SuperShuttle in New York – Make that Super Shittle

SuperShuttle operates shared ride services between LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark airports in the new York area. By booking my daughter with them, in an effort to help her save some money, she wound up experiencing a three hour episode of continual service delivery failures highlighted by a complete disregard for customer needs. This post explores what should have happened, as well as the underlying reasons why she had such a disappointing experience.

Transforming Hotel Industry Growth Strategy

Video of the hotel industry leadership panel from the 2011 HITEC conference discussing the RockCheetah/Amadeus IT Group white paper, “Transform Your Growth Strategy Now – Remove barriers between hotel technology,marketing and operations.” The discussion with Flo Lugli from Wyndham, Mike Blake from Hyatt and Caryl Helsel from Aramark explores the role an IT Pathfinder can play in facilitating hospitality industry business transformation.

Travel – The Less You Take, The More You Get

Cross a beach, a blanket, a bag & a bunny… and what do you get? A stripped-down travel experience that proves the less you take, the more you get.

Social Commerce – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Social Commerce will evolve from the intersection of social computing, location based services and mobile technologies. Travel companies leveraging SoLoMo-Commerce (SoLoMoCo) will have an unprecedented opportunity to engage customers, create value and capture profits from an enhanced set of technologies by applying creative, traveler-centric marketing strategies.

Seven Travel Planning Steps – Impact on Hotel Distribution Strategy

My presentation, “Seven Travel Planning Steps and Their Impact on Hotel Distribution Strategy” for the Hospitality Financial & Technology Professionals Annual HITEC Conference in Austin, Texas did not focus on traditional distribution focused on the luxury hotel and resort customer, hospitality industry distribution channels and the future innovations that may be expected to impact the global hotel industry.

White Paper: Bridging Hotel Business and Technology Priorities

The hotel industry requires an IT Pathfinder to help align hotel business and technology priorities over the next three years so the industry can successfully leverage information technology to drive business growth and profitability. A RockCheetah/Amadeus IT Group white paper, “Transform Your Growth Strategy Now – Remove barriers between hotel technology,marketing and operations” explores the role an IT Pathfinder can play in facilitating hospitality industry business transformation.

Leading Hotels of the World – Marketing Conference Keynote

My presentation, “Deconstructing Distribution – It’s All About the Customer” for the Leading Hotels of the World Sales, Marketing & Distribution Conference in Bonn, Germany focused on the luxury hotel and resort customer, hospitality industry distribution channels and the future innovations that may be expected to impact the global hotel industry.

Survey: What Hotel Brand Does the Best Job Online?

Every hotel brand the planet is striving to capture more website traffic and to convert that traffic into hotel guests. What hotel companies are doing the best job online to engage travelers and provide tools for inspiration, research, planning, validation, booking, travel, and sharing to provide an exceptional travel experience?

Summerfest: The World’s Largest Music Festival

Not only the World’s Largest Music Festival, but also the best music festival value, Milwaukee’s annual Summerfest attracts crowds of 800,000 to 1 million concert goers to watch over 700 bands perform on 11 stages during the festival’s 11-day run.

Snippets and Factoids from Henry Harteveldt’s OpenTravel Presentation

Henry Harteveldt’s keynote address to the OpenTravel Alliance North American Advisory Forum warned an audience of travel industry distribution executives that