The travel industry is consumed trying to figure out Google’s master travel plan after their recent acquisition of ITA Software. However, if you go back a couple months and look at another less publicized acquisition by Google of the social travel guide www.Ruba.com the plan begins to take shape. Ruba is a user-generated travel guide […]
Much is being written about Google’s recent purchase of ITA Software. ITA created the travel booking engine many corporations and online travel websites use. The thing that makes ITA different is that it uses direct connections to suppliers rather than going through the GDS systems like Sabre and Apollo. The GDS systems are extremely expensive […]
I read this week that the Four Seasons Maui is now in default. Wow. This popular Maui resort has a very loyal following. Yet, even with the big name a great reputation and the beautiful beaches of Maui, it was unable to avoid bankruptcy. Does this event and other high-end hotel defaults indicate that luxury […]
I have noticed a trend that people are finding travel sites using longer keyword search strings. It is not uncommon to find six or seven keyword strings that people type into Google, Bing or Yahoo to find travel sites. I believe this trend is significant in that travelers have become much more informed and knowledgeable […]
SEO for Travel Agents
It’s a simple proposition; find a way to get your web pages on the first page of the search engines and you get more business. While the techniques of search engine optimization are relatively simple, I speak with many travel agents who are really lost about what SEO is and how they […]
2010 Travel Prediction #1:
Mid-market Travel Deals & Luxury On-Sale Travel Market explodes.
2010 Travel Prediction #2:
Rack Rate Luxury Travel fails miserably. If its not a deal, It won’t sell.
2010 Travel Prediction #3:
Business Meetings explode in 1st half.
2010 Travel Prediction #4:
To compete in the Meeting Planning market…you MUST offer an on-line registration system.
2010 Travel Prediction #5:
Sorry, for […]
“Look at your enemy’s strength to find their weakness”
Carl von Clausewitz, Prussian General
Clearly the Internet has provided some really heavyweight competition for independent travel agencies; however in many ways it also leveled the playing field by creating new cost-effective ways to promote. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and user-generated resort review sites provide […]
Now I know you are thinking what’s the difference between online promotion and newspaper advertisements. But I would like to submit there is a huge difference.
I owned and operated a mid-sized travel agency in Silicon Valley for 20 years. We would run newspaper advertisements promoting Hawaii and Mexico vacation packages. These ads produced a […]
Recently the Hawaii Tourism Board release figures that showed tourist arrivals were down 20% for June, July & August of 2009 compared to the year prior. That’s a considerable drop by any measure. The instant thought that crossed my mind was how this was affecting the many great Hawaiian families dependent on tourism.
Hawaii is still my […]
Recently, I put together a press release about our site-makeover and new posting modules for www.ReviewResorts.com. Fully expecting to pay for publishing my press-release but not really knowing which site to post it on, I did a Google search for Press Release. One of the top listing was a site of the top 50 FREE press release […]
