Hotwire appears to be testing the ability for travelers to select a specific bed type from participating hotels offering opaque product with its new Bed Choice option. This move benefits travelers by offering greater choice, and hotels with the attractive capability to upsell. This further differentiates Hotwire from Priceline who has not fundamentally changed its Name Your Own Price hotel product since its inception. A greater question is how this move impacts OTA share in the opaque product space and hotel profitability if it increases opaque product sales.
HITEC Presentation: Mobile Distribution – No, It’s Not Billboards and Neon Vacancy Signs
June 28, 2010 By
It was great to see that attendance rebounded healthily at the annual Hospitality Financial & Technology Professionals HITEC conference, held in Orlando, Florida June 21 – 24, 2010. The good news was that I had been selected to speak on a subject that combined two of the hottest topics in technology and travel: Mobile Hotel […]
Day 2 Highlights – 2010 Association of Travel Marketing Executives Conference
June 18, 2010 By 4 Comments
The second day of the 2010 Association of Travel Market Executives conference included keynotes by marketing leaders from Priceline and Wyndham, sessions on mobile marketing and new distribution channels, plus perspectives on retail and the airline industry. This year’s conference theme was “The New Now & The New Next”
Day 1 Highlights – 2010 Association of Travel Marketing Executives Conference
June 16, 2010 By 4 Comments
The first day of the 2010 Association of Travel Market Executives conference has wrapped up and provided its audience of travel marketers with statistics, strategies and technologies to consider. The conference theme was “The New Now & The New Next”
Love Australia; Sorry – Hate the Commercial
June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A recent Tnooz article felt the latest television commercial from Tourism Australia was intentionally ironic in an attempt to gain viral traction. While I can wholeheartedly agree with Tnooz that the ad was ironic, based on the quotes from the individuals responsible for its creation, the ad was unintentionally ironic. Instead of providing a deeper and more personal perspective on Australia, the ad comes off as clichéd and grating. A principal cause of this failure is an annoying song in an unsuccessful attempt to be memorable.
Improving The Amazing Race with Experienced Travelers
May 23, 2010 By 41 Comments
The Amazing Race Dream Team is a two-person team who would be considered unbeatable in a race around the world for a $1 million dollar prize. Who are the ideal candidates to compete in The Amazing Race? Twenty-five pairings of travel experts with varied backgrounds have been nominated including Twitter celebrities, travel writers, journalists, nomads and travel industry executives. What team would be the favorite to beat the others to the finish line? Voting closes May 31.
Nominate Uber-Travelers for Amazing Race Dream Team
May 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Amazing Race Dream Team would be the ultimate two-person team to beat in a race around the world for a $1 million dollar prize. Nominations are being taken for a Twitter poll to discover who the Twitterverse believes would be the toughest competition. Who are the ideal candidates to compete in The Amazing Race? Travel writers, road warriors, travel industry executives, travel agents, tour guides? It will be interesting to see who gets nominated, and who ultimately wins.
Impact of Structured Data on Travel Search
May 6, 2010 By
Search is radically changing to become more contextual, relevant and focused on producing the right answer for the user. Structured data sourced from the Deep Web is essential to provide a solid foundation for linked data to define semantic relationships between pieces of information. This is what transitions the web of documents to a web of data. The resulting relevant, convenient and highly personalized search experiences create trust. Whoever earns the trust of the consumer wins. The endgame for Web 3.0 players has never been more clear. Presented at the Open Travel Alliance 2010 Advisory Forum.
What Event Could Have the Greatest Influence on the Future of Travel?
April 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
This poll is designed to identify the news story from the past week that has the greatest potential to shape the future of the travel industry. Complicating the voting are some stories that are not based on fact at this point, but reflect unsubstantiated ideas or concepts. Some stories involve increasing the market share of leading organizations through mergers or acquisitions; others technological advances that could shift the balance of power between various players within the industry. The results will indicate the “Inflularity” of the event that voters feel create the greatest impact. The question for this week’s RockCheetah poll is “What Event Could Have the Greatest Influence on the Future of Travel?”
What is the World’s Best Luxury Hotel Brand?
April 23, 2010 By 11 Comments
This poll is designed to identify the best luxury hotel in the world. The best hotel chain is not measured solely by the beauty of its views from suite balconies, the thread-count of its sheets, or the price of its rooms. The secret sauce for these properties comes down to service – the magical ability to anticipate guest needs and provide personal service in an efficient, yet understated manner. The results will indicate the “Luxularity” of the luxury hotel brand that voters feel provide the best overall experience. The question for this week’s RockCheetah poll is “What is the World’s Best Luxury Hotel Brand?”
