), making the agent take , or about $42,000. That sky-high rate covers accommodations in a penthouse duplex suite, chauffeured vintage Rolls Royce or S Class Mercedes, and many "bespoke" experiences such as a private guided tour of Dublin Castle; helicopter transport to Ballybunion Golf Club for 18 holes with an Irish golf professional; lunch with the 30th Knight of Glin at his castle; a ball at 13th century Leixlip Castle with a performance by Riverdance; a portrait by artist Graham Knuttel; an eco-safari by Land Rover to the Wicklow Mountains; and much more. Contact The Merrion at (011) 353-1-603-0600 or www.merrionhotel.com, or The Leading Hotels of the World at (800) 223-6800, reservations@merrionhotel.com or www.lhw.com.
BRAND IRELAND: Tourism Ireland rolled out plans for promotional campaigns in the U.S. this fall and next summer aimed at increasing consumer demand; driving more business to Northern Ireland; helping tour operator partners; and developing transport links, in both the short and long term. Target niches include affluent suburbanites and city dwellers in U.S. gateways, bargain hunters, active travelers and the "VFR" (visiting friends and relatives) market. Products to be stress range from value vacations -- namely, escorted, fly-and-drive and golf packages -- to short breaks and city stays, and small groups. Outreach channels include TV ads; ads in magazines such as Travel & Leisure and Gourmet; a six-week online campaign at www.shamrock.org; and direct mailings to 5,000 "activity specialist" operators. In addition, a similar 2005 Kick Start Campaign is planned for next July. For more, visit www.shamrock.org.
ACTIVE INTEREST: In related news, Tourism Ireland launched a new sub-Web site at www.shamrock.org/activity, to promote active vacations in Ireland. The site lists all tour operators found in the organization's Special Interest Activity Brochure 2004 brochure, along with individual itineraries and new tour operator partners that came "on board" since printing.
BRAND IRELAND: Tourism Ireland rolled out plans for promotional campaigns in the U.S. this fall and next summer aimed at increasing consumer demand; driving more business to Northern Ireland; helping tour operator partners; and developing transport links, in both the short and long term. Target niches include affluent suburbanites and city dwellers in U.S. gateways, bargain hunters, active travelers and the "VFR" (visiting friends and relatives) market. Products to be stress range from value vacations -- namely, escorted, fly-and-drive and golf packages -- to short breaks and city stays, and small groups. Outreach channels include TV ads; ads in magazines such as Travel & Leisure and Gourmet; a six-week online campaign at www.shamrock.org; and direct mailings to 5,000 "activity specialist" operators. In addition, a similar 2005 Kick Start Campaign is planned for next July. For more, visit www.shamrock.org.
ACTIVE INTEREST: In related news, Tourism Ireland launched a new sub-Web site at www.shamrock.org/activity, to promote active vacations in Ireland. The site lists all tour operators found in the organization's Special Interest Activity Brochure 2004 brochure, along with individual itineraries and new tour operator partners that came "on board" since printing.
Branding and travel sites Destination Dot-Com Amazon reviews
iMedia Connection: Destination Dot-Com: "Michelle Peluso, COO of Travelocity, noted that the online travel industry has yet to build a brand that has emotional resonance in the way other products do. "
Perhaps this could mean that travel aggregators and suppliers will invest in content to bring ‘stickiness’ back to their sites, such that the depth and richness of content, not just packaging functionality, will sway a traveler to spend more time (and dollars) with one provider. Amazon.com was highly successful in building its brand in no small part due to the home-grown reviews of each and every customer who had an opinion and wanted to share it on a product.
Travelers are no different; how many times have you asked a friend or colleague for advice on the best dive shop or papaya shack when you have traveled? As such, the deep content might not come from an internal editorial staff at all (who in the past have not been able to provide a true return on investment for travel properties and were significantly scaled back or eliminated). There are also choice acquisition opportunities right now for pure content plays that have deep destination content but few means to facilitate transactions. Either way, the integration of deep content is double-dip-and-win strategy for the travel aggregators, as more time spent means more pages turned, which in turn yields more impressions, and therefore more in-site advertising revenue on top of the actual transactions.
Perhaps this could mean that travel aggregators and suppliers will invest in content to bring ‘stickiness’ back to their sites, such that the depth and richness of content, not just packaging functionality, will sway a traveler to spend more time (and dollars) with one provider. Amazon.com was highly successful in building its brand in no small part due to the home-grown reviews of each and every customer who had an opinion and wanted to share it on a product.
Travelers are no different; how many times have you asked a friend or colleague for advice on the best dive shop or papaya shack when you have traveled? As such, the deep content might not come from an internal editorial staff at all (who in the past have not been able to provide a true return on investment for travel properties and were significantly scaled back or eliminated). There are also choice acquisition opportunities right now for pure content plays that have deep destination content but few means to facilitate transactions. Either way, the integration of deep content is double-dip-and-win strategy for the travel aggregators, as more time spent means more pages turned, which in turn yields more impressions, and therefore more in-site advertising revenue on top of the actual transactions.
iMedia Connection: Online Travel: Is Bigger Better? NB travelocity re "total"
Intro "Do you get more by using big travel sites or airline and hotel sites? (part one of three" Are there any inherent advantages or disadvantages for consumers who make their travel plans by going directly to an airline or hotel site versus using one of the big aggregators such as Expedia? That depends on whom you talk to
1) iMedia Connection: Online Travel: Is Bigger Better? 1: Re tactics airline sites use to differentiate themselves from general travel sites.
Checking in and printing a boarding pass 24 hours in advance of travel
Selecting or changing a seat
Accessing SkyMiles (Delta’s frequent flyer program) account balance and activity
Redeeming miles for an award ticket
Qualifying for exclusive mile-earning or mile-burning opportunities.
2) Hotels have similar motivations.: iMedia Connection: Online Travel Part 2: Is Bigger Better?:How hotel sites are making the Web work for them to save on commissions.
The Radisson Hotel Web site was one of the first hotel brand sites, debuting in 1996. In 2000, Carlson launched sites for the remaining Carlson Hotels Worldwide portfolio.
Hepper says hotels often opt to reserve special offers or bonus loyalty points for visitors to their Web sites, and to offer enhanced features, such as a personalized account home page.
Carlson draws customers to its various hotel sites by adapting a wide variety of interactive marketing strategies -- online partnerships, email marketing, search engine optimization, direct search inclusion, paid placement and cross-channel marketing integration -- to ensure that guests receive similar messages regardless of their choice of booking channel.
Jon Peddie, who heads up Jon Peddie Research, a Tiburon, CA-based marketing and management consulting firm, travels the world 50 percent of each month. He still uses a travel agent and prefers airline and hotel Web sites, because he’s not confident that the general sites will enter his frequent flyer mileage numbers and correctly register his hotel preferences.
3) iMedia Connection: Online Travel Part 3: Is Bigger Better?:
What general travel sites are doing to draw customers away from booking direct at airline and hotel sites
"The key advantage to using a general travel site, says Susan McLaughlin, Travelocity�s vice president of marketing, is the ability to comparison-shop a multitude of air fares, hotel room rates, car rentals, cruises and vacations across a wide variety of suppliers"
Travelocity uses a lot of interactive bells and whistles to snare customers and get recurring business and revenue (all of the online travel sites charge a nominal service fee -- at Travelocity, it’s $5 per ticket). Some of these include:
TotalPrice for Cars: consumers get car rental rates that include all taxes and fees, to minimize sticker shock at the car rental counter.
TotalCruise: consumers purchase flights at the time of their cruise purchase, rather than being assigned flights later by the cruise supplier.
Farewatcher: consumers pick five destinations they want to travel to when prices drop below a certain threshold. Travelocity alerts them via email -- and sends roughly 414,000 of these emails daily.
• Intelli-Deck™: displays views of specific ship features, clickable deck plans and cruise reviews by fellow travelers.
Consumer traveler reviews: Travelocity claims it's the only online travel site that posts unbiased hotel and cruise reviews directly from consumers. It also uses the American Automobile Association (AAA) for reviews. McLaughlin says other online travel sites do their own reviews.
1) iMedia Connection: Online Travel: Is Bigger Better? 1: Re tactics airline sites use to differentiate themselves from general travel sites.
Checking in and printing a boarding pass 24 hours in advance of travel
Selecting or changing a seat
Accessing SkyMiles (Delta’s frequent flyer program) account balance and activity
Redeeming miles for an award ticket
Qualifying for exclusive mile-earning or mile-burning opportunities.
2) Hotels have similar motivations.: iMedia Connection: Online Travel Part 2: Is Bigger Better?:How hotel sites are making the Web work for them to save on commissions.
The Radisson Hotel Web site was one of the first hotel brand sites, debuting in 1996. In 2000, Carlson launched sites for the remaining Carlson Hotels Worldwide portfolio.
Hepper says hotels often opt to reserve special offers or bonus loyalty points for visitors to their Web sites, and to offer enhanced features, such as a personalized account home page.
Carlson draws customers to its various hotel sites by adapting a wide variety of interactive marketing strategies -- online partnerships, email marketing, search engine optimization, direct search inclusion, paid placement and cross-channel marketing integration -- to ensure that guests receive similar messages regardless of their choice of booking channel.
Jon Peddie, who heads up Jon Peddie Research, a Tiburon, CA-based marketing and management consulting firm, travels the world 50 percent of each month. He still uses a travel agent and prefers airline and hotel Web sites, because he’s not confident that the general sites will enter his frequent flyer mileage numbers and correctly register his hotel preferences.
3) iMedia Connection: Online Travel Part 3: Is Bigger Better?:
What general travel sites are doing to draw customers away from booking direct at airline and hotel sites
"The key advantage to using a general travel site, says Susan McLaughlin, Travelocity�s vice president of marketing, is the ability to comparison-shop a multitude of air fares, hotel room rates, car rentals, cruises and vacations across a wide variety of suppliers"
Travelocity uses a lot of interactive bells and whistles to snare customers and get recurring business and revenue (all of the online travel sites charge a nominal service fee -- at Travelocity, it’s $5 per ticket). Some of these include:
TotalPrice for Cars: consumers get car rental rates that include all taxes and fees, to minimize sticker shock at the car rental counter.
TotalCruise: consumers purchase flights at the time of their cruise purchase, rather than being assigned flights later by the cruise supplier.
Farewatcher: consumers pick five destinations they want to travel to when prices drop below a certain threshold. Travelocity alerts them via email -- and sends roughly 414,000 of these emails daily.
• Intelli-Deck™: displays views of specific ship features, clickable deck plans and cruise reviews by fellow travelers.
Consumer traveler reviews: Travelocity claims it's the only online travel site that posts unbiased hotel and cruise reviews directly from consumers. It also uses the American Automobile Association (AAA) for reviews. McLaughlin says other online travel sites do their own reviews.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
BT lastminute and restaurants
PC Pro - Computing in the Real WorldBT offers restaurants a taste of e-commerce
[PC Pro] 11:31
Finding somewhere decent to eat at short notice might be a bit easier in future. Restaurants with empty tables can now advertise them in real time via Lastminute.com or through special kiosks built in city centres.
Restaurants are to be offered a broadband deal combined with terminal and reservation software which combines a diary and booking system for around £30 a month.
The service will be fed through to Lastminute's visitors which are said to number 500,000 a day. Also BT will be erecting special pink (!) kiosks in City centres where hungry punters on a night out can find a spare table. The scheme has already been piloted in London and will be rolled out to Birmingham, Manchester and other locations next month.
BT is looking to capitalise on its broadband investment by introducing it into new markets. `We believe the 'broadband restaurant' initiative will help to transform and revitalise the way restaurants operate,' said Pierre Danon, BT's CEO for Retail.
'An empty table will now be an opportunity to attract a new market,' he said 'It's also a great example of how an industry sector such as restaurant and catering, which may not have traditionally been at the forefront of the broadband revolution, can take advantage of the internet's immediacy, 24/7 availability and cost-effective business model to steal a march on the competition.'
[PC Pro] 11:31
Finding somewhere decent to eat at short notice might be a bit easier in future. Restaurants with empty tables can now advertise them in real time via Lastminute.com or through special kiosks built in city centres.
Restaurants are to be offered a broadband deal combined with terminal and reservation software which combines a diary and booking system for around £30 a month.
The service will be fed through to Lastminute's visitors which are said to number 500,000 a day. Also BT will be erecting special pink (!) kiosks in City centres where hungry punters on a night out can find a spare table. The scheme has already been piloted in London and will be rolled out to Birmingham, Manchester and other locations next month.
BT is looking to capitalise on its broadband investment by introducing it into new markets. `We believe the 'broadband restaurant' initiative will help to transform and revitalise the way restaurants operate,' said Pierre Danon, BT's CEO for Retail.
'An empty table will now be an opportunity to attract a new market,' he said 'It's also a great example of how an industry sector such as restaurant and catering, which may not have traditionally been at the forefront of the broadband revolution, can take advantage of the internet's immediacy, 24/7 availability and cost-effective business model to steal a march on the competition.'
E-consultancy.com : BT cooks up restaurant service with Lastminute.com
E-consultancy.com : BT cooks up restaurant service with Lastminute.comExample fragments from: 'BT cooks up restaurant service with Lastminute.com' ...
1. ...provides access to a range of marketing partners that will help advertise the restaurant. Also as part of the partnership, BT will roll-out a host of Lastminute branded, bright pink multimedia kiosks at which customers will be able to book deals on local hotels, shows, restaurants, holidays and family-friendly events via the Lastminute site. The kiosks are already available at various London sites...
2. ...with a brand new, easy to use route to market." Both initiatives will driven by a marketing campaign which will run in September. BT will provide restaurants with its business broadband aswell as a live diary management and booking system for £29.99 per month, while for £54.99 per month; a PC and flat screen monitor will be included. June 24 2004: BT serves up Wimbledon broadband replays...
1. ...provides access to a range of marketing partners that will help advertise the restaurant. Also as part of the partnership, BT will roll-out a host of Lastminute branded, bright pink multimedia kiosks at which customers will be able to book deals on local hotels, shows, restaurants, holidays and family-friendly events via the Lastminute site. The kiosks are already available at various London sites...
2. ...with a brand new, easy to use route to market." Both initiatives will driven by a marketing campaign which will run in September. BT will provide restaurants with its business broadband aswell as a live diary management and booking system for £29.99 per month, while for £54.99 per month; a PC and flat screen monitor will be included. June 24 2004: BT serves up Wimbledon broadband replays...
:: Travel Weekly - IAC Travel, Amadeus and Orbitz -- reported revenue growth
:: Travel Weekly - The National Newspaper of the Travel Industry ::THREE BIG NAMES IN TRAVEL DISTRIBUTION -- IAC Travel, Amadeus and Orbitz -- reported revenue growth and rising profits in the second quarter. Expedia and its corporate cousins sold $3.4 billion worth of travel in the period; Expedia accounted for $2.6 billion, the company said. At IAC Travel, which includes Expedia, Hotels.com and Hotwire, total revenue rose 34%, to $556 million. Operating income rose 46%, to $129 million. On the downside, the corporate parent's operating profit was flat at $110 million on revenue of $1.5 billion and corporate net income fell 25%, to $70 million. The company also scaled back its forecast. The initial reaction on Wall Street was disappointment, and the stock price plunged.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ORBITZ SAID IT BOOSTED revenue 30%, to $75.6 million, in the second quarter and generated net income of $10.4 million, reversing a net loss of $2.9 million a year ago. Gross travel bookings rose 21% and topped $1 billion. Air revenue rose 12%, to $44.2 million, and all other travel revenue rose 96%, to $22 million. Orbitz's merchant hotel program is in the latter category and sold 327,000 room nights in the period, a 600% increase.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMADEUS ALSO HAD A GOOD QUARTER: Revenue rose 10.2%, to $620.9 million. Net income was up a much heftier 47.7%, to $68.8 million. Total bookings on Amadeus for the period rose 9.8% year over year to 114.7 million, with air bookings rising a little faster at 11.9% and hotels growing still faster at 16%. Revenue from supplier booking fees grew 10.4%, and nonbooking fee revenue, which is approximately 25% of the total, increased by 9.5%. The latter included a 54% hike in e-commerce revenue.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN OTHER ORBITZ DEVELOPMENTS, it is inviting agents to join its affiliate program, which pays a flat "affiliate transaction fee" of $5 for air, $6 for retail hotel, $12 for merchant hotel, $2 for car, $22 for cruise and $16 for packages. Orbitz's existing affiliate program had been off-limits to agents because of GDS-regulation issues. Orbitz will try to leverage its policy of providing unbiased displays to reach agents -- particularly home-based retailers -- who do not participate in preferred-supplier relationships. After becoming a registered affiliate, agents would book travel on Orbitz.com, and activity would be tracked through their e-mail address, ARC or IATA number.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ORBITZ SAID IT BOOSTED revenue 30%, to $75.6 million, in the second quarter and generated net income of $10.4 million, reversing a net loss of $2.9 million a year ago. Gross travel bookings rose 21% and topped $1 billion. Air revenue rose 12%, to $44.2 million, and all other travel revenue rose 96%, to $22 million. Orbitz's merchant hotel program is in the latter category and sold 327,000 room nights in the period, a 600% increase.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMADEUS ALSO HAD A GOOD QUARTER: Revenue rose 10.2%, to $620.9 million. Net income was up a much heftier 47.7%, to $68.8 million. Total bookings on Amadeus for the period rose 9.8% year over year to 114.7 million, with air bookings rising a little faster at 11.9% and hotels growing still faster at 16%. Revenue from supplier booking fees grew 10.4%, and nonbooking fee revenue, which is approximately 25% of the total, increased by 9.5%. The latter included a 54% hike in e-commerce revenue.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN OTHER ORBITZ DEVELOPMENTS, it is inviting agents to join its affiliate program, which pays a flat "affiliate transaction fee" of $5 for air, $6 for retail hotel, $12 for merchant hotel, $2 for car, $22 for cruise and $16 for packages. Orbitz's existing affiliate program had been off-limits to agents because of GDS-regulation issues. Orbitz will try to leverage its policy of providing unbiased displays to reach agents -- particularly home-based retailers -- who do not participate in preferred-supplier relationships. After becoming a registered affiliate, agents would book travel on Orbitz.com, and activity would be tracked through their e-mail address, ARC or IATA number.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
eyefortravel.com -Rumour has it that all is not well with lastminute.com
eyefortravel.com - Travel Distribution News, Events and Analysis: "According to the Guardian, lastminute.com�s attempt to persuade investors that all is well with the independent, online travel and leisure group fell on deaf ears yesterday. (8/10/2004)
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The Guardian report says that lastminute.com�s stock continued sinking despite a positive trading update four days after its results.
The group�s shares apparently plummeted last Thursday after third-quarter figures, as traders worried about trading over summer when the group makes most of its profits.
Despite lastminute.com, last week having reported solid growth for its third quarter, 2004, an announcement released at virtually the same time caused some surprise within the travel industry. The group stated that it planned to reduce costs by 10% during its 2005 financial year. To accomplish this, it would need to close four overseas offices and make 350 staff members redundant.
It did not at the time of the announcement give its reasons for the cost reductions, but said that it would release further details in late September. This disquieting move suggested that perhaps online travel and leisure group�s financial standing was not as strong as initially communicated.
According to the Guardian, yesterday lastminute gave guidance about its profitability for the first time, saying it expects earnings before charges of �25m to �30m in the fourth quarter, making �26.7m to �31.7m for the year. It forecast earnings before charges of �55m to �65m for the year to end September 2005, helped by savings, including the axing of a percentage of its workers.
The Guardian reports stock is continuing to slide, closing down 4p at 94.5p, wiping �13.4m off the value of the business. About �120m has been lost over the p"
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The Guardian report says that lastminute.com�s stock continued sinking despite a positive trading update four days after its results.
The group�s shares apparently plummeted last Thursday after third-quarter figures, as traders worried about trading over summer when the group makes most of its profits.
Despite lastminute.com, last week having reported solid growth for its third quarter, 2004, an announcement released at virtually the same time caused some surprise within the travel industry. The group stated that it planned to reduce costs by 10% during its 2005 financial year. To accomplish this, it would need to close four overseas offices and make 350 staff members redundant.
It did not at the time of the announcement give its reasons for the cost reductions, but said that it would release further details in late September. This disquieting move suggested that perhaps online travel and leisure group�s financial standing was not as strong as initially communicated.
According to the Guardian, yesterday lastminute gave guidance about its profitability for the first time, saying it expects earnings before charges of �25m to �30m in the fourth quarter, making �26.7m to �31.7m for the year. It forecast earnings before charges of �55m to �65m for the year to end September 2005, helped by savings, including the axing of a percentage of its workers.
The Guardian reports stock is continuing to slide, closing down 4p at 94.5p, wiping �13.4m off the value of the business. About �120m has been lost over the p"
Forbes.com: Buffett: Leaves Bulk Of Fortune To Charity
Forbes.com: Buffett: Leaves Bulk Of Fortune To Charity: "The late Susan Buffett has legated the bulk of her estate to the charitable organization she headed. On July 29, the wife of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the world's second-richest man, died of a stroke at the age of 72. Susan Buffett and her husband had lived separately for many years, but they remained close and still often traveled together. She held about $2.6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway (nyse: BRKa - news - people ) stock at the time of her death, bequeathing the bulk of this fortune to the Buffett Foundation, of which she was president. The foundation has often been criticized by pro-life organizations for its contributions to Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights groups, but has also given money to hospitals, universities and teachers. Meanwhile, Warren Buffett, 73, has said that his stock in Berkshire, worth roughly $40 billion, will also go to the Buffet Foundation upon his death. The donation would make the charity the largest in the country, outpacing the Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) chairman's Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation by approximately $27 billion. "
Holidays on the never-never - 10-Aug-04.
Holidays on the never-never - 10-Aug-04.: "Travelsupermarket.com said its sister company, moneysupermarket.com, received over 250,000 applications for personal loans in July, up 100,000 from the same time last year. The company said it believed a significant number were for holidays.
The website added holidaymakers were coming back to not only gloomy British weather but an even gloomier bank balance because they were not looking into the full cost of loans. Rates for loans vary enormously, from around 5.9 per cent to 25.9 per cent.
Travelsupermarket.com urged holidaymakers to shop around for the best deals or consider paying for holidays on their credit cards, which can be a cheaper solution.
Travelsupermarket.com director of travel Chris Nixon said: �We recognise that these days we work longer hours and even harder than ever and therefore we thoroughly deserve our holidays.
�There are some fantastic deals on credit cards at the moment, including the Amex blue card which gives a 2 per cent cash back against the total spend.�
The website is offering a new guidance service to help people avoid racking up huge debts. "
The website added holidaymakers were coming back to not only gloomy British weather but an even gloomier bank balance because they were not looking into the full cost of loans. Rates for loans vary enormously, from around 5.9 per cent to 25.9 per cent.
Travelsupermarket.com urged holidaymakers to shop around for the best deals or consider paying for holidays on their credit cards, which can be a cheaper solution.
Travelsupermarket.com director of travel Chris Nixon said: �We recognise that these days we work longer hours and even harder than ever and therefore we thoroughly deserve our holidays.
�There are some fantastic deals on credit cards at the moment, including the Amex blue card which gives a 2 per cent cash back against the total spend.�
The website is offering a new guidance service to help people avoid racking up huge debts. "
Trading Standards steps up attacks on airlines - pressure on airlines and travel companies all-inclusive prices on it websites
Trading Standards steps up attacks on airlines - 10-Aug-04.: "The Trading Standards Institute is increasing the pressure on airlines and travel companies to show all-inclusive prices on it websites.
Principal trading standards officer Bruce Treloar said the practice of advertising headline flight prices exclusive of taxes breached the Consumer Protection Act of 1987 by giving customers 'a misleading price indication'.
Treloar said Ryanair, which advertises prices from 99p and both easyJet and British Airways, which quote prices exclusive of tax were all breaking the law. But he added any travel company which does not quote the full fare clearly as part of the main price was also advertising illegally.
TSI has joined forces with the Office of Fair Trading, the Air Transport Users' Council, Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services and the Advertising Standards Authority to produce a new guidance paper detailing the legal requirements for all sales of flights on websites.
'Airlines are misleading customers,' said Treloar. 'People get drawn to these websites because they claim to charge a low fare and may not go elsewhere to get a proper comparison of prices.'
Treloar said he would spend a short period of time, thought to be the next few months, compiling evidence of airlines which are contravening the Consumer Protection Act and pass it on to the OFT.
However, a spokeswoman for the OFT said it could only take action if it received complaints from consumers.
'We have collaborated to produce guidance notes to help businesses,' said the spokeswoman. 'But we can only act on complaints received.'
Airlines have made a staunch defence of their position and pledged to continue with their sales tactics.
A spokesman for Ryanair, which recently announced record "
Principal trading standards officer Bruce Treloar said the practice of advertising headline flight prices exclusive of taxes breached the Consumer Protection Act of 1987 by giving customers 'a misleading price indication'.
Treloar said Ryanair, which advertises prices from 99p and both easyJet and British Airways, which quote prices exclusive of tax were all breaking the law. But he added any travel company which does not quote the full fare clearly as part of the main price was also advertising illegally.
TSI has joined forces with the Office of Fair Trading, the Air Transport Users' Council, Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services and the Advertising Standards Authority to produce a new guidance paper detailing the legal requirements for all sales of flights on websites.
'Airlines are misleading customers,' said Treloar. 'People get drawn to these websites because they claim to charge a low fare and may not go elsewhere to get a proper comparison of prices.'
Treloar said he would spend a short period of time, thought to be the next few months, compiling evidence of airlines which are contravening the Consumer Protection Act and pass it on to the OFT.
However, a spokeswoman for the OFT said it could only take action if it received complaints from consumers.
'We have collaborated to produce guidance notes to help businesses,' said the spokeswoman. 'But we can only act on complaints received.'
Airlines have made a staunch defence of their position and pledged to continue with their sales tactics.
A spokesman for Ryanair, which recently announced record "
Monday, August 09, 2004
Yahoo! Search Results for ses party rule 1 ho ho
Yahoo! Search Results for ses party rule 1: "INSIDE YAHOO!
Never run out of beer
WEB RESULTS
Google Blogoscoped
... egg in their search results. Enter ses party rule #1 ( SES means 'search engines') and a little graphic ... Yahoo does not reveal SES party rule #2, but maybe Google follows ...
Category: Computers and Technology Weblogs"
Never run out of beer
WEB RESULTS
Google Blogoscoped
... egg in their search results. Enter ses party rule #1 ( SES means 'search engines') and a little graphic ... Yahoo does not reveal SES party rule #2, but maybe Google follows ...
Category: Computers and Technology Weblogs"
Rough Guides Second online travel guide published - 04-Aug-04.
Second online travel guide published - 04-Aug-04.: "Rough Guides has released a second edition of its Rough Guide to Travel Online in response to the increasing use of the internet by holidaymakers.
The guide gives an overview for those wanting to research and book travel on the web including basic information about issues like travel health and visas. The hundreds of website reviews are ordered in various chapters by hobby, activity or destination � making it easy to narrow a search.
For the second edition, all websites were checked and updated as well as new ones added. New sections like wireless internet advice were been added for people travelling with a laptop.
Author of the guide, Greg Ward told TravelMole: 'According to the latest figures, visits to UK travel websites have increased by a quarter in the last year, and it's said that four percent of all internet use is now travel related.
'In this country, that's spearheaded by the boom in web-based airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet, but, as the Rough Guide to Travel Online shows, you can use the internet to research and make bookings for travel almost anywhere in the world.'
Readers can look up hobbies such as photography, language holidays, and eco-tourism or find websites to help with activity holidays like cycling, sailing and golf. The book also dips into websites catered for specific trips like weddings and honeymoons.
The website are honestly reviewed, but they are all there as recommendations, so none are slated by the authors, Mr Ward and Samantha Cook. The next edition is likely to be published in two or three years."
The guide gives an overview for those wanting to research and book travel on the web including basic information about issues like travel health and visas. The hundreds of website reviews are ordered in various chapters by hobby, activity or destination � making it easy to narrow a search.
For the second edition, all websites were checked and updated as well as new ones added. New sections like wireless internet advice were been added for people travelling with a laptop.
Author of the guide, Greg Ward told TravelMole: 'According to the latest figures, visits to UK travel websites have increased by a quarter in the last year, and it's said that four percent of all internet use is now travel related.
'In this country, that's spearheaded by the boom in web-based airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet, but, as the Rough Guide to Travel Online shows, you can use the internet to research and make bookings for travel almost anywhere in the world.'
Readers can look up hobbies such as photography, language holidays, and eco-tourism or find websites to help with activity holidays like cycling, sailing and golf. The book also dips into websites catered for specific trips like weddings and honeymoons.
The website are honestly reviewed, but they are all there as recommendations, so none are slated by the authors, Mr Ward and Samantha Cook. The next edition is likely to be published in two or three years."
Summit and Dabs.com
Summit Media optimises the order bids for dabs.com’s 13,000 search terms with Overture’s Auto Bidding toolô€ƒŽIn line with offers on the Dabs site, product managers can phoneand ask Overture for a new campaign to run in a matter of days –flexible and scalable“
As a result of our Overture campaign this year, dabs.com has experienced an additional 2.5 million visitors to the site, an extra £1.5m in sales and 10,000 new customers.”Tony Patterson, Senior Account Manager, Summit Media
Heart-felt plea over travel insurance - 09-Aug-04.
Heart-felt plea over travel insurance - 09-Aug-04.: "Heart-felt plea over travel insurance
Thousands of people with heart conditions are reportedly being denied holidays because they cannot get travel insurance, according to a charity.
Today�s Daily Telegraph reports a claim by the British Heart Foundation that its helpline received more calls about insurance � around 17 per cent of 24,000 inquiries -than on any other matter.
A spokesman reportedly told the newspaper: �When you have had a heart attack or are being diagnosed with a heart condition, the last thing you want is extra worry about money and insurance.�
However, Malcolm Tarling, of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), is quoted as saying: �People may need to shop around but as long as it is not against a doctor�s advice, they should be able to travel.� "
Thousands of people with heart conditions are reportedly being denied holidays because they cannot get travel insurance, according to a charity.
Today�s Daily Telegraph reports a claim by the British Heart Foundation that its helpline received more calls about insurance � around 17 per cent of 24,000 inquiries -than on any other matter.
A spokesman reportedly told the newspaper: �When you have had a heart attack or are being diagnosed with a heart condition, the last thing you want is extra worry about money and insurance.�
However, Malcolm Tarling, of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), is quoted as saying: �People may need to shop around but as long as it is not against a doctor�s advice, they should be able to travel.� "
brand momentum of the low-cost carriers outstrips that of the big carriers Survey
eyefortravel.com - Travel Distribution News, Events and Analysis: "The results in each of the four countries examined in the first legs of the study show that the brand momentum of the low-cost carriers outstrips that of the big carriers as they roll out attention grabbing services and irresistibly low prices.
Also, according to this study, while the Internet may not be the only factor, it is the catalyst behind many of the key developments reshaping the travel industry. "
Also, according to this study, while the Internet may not be the only factor, it is the catalyst behind many of the key developments reshaping the travel industry. "
Growing Number of Companies Drop Travel Agencies, Switching to Consumer Travel Web Sites / Aug 2004
Growing Number of Companies Drop Travel Agencies, Switching to Consumer Travel Web Sites / Aug 2004: "ONLINE BOOKINGS
U.S. online corporate travel gross bookings 2003 -- $18.8 billion
2006 (projection) -- $36.5 billion
Percentage of U.S. travelers who booked at least one business trip online in past 12 months: 2000 -- 22 percent
2004 -- 51 percent
SOURCES: PhoCusWright Inc., and Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell & Yankelovich Partners "
U.S. online corporate travel gross bookings 2003 -- $18.8 billion
2006 (projection) -- $36.5 billion
Percentage of U.S. travelers who booked at least one business trip online in past 12 months: 2000 -- 22 percent
2004 -- 51 percent
SOURCES: PhoCusWright Inc., and Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell & Yankelovich Partners "
London On Target To Reach Pre 9/11 Visitor Numbers travmedia.com
travmedia.com: "Visitor International arrival numbers are on target to match levels posted pre 9/11 in 2004 in what is shaping up to become a bumper year for London, according to the July edition of London Monthly Trends."
Australia Rejoins The World Tourism Organization
travmedia.com: "Australia Rejoins The World Tourism Organization "
56 per cent have researched areas to stay
Online 'threat' to travel agents: "Online 'threat' to travel agents"
"Online 'threat' to travel agentsJohn Scheerhout THE days of the package holiday could be numbered as travellers turn to the internet to book their summer break.
Instead of queuing up at the travel agents' or browsing the tour operators' brochures, holidaymakers seeking a bargain are increasingly likely to go online.
A survey by YouGov has revealed that four in five people with access to a computer will use the web to book holiday flights and accommodation.
Only 15 per cent of them say they turn to the traditional package deal.
Travel experts accept the package holiday is old, creaky and in decline but insist it still remains by far the most popular way of booking a holiday.
The YouGov survey commissioned by broadband service provider Pipex showed that 56 per cent of respondents have researched areas to stay on the internet while 42 per cent are looking to price up cheap flights.
Around one in three people have actually purchased a flight online and booked a hotel, according to the survey of 2,000 internet users.
Geoff Dykes, of the independent Peregrination Travel, which has offices in Harpurhey and Hazel Grove, said: 'The survey is for a broadband service provider and that tells you something.'
But he agreed that far fewer package holidays were now being booked thanks to the internet and that many traditional high street travel agents faced a battle to survive.
He said: 'A lot of our clients do use the internet to research. But nine times out of ten they call us to ask us about it and to book it for them.
'They want to be reassured that what they've chosen is ok and it's the best deal for them. Booking on the internet, especially accommodation, can be fraught, with a"
"Online 'threat' to travel agentsJohn Scheerhout THE days of the package holiday could be numbered as travellers turn to the internet to book their summer break.
Instead of queuing up at the travel agents' or browsing the tour operators' brochures, holidaymakers seeking a bargain are increasingly likely to go online.
A survey by YouGov has revealed that four in five people with access to a computer will use the web to book holiday flights and accommodation.
Only 15 per cent of them say they turn to the traditional package deal.
Travel experts accept the package holiday is old, creaky and in decline but insist it still remains by far the most popular way of booking a holiday.
The YouGov survey commissioned by broadband service provider Pipex showed that 56 per cent of respondents have researched areas to stay on the internet while 42 per cent are looking to price up cheap flights.
Around one in three people have actually purchased a flight online and booked a hotel, according to the survey of 2,000 internet users.
Geoff Dykes, of the independent Peregrination Travel, which has offices in Harpurhey and Hazel Grove, said: 'The survey is for a broadband service provider and that tells you something.'
But he agreed that far fewer package holidays were now being booked thanks to the internet and that many traditional high street travel agents faced a battle to survive.
He said: 'A lot of our clients do use the internet to research. But nine times out of ten they call us to ask us about it and to book it for them.
'They want to be reassured that what they've chosen is ok and it's the best deal for them. Booking on the internet, especially accommodation, can be fraught, with a"
Cruisemates Cruise Message Boards - Royal Olympia - Unpaid Leave
Cruisemates Cruise Message Boards - Royal Olympia - Unpaid Leave: "the Olympia Countess, was sold at auction to Greek shipowner Lou Kallakis, a Royal Olympia spokesman said Feb. 5. Creditors had arrested the Countess in Durban, South Africa, in December. "
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Richard@Home: Having his say since December 2003 TT gets blogged..
Richard@Home: Having his say since December 2003...use his site search...one to contact
Yahoo confirmed that it purchased travel search-engine vendor FareChase.
:: Travel Weekly - The National Newspaper of the Travel Industry ::: "It�s confirmed: Yahoo buys FareChase (08/05/2004)
By Dennis Schaal
SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Yahoo confirmed that it purchased travel search-engine vendor FareChase.
A spokeswoman said the acquisition -- the terms of which were not disclosed -- will not impact Travelocity's air, car and hotel sales through Yahoo Travel and that Yahoo will honor FareChase's contracts with its travel partners.
The spokeswoman would not detail how FareChase's shopping technology will be integrated with Yahoo. However, a travel application may blend with Yahoo's strategy to develop its shopping platform, which enables consumers to purchase everything from auto parts to video games.
FareChase's marketing headquarters is in New York and it has a research and development team in Israel. The Yahoo spokeswoman said FareChase's U.S. employees will relocate to Sunnyvale. The spokeswoman was unsure if the relocation would include the employees in Israel.
Yahoo's comparative shopping engine conducts multiple, parallel searches of supplier and online agency Web sites for agents and consumers. FareChase has numerous clients, including Sabre, Worldspan, Orbitz and OutTask.
The Yahoo spokeswoman said her company was attracted to FareChase's technology because of its 'terrific depth and breadth' and because it would help make the travel shopping experience on Yahoo the most comprehensive on the Web"
By Dennis Schaal
SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Yahoo confirmed that it purchased travel search-engine vendor FareChase.
A spokeswoman said the acquisition -- the terms of which were not disclosed -- will not impact Travelocity's air, car and hotel sales through Yahoo Travel and that Yahoo will honor FareChase's contracts with its travel partners.
The spokeswoman would not detail how FareChase's shopping technology will be integrated with Yahoo. However, a travel application may blend with Yahoo's strategy to develop its shopping platform, which enables consumers to purchase everything from auto parts to video games.
FareChase's marketing headquarters is in New York and it has a research and development team in Israel. The Yahoo spokeswoman said FareChase's U.S. employees will relocate to Sunnyvale. The spokeswoman was unsure if the relocation would include the employees in Israel.
Yahoo's comparative shopping engine conducts multiple, parallel searches of supplier and online agency Web sites for agents and consumers. FareChase has numerous clients, including Sabre, Worldspan, Orbitz and OutTask.
The Yahoo spokeswoman said her company was attracted to FareChase's technology because of its 'terrific depth and breadth' and because it would help make the travel shopping experience on Yahoo the most comprehensive on the Web"
More re Yahoo buys travel company | CNET News.com
Yahoo buys travel company | CNET News.com: "Yahoo buys travel company
Published: August 6, 2004, 4:20 PM PDT
By Stefanie Olsen
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Yahoo has quietly purchased FareChase, a small online travel company, to help broaden its Web search capabilities.
Yahoo purchased New York-based FareChase on July 2 for an undisclosed sum, company spokeswoman Nicki Dugan said late Friday. FareChase, founded in 1999, has 25 employees, the majority of which will relocate to Yahoo's headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif.
The Internet giant has made it a priority to build the largest, most comprehensive Internet search service to compete with market leader Google. With FareChase, which provides tools for consumers and travel agents to find information on hotels, cars and flights, Yahoo will be able to build more robust consumer travel services without tapping third parties.
'We're attracted to their travel expertise, and we feel that they will further our goal to create the most comprehensive and relevant travel experience on the Web,' Dugan said.
She added that the acquisition will not imminently affect Yahoo Travel, Yahoo's consumer travel property. The Web portal is in an exclusive deal with Travelocity, which provides the underlying tools that let Yahoo visitors search for hotels, cars and flights. Yahoo has yet to disclose how it will incorporate FareChase into its Web site.
FareChase sells business-to-business software that lets travel agents and corporate booking offices search for flight times, car reservations and hotel vacancies in real time. It also lets consumers scout for the best travel deals from roughly 150 Web sites."
Published: August 6, 2004, 4:20 PM PDT
By Stefanie Olsen
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Yahoo has quietly purchased FareChase, a small online travel company, to help broaden its Web search capabilities.
Yahoo purchased New York-based FareChase on July 2 for an undisclosed sum, company spokeswoman Nicki Dugan said late Friday. FareChase, founded in 1999, has 25 employees, the majority of which will relocate to Yahoo's headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif.
The Internet giant has made it a priority to build the largest, most comprehensive Internet search service to compete with market leader Google. With FareChase, which provides tools for consumers and travel agents to find information on hotels, cars and flights, Yahoo will be able to build more robust consumer travel services without tapping third parties.
'We're attracted to their travel expertise, and we feel that they will further our goal to create the most comprehensive and relevant travel experience on the Web,' Dugan said.
She added that the acquisition will not imminently affect Yahoo Travel, Yahoo's consumer travel property. The Web portal is in an exclusive deal with Travelocity, which provides the underlying tools that let Yahoo visitors search for hotels, cars and flights. Yahoo has yet to disclose how it will incorporate FareChase into its Web site.
FareChase sells business-to-business software that lets travel agents and corporate booking offices search for flight times, car reservations and hotel vacancies in real time. It also lets consumers scout for the best travel deals from roughly 150 Web sites."
Saturday, August 07, 2004
Visit London Awards Attracts Key Sponsors
travmedia.com: "The new and improved Visit London awards, to be held at the Natural History Museum on October 18, has attracted several high profile sponsors. The sponsors will get the extra benefits of a higher-profile awards ceremony and, by getting in first, will be well placed to continue their relationship with the awards as they continue to increase in size and profile.
Visit London�s annual industry awards has been renamed, upsized, given a new look, and a bigger profile in 2004 following the restructure of Visit London last year. The evening is funded via a combination of ticket sales and sponsorship of the awards title plus individual categories.
David Hornby, Commercial Director for Visit London said: �we want an awards ceremony that reflects our world-class visitor product. The step-change for this important event means that we can go all out to provide a night to remember for the nominees and guests.�
Two new categories this year are Best Event, recognising London�s diverse events sector, and London Nightlife, eligible for entry by any entertainment providers from theatres to nightclubs.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available and tickets for the event will be available soon � keep checking at www.visitlondon.com/corporate for more information.
Ends
Further information from Zo� Shurgold, PR Manager Long Haul on +44 (0)20 7234 5844, or email zshurgold@visitlondon.com.
Notes to EditorsVisit London�s role is to promote London as the world�s most exciting city, targeting domestic and overseas leisure and business visitors as well as Londoners. The London Development Agency has been delegated responsibility for the promotion and development of tourism in London by the Mayor. Visit London has been appointed by them to deliver on mark"
Visit London�s annual industry awards has been renamed, upsized, given a new look, and a bigger profile in 2004 following the restructure of Visit London last year. The evening is funded via a combination of ticket sales and sponsorship of the awards title plus individual categories.
David Hornby, Commercial Director for Visit London said: �we want an awards ceremony that reflects our world-class visitor product. The step-change for this important event means that we can go all out to provide a night to remember for the nominees and guests.�
Two new categories this year are Best Event, recognising London�s diverse events sector, and London Nightlife, eligible for entry by any entertainment providers from theatres to nightclubs.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available and tickets for the event will be available soon � keep checking at www.visitlondon.com/corporate for more information.
Ends
Further information from Zo� Shurgold, PR Manager Long Haul on +44 (0)20 7234 5844, or email zshurgold@visitlondon.com.
Notes to EditorsVisit London�s role is to promote London as the world�s most exciting city, targeting domestic and overseas leisure and business visitors as well as Londoners. The London Development Agency has been delegated responsibility for the promotion and development of tourism in London by the Mayor. Visit London has been appointed by them to deliver on mark"
Yahoo buys farechase
John Battelle's SearchblogAugust 06, 2004
News: Yahoo Buys FareChase
Yahoo recently closed a deal to purchase a company in the Travel search space called FareChase. The acquisition was alluded to in a post on Yahoo Finance. I got the tip from competitor Sidestep. I have calls in to confirm (so far this has not been formally announced), but I think this is a done deal. I am told a news report has hit a registration only travel site called Travel Weekly, but I can't find it at the moment as I am not registered.
UPDATE: Update: Yahoo has confirmed they bought the company, more than a month ago. Why was this kept quiet? SEC rules did not require disclosure due to the small size of the deal...the statement they sent to me: "FareChase's travel expertise will help further Yahoo!'s goal to create the most comprehensive and relevant travel experience on the Web." Yahoo stressed this will not impact the Yahoo Travel! property in which Travelocity continues to be the exclusive partner. Well, maybe, but...I'm not sure about that long term!
News: Yahoo Buys FareChase
Yahoo recently closed a deal to purchase a company in the Travel search space called FareChase. The acquisition was alluded to in a post on Yahoo Finance. I got the tip from competitor Sidestep. I have calls in to confirm (so far this has not been formally announced), but I think this is a done deal. I am told a news report has hit a registration only travel site called Travel Weekly, but I can't find it at the moment as I am not registered.
UPDATE: Update: Yahoo has confirmed they bought the company, more than a month ago. Why was this kept quiet? SEC rules did not require disclosure due to the small size of the deal...the statement they sent to me: "FareChase's travel expertise will help further Yahoo!'s goal to create the most comprehensive and relevant travel experience on the Web." Yahoo stressed this will not impact the Yahoo Travel! property in which Travelocity continues to be the exclusive partner. Well, maybe, but...I'm not sure about that long term!
Profile and news Shares of ValueClick, InterActiveCorp plunge
Profile: "Iac InteractivecorpWebsite Annual Report
152 West 57th Street 42nd Floor Phone:+1 212 314-7300
New York NEW YORK 10019
Fax:+1 212 314-7309
IAC/InterActiveCorp Formerly known as InterActiveCorp. The Group's principal activities are carried out through two divisions: the Interactive group and the Entertainment group. The Interactive group consists of Home Shopping Network (including HSN International and HSN.com); Ticketmaster, which operates Ticketmaster; Hotel Reservations Network; Electronic Commerce Solutions; Precision Response Corp and Expedia Inc. The Entertainment group consists of USA Cable, including USA Network and Sci Fi Channel and Emerging Networks TRIO and Crime; Studios USA, which produces and distributes television programming and USA Films, which produces and distributes films. In 2003, it acquired Ticketmaster, Entertainment Publications, uDate.com, Inc and Hotwire.com. The Group in 2003 ceased operations of Electronic Commerce Solutions, Styleclick Inc and Avaltus Inc. On 27-Apr-2004, the Group acquired TripAdvisor, Inc. "
Shares of ValueClick, InterActiveCorp plunge: "InterActiveCorp posted a sequential decline in gross bookings. It marked the first time that 'our core business is starting to exhibit normal seasonality. We're seeing this with a number of businesses... taking on characteristics of underlying business as they mature,' said Dara Khosrowshahi, chief financial officer. "
InterActiveCorp also said it expects an operating profit before amortization of about $1 billion, at the low end of its original expectation between $1 billion and $1.2 billion.
152 West 57th Street 42nd Floor Phone:+1 212 314-7300
New York NEW YORK 10019
Fax:+1 212 314-7309
IAC/InterActiveCorp Formerly known as InterActiveCorp. The Group's principal activities are carried out through two divisions: the Interactive group and the Entertainment group. The Interactive group consists of Home Shopping Network (including HSN International and HSN.com); Ticketmaster, which operates Ticketmaster; Hotel Reservations Network; Electronic Commerce Solutions; Precision Response Corp and Expedia Inc. The Entertainment group consists of USA Cable, including USA Network and Sci Fi Channel and Emerging Networks TRIO and Crime; Studios USA, which produces and distributes television programming and USA Films, which produces and distributes films. In 2003, it acquired Ticketmaster, Entertainment Publications, uDate.com, Inc and Hotwire.com. The Group in 2003 ceased operations of Electronic Commerce Solutions, Styleclick Inc and Avaltus Inc. On 27-Apr-2004, the Group acquired TripAdvisor, Inc. "
Shares of ValueClick, InterActiveCorp plunge: "InterActiveCorp posted a sequential decline in gross bookings. It marked the first time that 'our core business is starting to exhibit normal seasonality. We're seeing this with a number of businesses... taking on characteristics of underlying business as they mature,' said Dara Khosrowshahi, chief financial officer. "
InterActiveCorp also said it expects an operating profit before amortization of about $1 billion, at the low end of its original expectation between $1 billion and $1.2 billion.
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Funding New search tool gets billionaire's backing | CNET News.com
New search tool gets billionaire's backing | CNET News.com: "Broadcast.com founder and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is backing a new Internet search start-up that aims to take over where Google leaves off.
Dallas-based upstart IceRocket is trying to throw a new twist on search results, along with some financial and advisory help from billionaire Cuban. The company is mixing its own Web search technology with 'metasearch' features that tap into rival engines."
The inner geek behind basketball's bad boy | Newsmakers | CNET News.com: "Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
Earlier this year, the National Basketball Association fined Cuban $500,000 because he just wouldn't shut up about the league's officiating. But if the league thought the penalty would convince Cuban to pipe down, they misjudged the intensity of this feisty dot-com billionaire-cum-basketball mogul.
Cuban, who sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in 1999, has been variously tagged as outrageous, egotistical, brilliant and relentless--sometimes all at the same time.
By any measure, however, he rates as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the history of the computer industry. Cuban's roots in the computer industry stretch back to 1983, when he started MicroSolutions, a computer retail store. At the time, the computer reselling universe was dominated by the likes of giants such as IBM Product Centers, Businessland, NYNEX, Entre and Computerland. Unlike many computer dealerships that went bankrupt, Cuban was quick to recognize the industry shift from home to business computing. MicroSolutions grew into a successful systems integrator, grossing $30 million a year before its sale to CompuServe in 1990."
Dallas-based upstart IceRocket is trying to throw a new twist on search results, along with some financial and advisory help from billionaire Cuban. The company is mixing its own Web search technology with 'metasearch' features that tap into rival engines."
The inner geek behind basketball's bad boy | Newsmakers | CNET News.com: "Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
Earlier this year, the National Basketball Association fined Cuban $500,000 because he just wouldn't shut up about the league's officiating. But if the league thought the penalty would convince Cuban to pipe down, they misjudged the intensity of this feisty dot-com billionaire-cum-basketball mogul.
Cuban, who sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in 1999, has been variously tagged as outrageous, egotistical, brilliant and relentless--sometimes all at the same time.
By any measure, however, he rates as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the history of the computer industry. Cuban's roots in the computer industry stretch back to 1983, when he started MicroSolutions, a computer retail store. At the time, the computer reselling universe was dominated by the likes of giants such as IBM Product Centers, Businessland, NYNEX, Entre and Computerland. Unlike many computer dealerships that went bankrupt, Cuban was quick to recognize the industry shift from home to business computing. MicroSolutions grew into a successful systems integrator, grossing $30 million a year before its sale to CompuServe in 1990."
Transport Direct live trial
Transport Direct: "Journey planner"
Article Online travel portal nears departure - ZDNet UK News: "After a series of delays to the project, IT supplier Atos Origin has now completed a series of upgrades to the site in order to improve the functionality of the service. Following the upgrades, the site has a postcode search facility, links to purchase coach tickets and a travel news section.
Under the second stage of the �19m project, the supplier has also added a journey planning system which includes timetable information for 330,000 bus stops and 2500 train stations across the UK.
Nick Illsley chief executive of Transport Direct said the project is 'very complex' and involves 'data from many sources'.
'Once we've finished trails later this year, the service will be available to help the travelling public plan their journeys, compare costs and keep up to date with real time travel conditions,' he said.
According to a DfT spokesperson, the site is being 'constantly updated' during the test stage, with new features such as air travel information to be added later this year. "
Article Online travel portal nears departure - ZDNet UK News: "After a series of delays to the project, IT supplier Atos Origin has now completed a series of upgrades to the site in order to improve the functionality of the service. Following the upgrades, the site has a postcode search facility, links to purchase coach tickets and a travel news section.
Under the second stage of the �19m project, the supplier has also added a journey planning system which includes timetable information for 330,000 bus stops and 2500 train stations across the UK.
Nick Illsley chief executive of Transport Direct said the project is 'very complex' and involves 'data from many sources'.
'Once we've finished trails later this year, the service will be available to help the travelling public plan their journeys, compare costs and keep up to date with real time travel conditions,' he said.
According to a DfT spokesperson, the site is being 'constantly updated' during the test stage, with new features such as air travel information to be added later this year. "
VisitBritain defends website - 05-Aug-04.
VisitBritain defends website - 05-Aug-04.: "VisitBritain has launched a series of marketing campaigns for the autumn to promote England, and says its website has now overcome its �teething problems�.
Comment by Ken Male, destination management consultant:
There have been a number of voices raised in concern regarding the current state of the visitengland.com website, which has had problems both of content and navigation.
When asked about the site, Michael Bedingfield, England marketing director, said: 'As you would expect with the development of any website, we did experience some teething problems. These are currently being resolved. And to coincide with the launch of our next enjoyEngland campaign in September, the visitengland.com site will not only be much richer in content but will also have a fresh look, reflecting the stunning imagery of our print campaigns.'"
Comment by Ken Male, destination management consultant:
There have been a number of voices raised in concern regarding the current state of the visitengland.com website, which has had problems both of content and navigation.
When asked about the site, Michael Bedingfield, England marketing director, said: 'As you would expect with the development of any website, we did experience some teething problems. These are currently being resolved. And to coincide with the launch of our next enjoyEngland campaign in September, the visitengland.com site will not only be much richer in content but will also have a fresh look, reflecting the stunning imagery of our print campaigns.'"
Shares in lastminute.com fall | Latest Financials
Reuters Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage: "LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in lastminute.com have fallen as much as 9 percent amid fears the online travel firm will have to spend more to attract late-booking holidaymakers and meet full-year targets in an increasingly competitive market.
Lastminute LMC.L , which sells flights to hotels and theatre tickets to restaurant bookings in 13 European countries, on Thursday posted a 5 percent rise in third-quarter core earnings but said the outlook for the rest of its financial year remained challenging.
Holidaymakers seeking cheap summer breaks were holding off for longer than usual to book, making it difficult to predict the full-year outcome, Chief Executive Brent Hoberman said...
The firm would cut around 350 jobs, or 15 percent of the workforce, to reduce costs by around 10 percent in the 2005 financial year, he said.
Lastminute's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and exceptional items rose to 4.3 million pounds in the three months to end-June from 4.1 million pounds the previous year.
The total value of transactions carried out on its websites rose 78.2 percent to 268.9 million pounds. It has forward orders of 77 million pounds compared to 61.1 million last year.
Hoberman said the trend towards later booking was benefiting lastminute.com, which allows busy people to book holidays and order gifts on the Internet at short notice.
He expected gross sales of around 400 million pounds in the fourth quarter, a 49 percent rise on the third, and gross margins of around 18 percent for the full-year.
He said the company would close 10 of its 25 offices -- six in the UK and four internationally -- as it integrates its latest acquisitions, including Med Hotels, First Option and its German namesake lastminute.de, into the business.
It will also increase its spending on marketing and advertising in the fourth quarter by 3.6 million pounds.
Hoberman co-founded lastminute.com with Martha Lane Fox at the height of the dot-com boom."
Lastminute LMC.L , which sells flights to hotels and theatre tickets to restaurant bookings in 13 European countries, on Thursday posted a 5 percent rise in third-quarter core earnings but said the outlook for the rest of its financial year remained challenging.
Holidaymakers seeking cheap summer breaks were holding off for longer than usual to book, making it difficult to predict the full-year outcome, Chief Executive Brent Hoberman said...
The firm would cut around 350 jobs, or 15 percent of the workforce, to reduce costs by around 10 percent in the 2005 financial year, he said.
Lastminute's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and exceptional items rose to 4.3 million pounds in the three months to end-June from 4.1 million pounds the previous year.
The total value of transactions carried out on its websites rose 78.2 percent to 268.9 million pounds. It has forward orders of 77 million pounds compared to 61.1 million last year.
Hoberman said the trend towards later booking was benefiting lastminute.com, which allows busy people to book holidays and order gifts on the Internet at short notice.
He expected gross sales of around 400 million pounds in the fourth quarter, a 49 percent rise on the third, and gross margins of around 18 percent for the full-year.
He said the company would close 10 of its 25 offices -- six in the UK and four internationally -- as it integrates its latest acquisitions, including Med Hotels, First Option and its German namesake lastminute.de, into the business.
It will also increase its spending on marketing and advertising in the fourth quarter by 3.6 million pounds.
Hoberman co-founded lastminute.com with Martha Lane Fox at the height of the dot-com boom."
Yahoo! Local - Welcome BETA
Yahoo! Local - Welcome: "Sign In
New User? Sign Up
Local Home - Yellow Pages - Help
Welcome
You're one of the first people to use the beta version of Yahoo! Local � our newest offering that combines the best of Yahoo! Yellow Pages, Yahoo! Maps and Yahoo! Search to help you find what you are looking for.
With Yahoo! Local you can find everything from Sunday brunches to ATMs, dry cleaners to daycare. It also helps you narrow down what you want and find things related to what you want to do. So, if you're planning a date, Yahoo! Local finds the romantic restaurant you're looking for, the nearest parking garage, and the ATM around the corner � plus it'll plot it all on a Yahoo! Local map.
We're working hard on Yahoo! Local but it's still a work in progress and we need your input. What do you think of the new drycleaners down the street? Which local pizza place has the best deal in town? Is the local mechanic a rip-off or a gem? You're the real local � you tell us.
So, try it and tell us what you think. To start searching, just type in your address below, include a business or service (like restaurants, ATMs, or grocery stores) and see what you find."
New User? Sign Up
Local Home - Yellow Pages - Help
Welcome
You're one of the first people to use the beta version of Yahoo! Local � our newest offering that combines the best of Yahoo! Yellow Pages, Yahoo! Maps and Yahoo! Search to help you find what you are looking for.
With Yahoo! Local you can find everything from Sunday brunches to ATMs, dry cleaners to daycare. It also helps you narrow down what you want and find things related to what you want to do. So, if you're planning a date, Yahoo! Local finds the romantic restaurant you're looking for, the nearest parking garage, and the ATM around the corner � plus it'll plot it all on a Yahoo! Local map.
We're working hard on Yahoo! Local but it's still a work in progress and we need your input. What do you think of the new drycleaners down the street? Which local pizza place has the best deal in town? Is the local mechanic a rip-off or a gem? You're the real local � you tell us.
So, try it and tell us what you think. To start searching, just type in your address below, include a business or service (like restaurants, ATMs, or grocery stores) and see what you find."
Ask Jeeves Expands Local Search via Citysearch yahoo google
Ask Jeeves Expands Local Search via Citysearch: "To expand its local search options, Ask Jeeves Inc. on Tuesday partnered with Citysearch for access to its local business listings.
Ask Jeeves over the course of the next month plans to add Citysearch information to its search results, said Jim Lanzone, the company's senior vice president of search properties at Ask Jeeves. Along with listings, Ask Jeeves also will incorporate editorial and user reviews, ratings, and other information on businesses such as hours.
Along with its local-content partnership, Ask Jeeves on Monday expanded its Smart Search features to provide maps and driving directions as well as city guides to about 4,000 cities, Lanzone said.
Yahoo Inc. this week opened a beta of a new Yahoo Local search engine, though company officials were not available to discuss details of it. Google Inc. in March launched a beta site called Google Local, for geographic-specific results.
'What we found was that people really needed more context in the results to their local queries for a business or service,' Lanzone said"
Ask Jeeves over the course of the next month plans to add Citysearch information to its search results, said Jim Lanzone, the company's senior vice president of search properties at Ask Jeeves. Along with listings, Ask Jeeves also will incorporate editorial and user reviews, ratings, and other information on businesses such as hours.
Along with its local-content partnership, Ask Jeeves on Monday expanded its Smart Search features to provide maps and driving directions as well as city guides to about 4,000 cities, Lanzone said.
Yahoo Inc. this week opened a beta of a new Yahoo Local search engine, though company officials were not available to discuss details of it. Google Inc. in March launched a beta site called Google Local, for geographic-specific results.
'What we found was that people really needed more context in the results to their local queries for a business or service,' Lanzone said"
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
British Incoming Tour Operators Association 04 stats
British Incoming Tour Operators AssociationTravel to Europe is back and bigger than ever, according to the European Travel Commission in New York. The 33-nation marketing group said that U.S. visits to Europe were up through June, indicating possible growth of between 10% to 13% for this year's peak season. As proof, the ETC cited Dept. of Commerce figures showing 929,359 U.S. arrivals in April, up nearly 37% from the same month last year, and preliminary figures showing a rise in eastbound transatlantic traffic of 25% in May and 16% in June. For more on the ETC's member countries, go to www.visiteurope.com .
Welcome to VisitEurope.com - Your resource for Europe travel information
Welcome to VisitEurope.com - Your resource for Europe travel informationTravel to Europe is back and bigger than ever, according to the European Travel Commission in New York. The 33-nation marketing group said that U.S. visits to Europe were up through June, indicating possible growth of between 10% to 13% for this year's peak season. As proof, the ETC cited Dept. of Commerce figures showing 929,359 U.S. arrivals in April, up nearly 37% from the same month last year, and preliminary figures showing a rise in eastbound transatlantic traffic of 25% in May and 16% in June. For more on the ETC's member countries, go to www.visiteurope.com .
God on our side travmedia.com
travmedia.com: "Pope John Paul II Stresses The Role Of Sport And Tourism For Peace And Harmonious Co-Existence"
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
ebookers plc at a glance ebookers announces `Click to talk` technology and interactive destination content for its customers TravelDailyNews
TravelDailyNews ebookers announces `Click to talk` technology and interactive destination content for its customers: "ebookers announces `Click to talk` technology and interactive destination content for its customers Monday, July 26, 2004 "
Click to talk ebookers has launched a toll-free click-to-talk facility on its UK website to give added customer support to its high value customers. ebookers` average UK transaction value is over GBP500 ($900).Yashish Dahiya, head of UK business ebookers plc commented: "With our customers spending such large sums of money on our long and mid haul products, this innovative free service is designed to maximise bookings by giving an extra layer of customer service and reassurance."
Interactive destination content In another technology development to increase online bookings ebookers has signed a contract with VRX Studios inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of VRX Worldwide Inc. to supply interactive destination content.
As part of the agreement, ebookers gains access to interactive destination content for key worldwide locations including industry-leading 360-degree virtual tours and interactive maps, enabling users to visually experience their proposed destination.
The new technology is currently being rolled out on ebooker`s UK website.
1. ebookers plc at a glance
Leading pan-European online travel company.
Specialising in high margin, high value, long and mid haul travel.
Umbrella brand ebookers.com, www.ebookers.com.
Other websites include www.travelbag.co.uk, www.bridgetheworld.com and www.mrjet.com
Full service including hotels, cars, flights, hotels, cruise, holidays, travel insurance.
Websites in 13 countries and 9 languages: France, UK, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Switzerland.
900 European staff.
Head office in UK, offices in 9 other European countries
700 seat low cost India Business Process Outsourcing facility, New Delhi
High growth - 5 year CAGR of 147%
Total transaction value of goods sold:
2003-GBP521m; 2002-GBP274m; 2001-GBP180m; 2000-GBP102m; 1999-GBP15m.
Moved into profitability in 2003*
2003 annual adjusted profit* of GBP1.3m (vs 2002 - loss of GBP5.2m)
London Stock Exchange, UK (EBR) and Nasdaq, USA (EBKR).
Adjusted pre-tax profit is defined as profit on ordinary activities before taxation after adding back exceptional items, amortisation of goodwill, stock compensation expenses/ credits and National Insurance relating to share options payable if employees exercise their share options
2. Forward Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, increased competition from airlines, our ability to identify, acquire and integrate companies across Europe, our ability to significantly increase our online revenues and sales volumes, including those of acquired non-internet companies including Travelbag Holdings Limited, to maintain and develop relationships with travel suppliers and strategic partners and to attract and retain customers, potential adverse changes in our gross mark up or in commission rates, unforeseen events affecting the travel industry such as international conflicts, terrorist activity or public health crises, a failure of our computer and communications systems, significant risks associated with transferring European business functions to our Indian Business Process Outsourcing facility and with servicing third party clients there, a decline in the supply of merchant airfares available to us, and adverse developments in U.K. or other European governmental regulation or electronic commerce. The foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. When relying on forward-looking statements, readers should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and events, as well as factors described in documents we file from time to time with regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom and the United States, including annual reports on Form 20-F filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and except as required by the rules of the UK Listing Authority, the London Stock Exchange and applicable law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Click to talk ebookers has launched a toll-free click-to-talk facility on its UK website to give added customer support to its high value customers. ebookers` average UK transaction value is over GBP500 ($900).Yashish Dahiya, head of UK business ebookers plc commented: "With our customers spending such large sums of money on our long and mid haul products, this innovative free service is designed to maximise bookings by giving an extra layer of customer service and reassurance."
Interactive destination content In another technology development to increase online bookings ebookers has signed a contract with VRX Studios inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of VRX Worldwide Inc. to supply interactive destination content.
As part of the agreement, ebookers gains access to interactive destination content for key worldwide locations including industry-leading 360-degree virtual tours and interactive maps, enabling users to visually experience their proposed destination.
The new technology is currently being rolled out on ebooker`s UK website.
1. ebookers plc at a glance
Leading pan-European online travel company.
Specialising in high margin, high value, long and mid haul travel.
Umbrella brand ebookers.com, www.ebookers.com.
Other websites include www.travelbag.co.uk, www.bridgetheworld.com and www.mrjet.com
Full service including hotels, cars, flights, hotels, cruise, holidays, travel insurance.
Websites in 13 countries and 9 languages: France, UK, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Switzerland.
900 European staff.
Head office in UK, offices in 9 other European countries
700 seat low cost India Business Process Outsourcing facility, New Delhi
High growth - 5 year CAGR of 147%
Total transaction value of goods sold:
2003-GBP521m; 2002-GBP274m; 2001-GBP180m; 2000-GBP102m; 1999-GBP15m.
Moved into profitability in 2003*
2003 annual adjusted profit* of GBP1.3m (vs 2002 - loss of GBP5.2m)
London Stock Exchange, UK (EBR) and Nasdaq, USA (EBKR).
Adjusted pre-tax profit is defined as profit on ordinary activities before taxation after adding back exceptional items, amortisation of goodwill, stock compensation expenses/ credits and National Insurance relating to share options payable if employees exercise their share options
2. Forward Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, increased competition from airlines, our ability to identify, acquire and integrate companies across Europe, our ability to significantly increase our online revenues and sales volumes, including those of acquired non-internet companies including Travelbag Holdings Limited, to maintain and develop relationships with travel suppliers and strategic partners and to attract and retain customers, potential adverse changes in our gross mark up or in commission rates, unforeseen events affecting the travel industry such as international conflicts, terrorist activity or public health crises, a failure of our computer and communications systems, significant risks associated with transferring European business functions to our Indian Business Process Outsourcing facility and with servicing third party clients there, a decline in the supply of merchant airfares available to us, and adverse developments in U.K. or other European governmental regulation or electronic commerce. The foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. When relying on forward-looking statements, readers should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and events, as well as factors described in documents we file from time to time with regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom and the United States, including annual reports on Form 20-F filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and except as required by the rules of the UK Listing Authority, the London Stock Exchange and applicable law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Expedia Corporate Travel,
Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage: "'The corporate travel space is just now waking up to technology. What we view as our competition are the big corporate travel folks,' said Matt Hulett, president of Expedia Corporate Travel, a sister unit of popular Web site Expedia.com (http://www.expedia.com), which works solely with corporations.
Orbitz and Sabre Holdings Travelocity have similar corporate programs. Expedia, a unit of InterActive, is the biggest of the three with more than 1,500 customers. Traditional companies like American Express also offer online booking...
Expedia plans to offer hotel rooms at discounts almost as deep as available on Expedia.com. But the new program, Expedia Corporate Rates, will not carry big cancellation fees, will offer loyalty points that hotels have virtually quit giving to customers who book on consumer sites like Expedia.com, and will include extras, potentially including free local phone calls.
The system is designed to work like the consumer program, which lets Expedia mark up prices from hotels and pocket the difference. Web sites can also negotiate a percentage discount for customers and then take a commission off the hotel price, which is usually less lucrative.
The Web companies also are hoping they will be able to find a new market in small companies that cannot afford to hire a travel manager or spend time negotiating special rates with hotels and other suppliers.
Suh said that he was paying Expedia more than traditional commission rates of 10 percent, but giving Expedia less room to profit than in the consumer model, which across the industry has profit margins of around 18 percent for Web sites"
Orbitz and Sabre Holdings Travelocity have similar corporate programs. Expedia, a unit of InterActive, is the biggest of the three with more than 1,500 customers. Traditional companies like American Express also offer online booking...
Expedia plans to offer hotel rooms at discounts almost as deep as available on Expedia.com. But the new program, Expedia Corporate Rates, will not carry big cancellation fees, will offer loyalty points that hotels have virtually quit giving to customers who book on consumer sites like Expedia.com, and will include extras, potentially including free local phone calls.
The system is designed to work like the consumer program, which lets Expedia mark up prices from hotels and pocket the difference. Web sites can also negotiate a percentage discount for customers and then take a commission off the hotel price, which is usually less lucrative.
The Web companies also are hoping they will be able to find a new market in small companies that cannot afford to hire a travel manager or spend time negotiating special rates with hotels and other suppliers.
Suh said that he was paying Expedia more than traditional commission rates of 10 percent, but giving Expedia less room to profit than in the consumer model, which across the industry has profit margins of around 18 percent for Web sites"
Monday, August 02, 2004
How to get "un-penalized" Yahoo
How to get "un-penalized": "5:46 pm on June 16, 2004 (utc 0)
I don't know if I am allowed to post email from Yahoo - but nothing in the message says I can't. If Webmasterworld moderators want to remove this, feel free, as I definitely don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
I've only included their reply as I really don't want to give too much identifying information about my own site:
Mod's note: Paraphrased email.
Amazon FEEDs are a 'red flag' to Yahoo. Yahoo discourages them because such pages are duplicates of already indexed pages."
reportsearchspam@yahoo-inc.com
I don't know if I am allowed to post email from Yahoo - but nothing in the message says I can't. If Webmasterworld moderators want to remove this, feel free, as I definitely don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
I've only included their reply as I really don't want to give too much identifying information about my own site:
Mod's note: Paraphrased email.
Amazon FEEDs are a 'red flag' to Yahoo. Yahoo discourages them because such pages are duplicates of already indexed pages."
reportsearchspam@yahoo-inc.com
Online security fears boost high street sales - 02-Aug-04.
Online security fears boost high street sales - 02-Aug-04.As many as one in seven people would rather put their trust in high street travel agents than book a holiday online, the poll by IT services company LogicaCMG shows.
Almost one in five claim the reason they don’t book online is because they are not convinced that travel companies keep their financial and personal details secure.
But more than half (51%) would be persuaded to book online if there were larger discounts offered. One in 10 would be further encouraged to book online if there was a simpler transaction process.
The poll of 1,700 online users revealed that one in six consumers said hearing word of mouth through a friend or family member who had bought online successfully would further encourage them to buy from that brand. The findings outline the importance for companies to protect their brand from security failures, LogicaCMG claims.
The company’s principal security consultant Dave Martin said: “Over a million UK consumers have already been victims of security breaches whilst carrying out online transactions. Because of fears about internet security, more consumers are using the internet for researching than actually booking their travel online.
“This is having a major impact on travel industry profits –every phone booking can cost a company around £30 whereas an online booking can cost a company less than 75p. This is the reason why many travel companies now impose surcharges for non-internet bookings.”
The online travel market is expected to reach 17% of the total £28 billion UK travel sector by 2007, according to ABTA. Online travel is estimated to be worth £4.8 billion by 2007.
Almost one in five claim the reason they don’t book online is because they are not convinced that travel companies keep their financial and personal details secure.
But more than half (51%) would be persuaded to book online if there were larger discounts offered. One in 10 would be further encouraged to book online if there was a simpler transaction process.
The poll of 1,700 online users revealed that one in six consumers said hearing word of mouth through a friend or family member who had bought online successfully would further encourage them to buy from that brand. The findings outline the importance for companies to protect their brand from security failures, LogicaCMG claims.
The company’s principal security consultant Dave Martin said: “Over a million UK consumers have already been victims of security breaches whilst carrying out online transactions. Because of fears about internet security, more consumers are using the internet for researching than actually booking their travel online.
“This is having a major impact on travel industry profits –every phone booking can cost a company around £30 whereas an online booking can cost a company less than 75p. This is the reason why many travel companies now impose surcharges for non-internet bookings.”
The online travel market is expected to reach 17% of the total £28 billion UK travel sector by 2007, according to ABTA. Online travel is estimated to be worth £4.8 billion by 2007.
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Ebookers shares slump on profit warning - 29-Jul-04.
Ebookers shares slump on profit warning - 29-Jul-04.the company revealing that total online sales for the second quarter of the year had risen by 62%, with “web-enabled “ sales up 16% and offline sales down by 14% in the quarter. Total gross sales are expected to hit £135 million against £118 million despite this being the company’s weakest quarter
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Google, other engines hit by worm variant | CNET News.com
Google, other engines hit by worm variant | CNET News.com: "Major Internet search engines were crippled Monday morning by a variant of the MyDoom worm, rendering Google inaccessible to many users and slowing results from Yahoo. "
Sabre to ask hotels to pay for preferential positions in the GDS' hotel availability displays TW Crossroads
TW Crossroads: "Sabre is changing the unwritten rules of hotel distribution, asking hotels to pay for preferential positions -- often the first or second spots -- in the GDS' hotel availability displays for agents.
In the still-unannounced Sabre Hotel Spotlight program, which is slated to be implemented by mid-August, Sabre will not indicate that properties purchased the priority display positions, TravelWeekly.com has learned.
As one condition of participating in Spotlight, individual properties must provide Sabre with their Web-only rates. Sabre also seeks rate, rules and availability parity relative to direct channels and intermediaries.
The Sabre initiative comes as all four GDSs evaluate market dynamics in light of GDS deregulation, which goes into effect July 31. "
In the still-unannounced Sabre Hotel Spotlight program, which is slated to be implemented by mid-August, Sabre will not indicate that properties purchased the priority display positions, TravelWeekly.com has learned.
As one condition of participating in Spotlight, individual properties must provide Sabre with their Web-only rates. Sabre also seeks rate, rules and availability parity relative to direct channels and intermediaries.
The Sabre initiative comes as all four GDSs evaluate market dynamics in light of GDS deregulation, which goes into effect July 31. "
Monday, July 26, 2004
More Wales...fishing
travmedia.com: "Visitors to the Country Landowners� Association Game Fair at Blenheim Palace on Saturday will be among the first to see the complete package of brochures - Fly Fishing Wales, Sea Fishing Wales and Fishing Wales - produced by the Wales Tourist Board and Environment Agency Wales.
The brochures, which are key elements in the Fishing Wales project supported by EU and Welsh Assembly funding, underpin promotional work to increase angling tourism which already contributes about �75m a year to the Welsh economy and could bring in some �98m by 2007.
The brochures also complement �A guide to Fresh Water Angling in Wales� which lists a selection of more than 500 Welsh fisheries and the facilities that they offer to anglers. The WTB has also set up a website for anglers at www.fishing.visitwales.com and a dedicated information line on 08701 211250, which have already proved to be a huge success with anglers"
The brochures, which are key elements in the Fishing Wales project supported by EU and Welsh Assembly funding, underpin promotional work to increase angling tourism which already contributes about �75m a year to the Welsh economy and could bring in some �98m by 2007.
The brochures also complement �A guide to Fresh Water Angling in Wales� which lists a selection of more than 500 Welsh fisheries and the facilities that they offer to anglers. The WTB has also set up a website for anglers at www.fishing.visitwales.com and a dedicated information line on 08701 211250, which have already proved to be a huge success with anglers"
flexible charter winter flights
travmedia.com: "The First Choice flexible charter winter flights programme is now on sale with two new routes having been added to the flying programme along with eight new UK departure airports.
In addition to flights already available from London Gatwick and Manchester, flexible charter flights are now available from;
Stansted
Bristol
Luton
Cardiff
Exeter
Birmingham
East Midlands
Glasgow
Larnaca and Paphos in Cyprus have been introduced to the destination portfolio currently available, always a popular choice with the UK holidaymaker.
Adrian Woodcraft, First Choice Yield & Planning Director said: �I am sure that Cyprus will be a popular addition to our growing portfolio of destinations. Customers booking our flexible charter seats have the flexibility that they want combined with the knowledge that they are fully protected and we welcome the advice from the CAA calling for the Government to protect all airline passengers in the event of the financial failure of their airline.�
Flexible charter seats can be booked via firstchioce.co.uk/flights or by calling reservations on 08707 500 500.
Ends
For further information please contact Sandra Pitcher, Press Office: 01223 588101"
In addition to flights already available from London Gatwick and Manchester, flexible charter flights are now available from;
Stansted
Bristol
Luton
Cardiff
Exeter
Birmingham
East Midlands
Glasgow
Larnaca and Paphos in Cyprus have been introduced to the destination portfolio currently available, always a popular choice with the UK holidaymaker.
Adrian Woodcraft, First Choice Yield & Planning Director said: �I am sure that Cyprus will be a popular addition to our growing portfolio of destinations. Customers booking our flexible charter seats have the flexibility that they want combined with the knowledge that they are fully protected and we welcome the advice from the CAA calling for the Government to protect all airline passengers in the event of the financial failure of their airline.�
Flexible charter seats can be booked via firstchioce.co.uk/flights or by calling reservations on 08707 500 500.
Ends
For further information please contact Sandra Pitcher, Press Office: 01223 588101"
Action Plan for the Countryside Experience Wales travmedia.com
travmedia.com: "Thursday 22 July 2004, Minister for Economic Development and Transport Andrew Davies AM launches the Action Plan for the Countryside Experience at the Wales Tourist Pavilion in the Royal Welsh Show...
five action points are; to improve access to the countryside through rights of way, circular walks, trails etc. and through capitalising on the CROW Act provisions in 2005; develop and market the different parts of the countryside experience in Wales for a variety of types of visitor; develop quality eating out in Wales; integrate regeneration of rural Wales; and provide local information in a manner to suit the needs of visitors and residents."
five action points are; to improve access to the countryside through rights of way, circular walks, trails etc. and through capitalising on the CROW Act provisions in 2005; develop and market the different parts of the countryside experience in Wales for a variety of types of visitor; develop quality eating out in Wales; integrate regeneration of rural Wales; and provide local information in a manner to suit the needs of visitors and residents."
19,300 Google Search: allinurl:totaltravel.co.uk
Google Search: allinurl:totaltravel.co.uk: "19,300 for allinurl:totaltravel.co.uk"
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Tourism Included in Draft to EU
eyefortravel.com - Travel Distribution News, Events and Analysis: "A clause on tourism has emerged in the latest draft of the Constitution for discussion among ministers and stakeholders in the member states of the European Union. (7/21/2004)
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The new article of the EU Constitution says that the EU aims to encourage the creation of a favourable environment for the development of tourism businesses, and promote cooperation among member states � particularly by the exchange of good practice.
EU regulations have a powerful effect on tourism policy in the areas of transport, trade, competition, consumer rights and international law.
www.eurunion.org "
� Print Version
� Send to a Friend
The new article of the EU Constitution says that the EU aims to encourage the creation of a favourable environment for the development of tourism businesses, and promote cooperation among member states � particularly by the exchange of good practice.
EU regulations have a powerful effect on tourism policy in the areas of transport, trade, competition, consumer rights and international law.
www.eurunion.org "
Govt paper 'Tomorrows Tourism Today' & internet to drive UK tourism growth
eyefortravel.com - Travel Distribution News, Events and Analysis: "Government expects internet to drive UK tourism growth - by Robin Langford
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has outlined plans to attract more tourists to the UK, highlighting the online travel sector as a key driver for growth. (7/21/2004)
� Print Version
� Send to a Friend
In a new report entitled 'Tomorrows Tourism Today', the government said it aims to grow the UK tourism industry by nearly 25% by 2010, from the current �76bn a year to �100bn a year. The new initiative aims to redress the UK's current 'balance of payments deficit' (UK holidaymakers spending more abroad than foreign counterparts spend here) of �15bn.
The report, published as the joint tourism prospectus of DCMS and the UK tourism industry, outlines key drivers for growth in the UK. It identifies e-Tourism as one of the only pieces of e-Government that generates net income for the UK from abroad, and is able to produce a significant return on investment. "
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has outlined plans to attract more tourists to the UK, highlighting the online travel sector as a key driver for growth. (7/21/2004)
� Print Version
� Send to a Friend
In a new report entitled 'Tomorrows Tourism Today', the government said it aims to grow the UK tourism industry by nearly 25% by 2010, from the current �76bn a year to �100bn a year. The new initiative aims to redress the UK's current 'balance of payments deficit' (UK holidaymakers spending more abroad than foreign counterparts spend here) of �15bn.
The report, published as the joint tourism prospectus of DCMS and the UK tourism industry, outlines key drivers for growth in the UK. It identifies e-Tourism as one of the only pieces of e-Government that generates net income for the UK from abroad, and is able to produce a significant return on investment. "
Travel - The Most successful Online Industry (2 useful docs at Doubleclick
eyefortravel.com - Travel Distribution News, Events and Analysis: "The travel industry is considered to have the most successful performance online over any other industry. 91% of people recently surveyed by DoubleClick said that Internet has changed the way they purchase travel. (7/21/2004)
The majority of travel research and booking has shifted from traditional channels to the Internet. The convenience, speed and access to comparison pricing that the Internet affords them has won over business and leisure travellers, forcing travel-related businesses to serve their customers online or die. The Internet might be called a source of much of the travel industry�s despair, but, curiously, it also offers a possible means of managing the very crisis it has helped create.
TO READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE "
The majority of travel research and booking has shifted from traditional channels to the Internet. The convenience, speed and access to comparison pricing that the Internet affords them has won over business and leisure travellers, forcing travel-related businesses to serve their customers online or die. The Internet might be called a source of much of the travel industry�s despair, but, curiously, it also offers a possible means of managing the very crisis it has helped create.
TO READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE "
Ticketing, Check-in and Security Trends & Solutions (for future...)
eyefortravel.com - Travel Distribution News, Events and Analysis: "Electronic ticketing (e-ticketing) and check-in solutions are becoming more sophisticated and more widely adopted by airlines and other travel providers as they strive to reduce costs while streamlining the travel process. In conjunction, security measures remain a high priority with the launch of a number of new programmes and systems, for air travel as well as the rail sector. For full report go to (7/21/2004)"
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Contact ? Government must spend more on tourism� - 20-Jul-04.
'Government must spend more on tourism� - 20-Jul-04.: "The Government has been urged to invest more in supporting the UK�s multi-billion pound tourism industry.
The call came the Tourism Alliance, a group of 60 bodies which promote Britain�s tourism, as it published its 2004 annual report.
Tourism Alliance director general Richard Tobias said efforts to drive Britain�s tourism trade up from �76 billion a year up to a value of �100 billion by 2010 �can only be achieved if government investment in marketing England and Britain increases to keep pace with competition from other destinations�."
The call came the Tourism Alliance, a group of 60 bodies which promote Britain�s tourism, as it published its 2004 annual report.
Tourism Alliance director general Richard Tobias said efforts to drive Britain�s tourism trade up from �76 billion a year up to a value of �100 billion by 2010 �can only be achieved if government investment in marketing England and Britain increases to keep pace with competition from other destinations�."
Choice relaunches online booking service - 20-Jul-04.
Choice relaunches online booking service - 20-Jul-04.: "Choice Hotels has relaunched its one-stop online bookings service for travel agents and tour operators.
The secure site, named Travel Professionals, is now available at www.choicehotels.com and replaces the former travelagentcity.com booking facility...
Choice Hotels represents more than 5,000 hotels open or under development in 42 countries."
The secure site, named Travel Professionals, is now available at www.choicehotels.com and replaces the former travelagentcity.com booking facility...
Choice Hotels represents more than 5,000 hotels open or under development in 42 countries."
BBC NEWS | UK | Flight protection levy suggested (amongst other reports & attempts to cover all contingencies)
BBC NEWS UK Flight protection levy suggested: "Flight protection levy suggested
MPs say a new scheme could cost up to two pounds per ticket
Air travellers could pay up to �2 extra per ticket under proposals for a new scheme to prevent them being stranded if an airline collapses."
CAA'>http://www.travelmole.com/news_detail.php?news_id=101056">CAA urges Government to close protection loophole - 20-Jul-04.: "Any change in the law could take years to be passed, so the CAA is asking the Government to consider interim measures that could be implemented by airlines on a voluntary basis.
These include carriers arranging for packages to be sold through an ATOL holder and selling improved insurance which covers airline failure. Both ABTA and the Federation of Tour Operators welcomed the CAA move.
MPs say a new scheme could cost up to two pounds per ticket
Air travellers could pay up to �2 extra per ticket under proposals for a new scheme to prevent them being stranded if an airline collapses."
CAA'>http://www.travelmole.com/news_detail.php?news_id=101056">CAA urges Government to close protection loophole - 20-Jul-04.: "Any change in the law could take years to be passed, so the CAA is asking the Government to consider interim measures that could be implemented by airlines on a voluntary basis.
These include carriers arranging for packages to be sold through an ATOL holder and selling improved insurance which covers airline failure. Both ABTA and the Federation of Tour Operators welcomed the CAA move.
Demand Outstrips Supply For Paid Search,..Being reported everywhere
MediaDailyNews 07-20-04: "Demand Outstrips Supply For Paid Search, Market Expansion Could Stall"
Top 10 Global "Travel - Destinations and Accommodation Active in at 3
eyefortravel.com - Travel Distribution News, Events and AnalysisTop 10 Global "Travel - Destinations and Accommodation" sites for the week ending 17 July, 2004 based on VISITS
1. (8.23 %) lastminute.com http://www.lastminute.com
2. (2.51 %) Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.com
3. (2.22 %) Active Hotels http://www.activehotels.com
4. (1.77 %) SuperBreak http://www.superbreak.com
5. (1.69 %) Holidays Uncovered http://www.holidaysuncovered.co.uk
6. (1.30 %) InterContinental Hotels Group http://www.ichotelsgroup.com
7. (1.30 %) Travelodge UK http://www.travelodge.co.uk
8. (1.09 %) Hotels.com - UK http://www.hotels.co.uk
9. (1.01 %) Travel Inn http://www.travelinn.co.uk
10. (0.99 %) Haven Holiday Parks http://www.havenholidays.co.uk
1. (8.23 %) lastminute.com http://www.lastminute.com
2. (2.51 %) Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.com
3. (2.22 %) Active Hotels http://www.activehotels.com
4. (1.77 %) SuperBreak http://www.superbreak.com
5. (1.69 %) Holidays Uncovered http://www.holidaysuncovered.co.uk
6. (1.30 %) InterContinental Hotels Group http://www.ichotelsgroup.com
7. (1.30 %) Travelodge UK http://www.travelodge.co.uk
8. (1.09 %) Hotels.com - UK http://www.hotels.co.uk
9. (1.01 %) Travel Inn http://www.travelinn.co.uk
10. (0.99 %) Haven Holiday Parks http://www.havenholidays.co.uk
BritRail pays 8% on the passes
TW Crossroads: "Commission on BritRail Passes from Rail Europe Group firms is 5%, whether booked online or by phone. Contact Rail Europe at http://agent.raileurope.com or (888) 382-7245, or DER at www.der.com or (800) 782-2424. BritRail pays 8% on the passes when booked at (866) BRITRAIL. "
Eurostar pays 7% commission on such bookings.
TW Crossroads: "The high-speed Eurostar railway system linking Britain, France and Belgium is expanding its U.S. distribution network.
Once available in the U.S. primarily via rail pass distributors such as Rail Europe and Destination Europe Resources (DER), Eurostar tickets now can be booked through alternative channels such as a proprietary call center at (800) EUROSTAR, major GDSs and at online storefronts, including the firm's own www.eurostar.com site and Internet agency Travelocity....
"From a convenience standpoint, we're already winning people over, and where we fell short before was in distribution," he said. "That's why we've now gone out and tried to make it as easy as possible for agencies to book us on behalf of the consumers who already want to travel with us."
Eurostar carried some 200,000 Americans on its trains in 2003.
Distribution diversification first began in July 2003, when Eurostar announced GDS bookability through interline agreements with nine international airlines, including US Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Under the plan, agents could book Eurostar tickets as part of transatlantic airline itineraries.
Earlier this year, Eurostar entered phase two when it joined ARC as a participating carrier
Once it joined ARC, Eurostar became bookable on the GDSs, including Amadeus, Sabre and Worldspan; Eurostar pays 7% commission on such bookings.
What's more, Eurostar terminals at London's Waterloo station, the Gare du Nord in Paris and Brussels South in Belgium are identified on GDSs by airport-style codes -- QQW, XPG and ZYR, respectively -- that pop up when agents do destination searches, said van West.
'It's another thing we did to make it as easy as possible for agents to book us via the GDS.'
Eurostar also is bookable online at Travelocity, via Rail Europe Group; availability at competing consumer travel sites such as Orbitz and Expedia is also possible in the near future. "
TW Crossroads: "Eurostar, which links Britain, France and Belgium, repeated the record 19% growth it achieved in the first quarter of 2004 during the entire first half of the year, carrying more than 3.4 million passengers through the Channel Tunnel, up from 2.85 million in the first six months of 2003.
Eurostar also reported capturing significantly more London-Brussels traffic compared to air traffic, with its passenger numbers growing by 41% between May 2003 and May 2004.
The high-speed railway now accounts for 57% of traffic between the capitals, compared to 43% at the same time last year. "
Once available in the U.S. primarily via rail pass distributors such as Rail Europe and Destination Europe Resources (DER), Eurostar tickets now can be booked through alternative channels such as a proprietary call center at (800) EUROSTAR, major GDSs and at online storefronts, including the firm's own www.eurostar.com site and Internet agency Travelocity....
"From a convenience standpoint, we're already winning people over, and where we fell short before was in distribution," he said. "That's why we've now gone out and tried to make it as easy as possible for agencies to book us on behalf of the consumers who already want to travel with us."
Eurostar carried some 200,000 Americans on its trains in 2003.
Distribution diversification first began in July 2003, when Eurostar announced GDS bookability through interline agreements with nine international airlines, including US Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Under the plan, agents could book Eurostar tickets as part of transatlantic airline itineraries.
Earlier this year, Eurostar entered phase two when it joined ARC as a participating carrier
Once it joined ARC, Eurostar became bookable on the GDSs, including Amadeus, Sabre and Worldspan; Eurostar pays 7% commission on such bookings.
What's more, Eurostar terminals at London's Waterloo station, the Gare du Nord in Paris and Brussels South in Belgium are identified on GDSs by airport-style codes -- QQW, XPG and ZYR, respectively -- that pop up when agents do destination searches, said van West.
'It's another thing we did to make it as easy as possible for agents to book us via the GDS.'
Eurostar also is bookable online at Travelocity, via Rail Europe Group; availability at competing consumer travel sites such as Orbitz and Expedia is also possible in the near future. "
TW Crossroads: "Eurostar, which links Britain, France and Belgium, repeated the record 19% growth it achieved in the first quarter of 2004 during the entire first half of the year, carrying more than 3.4 million passengers through the Channel Tunnel, up from 2.85 million in the first six months of 2003.
Eurostar also reported capturing significantly more London-Brussels traffic compared to air traffic, with its passenger numbers growing by 41% between May 2003 and May 2004.
The high-speed railway now accounts for 57% of traffic between the capitals, compared to 43% at the same time last year. "
travmedia.com
travmedia.com: "TravMedia and Visit London are delighted to invite media to celebrate TravMedia's first birthday in the UK, and to showcase Visit London's new digital channel 'London TV'... meet the TravMedia team and other UK journalists who use TravMedia, the world's leading travel news distribution service."
Date: Wednesday 04 August 2004
Where: Visit London, 6th Floor, 2 More London Riverside, London SE1 2RR
Time: 6 - 9 pm
Date: Wednesday 04 August 2004
Where: Visit London, 6th Floor, 2 More London Riverside, London SE1 2RR
Time: 6 - 9 pm
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Future competition Local-i Restaurant Search Site Launches in Beta
Local-i Restaurant Search Site Launches in Beta: "Local-i Restaurant Search Site Launches in Beta
� � � ClickZ News
By Janis Mara | July 16, 2004
New local restaurant search site Local-i offers an innovative approach that may enable it to take a bite out of the lucrative local search market."
� � � ClickZ News
By Janis Mara | July 16, 2004
New local restaurant search site Local-i offers an innovative approach that may enable it to take a bite out of the lucrative local search market."
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