Say what you like about social networks - they are popular and travel can surely find a way to harness their potential

Ok, it seems like there are two camps of Facebook people at the moment: there are those that have completely embraced the concept and also those that use it by are trying desperately hard to find ways to criticise it and predict its imminent demise.

Let the debate amongst new media and travel professionals continue, but for a second take a look at some incredible statistics out of the US this evening regarding the phenomenal growth of Facebook and other social networking sites.

The latest figures from Comscore show sites such as Facebook have seen monthly user numbers leap from 14 million in June 2006 to 52 million just a year later (that's a rise of 270%).

Even MySpace, which here in the UK is in danger of losing its way/being overshadowed by Facebook, has seen numbers globally increase to 114 million from 66 million over the same period.

Hi5 is up 56%. Friendster 65%. Orkut 78%. Bebo 172%.

Bob Ivins from ComScore hits the nail on the head here:

“A fundamental aspect of the success of social networking sites is cultural relevance.

“Those doing well in certain regions are likely doing an effective job of communicating appropriately with those regions’ specific populations.

"As social networking continues to evolve, it will be exciting to see if networks are able to cross cultural barriers and bring people from different corners of the globe together in fulfilling the truest ideals of social networking.”

For travel brands there must be a way to seize upon this growth (and opportunity) with more than applications in Facebook and pages on MySpace.

We wrote about this a few weeks back, following comments from Alex Bainbridge.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: facebook myspace social network comscore

Yahoo! Trip Planner - you decide

Yahoo! is understandably making a fair bit of noise about the launch of its Trip Planner tool for its UK & Ireland and France sites.

What we didn't mention in the story about the launch was that it was meant to launch in the UK at the end of last year.

Anyway... We digress.

It's a significant step for Yahoo! in Europe. Although Trip Planner has been around since late-2005 (seven months in Beta) in the US, Facebook and WAYN penetration amongst travellers is far higher here in the UK.

It will be a major coup for Yahoo! if it can persuade users of both the above to effectively abandon their travel networks in favour of something that is only now just getting off the ground.

We're going to have a bit of a play with it. Anyone have any thoughts on Trip Planner?

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: trip planner WAYN yahoo social network

Dopplr and TrustedPlaces woo Guardian tech critics

In case nobody noticed, The Guardian has declared "the boom is back" for dot-commers.

In an article today - Top 10 Dotcoms Watch - its team have singled out the great and the good of the current new breed of sites sweeping all before them.

From the travel sector they have picked out social networking site Dopplr (it's not bad at all, actually - we have been playing with it for a few months) and the David Soskin/Hugo Burge-backed TrustedPlaces.

[Write-ups for Dopplr and TrustPlaces]

Other sites on the list include:

• Extate (property websites)
• Garlik ("online identity management")
• MindCandy (gaming)
• Moo (print services)
• OnOneMap (property)
• Touch Local (directory)
• Zopa (financial services)
• Zubka (recruitment)

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: web 2.0 dopplr trustplaces

When is a hotel website not a hotel website - or a list not a list?

The BOOT highlights an intriguing website called TopHotel100.com.

It is basically a catalogue of the most popular hotel-related websites on the web, based on the number of other sites on the list that "mention" [in other words, link] them.

[A bit like Technorati]

But the list itself is rather odd. The top ten goes something like this:

• 1 Tripadvisor.com 2,110,000 (mentions)
• 2 Booking.com 1,760,000

And then straight out of leftfield:

• 3 MySwitzerland.com 1,570,000

Normal services resumes:

4 Orbitz.com 1440000
5 Holidaycheck.de 1,420,000
6 Marriott.com 1,330,000
7 Expedia.com 1,290,000
8 Voyages-sncf.com 1,230,000
9 Travel-library.com 1,080,000
10 Kayak.com 1,020,000

Is Kayak a "hotel" site? And VoyagesSNCF is a rail-led/online travel agency site. It seems astonishing that there are 1.5 million mentions of MySwitzerland.com contained on the other 312 sites.

As Hughes on The Boot says, he doesn't actually care as the overall list is quite a good who's who of decent hotel sites (with the odd bizarre exception), but there is certainly a faint whiff of the Link Love going on here a bit.

We've submitted the Travolution Blog to see how closely they monitor entries.

We were asked to add a link or logo in order to get listed. [TOP 100 HOTEL SITES]

Struggling to find the link on TripAdvisor and Expedia, unsurprisingly.

We'll keep you posted......

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: hotel 100 lists

Web free-for-all on Qantas

Nice move from Aussie carrier Qantas when it brings its new Airbus A380 aircaft into service in August 2008.

A new in-flight entertainment system will include:

• Internet and email access for all passengers
• Wireless connections throughout the cabin
• Lonely Planet destination guides
• Online Duty Free shopping
• Map gizmos
  

[Read the full press release. And run in tomorrow's Observer newspaper]

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: qantas in-flight entertainment wireless

Pegasus has a blog

US travel technology company Pegasus has joined the likes of TripAdvisor, Marriott and Travelocity and launched its own corporate blog.

And it's called, er, Pegged.

The people behind the blog say they they hope over time it will "stimulate plenty of discussion about our company and the myriad of ways that Pegasus touches hotels, distributors, developers, customers, partners and employees in this exciting time for the travel industry".

Let's hope not. The best travel company blogs have tended to be those that try not to flatter the company or its customers.

TripAdvisor's Snarky Owl is funny, for a start, and doesn't try too hard. Even Bill Marriott's blog has its lighter and controvsersial moments.

Let's hope the Dallas-based Pegasites [we just made that nickname up, but it kinda works] can also bring us all some insight - and entertainment.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

What do Brand Lists say about the travel industry?

One of the most prestigious and well respected brand ranking surveys has released its collection for 2007 .

The Interbrand-BusinessWeek survey of Best Global Brands eclipses other efforts such as the Superbrands-run list [it is, er, puzzling how Eurostar makes a list of "Superbrands" but Google doesn't].

Topping the list are the usual suspects - the giants of the consumer world including Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, GE, Nokia, Toyota, Intel, McDonald's, Disney and Mercedes-Benz.

[Full list available as a PDF. Nice slideshow, too]

Google makes the top 20 for the first time; Ebay is in 48th position; Yahoo! gets a respectable 55th; Amazon in 62nd.

And the highest travel brand? Hertz, in a lowly 100th position.

Should we be appalled/suprised/worried by this?

Well, if you are in charge of marketing or branding for Expedia or some of the biggest airlines in the world (British Airways, American Airlines et al) you might be a tad disappointed to not make the lower reaches of the 100.

But the reality is this: travel companies will have to go a long, long way before they can gain any of the brand power associated with the giants of the FMCG, tech, entertainment and car industries.

This is unlikely to change, some might suggest. Commoditisation has damaged brands.

At the moment the web does a fantastic job of diluting a travel product into its simplest form, and in this order of priority for the consumer: price, availability, and perhaps brand.

Until travel companies reverse this trend, they will not challenge anyone in the top 100.

Of course, the flipside to all this list nonsense might be that the theories associated with the Long Tail of Travel mean branding shouldn't really matter for the sector. Go niche, diversify from the mass market.

But those brand managers at some of the biggest travel companies in the world will probably be seething that a car hire company (a reputable one, we hasten to add) is still ranking higher than them.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: interbrand business week brand marketing

Major Tom at a loss

Was sitting on the tarmac at Alicante Airport in Spain yesterday, delayed by half an hour or so on an EasyJet flight back to London Stansted.

Huge apologies for the delay, our friendly pilot told passengers.

"For reasons best known to Ground Control in Luton", he added dryly, the inbound plane had to be swapped for another.

Nice to get some brutal honesty in such a PR-puffed world.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: easyjet

The long tail, quite literally

VirtualTourist.com, an online travel research site and community forum, has published the top 10 pet friendly hotels in major U.S. cities.

There's no doubt the Long Tail concept (where sales of niche products and services thrive thanks to the Internet) is applicable to the online travel industry, but this is taking it a bit too literally, don't you think?

Then again, being a dog owner, I probably would choose a hotel that was canine friendly over one that wasn't---but only if I was planning to travel with my big, slobbering bundle of fur in the first place!!!!!

I don't know about you other pet owners out there, but I don't usually take Fido on holiday.

I mean, it's one thing to take the little fella on the odd car trip to Calais for a cheap wine run, but I draw the line at a five-star weekend break.

But hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there are a bunch of privileged pooches jet setting their way all over the place.

(Think Britney Spears' and Paris Hilton's ridiculous, diamond-collared runts. My dog would eat them...and their runts.)

Well, for those of you who are planning your next American excursion with Snoopy in tow, here's the list:

The SoHo Grand Hotel, New York City
Union Square hotel, San Francisco,
Loews Miami Beach Hotel, Miami, Florida
Pier 5 Hotel, Baltimore
Hotel Monaco, Denver, Colorado
Nine Zero, Boston, Massachusetts
W Chicago Lakeshore, Chicago
Ocean Villa Inn, San Diego,
Alexis Hotel, Seattle, Washington
Hotel Rouge, Washington, D. C.

Happy travels!

Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution

MySpace catches out sex offenders

MySpace has apparently identified more than 29,000 registered sex offenders on its social network.

Is that all????

This is more than four times the number the News Corp.-owned site claimed to have found in May, according to the attorneys general office in North Carolina, in the US.

In the wake of several sex offenses that are alleged to have been traced to contacts on social-networking sites, MySpace earlier this year began checking its registered-user list against a database of registered sex offenders, according to a report by Ad Age, a trade journal for the advertising industry.

The North Carolina House of Representatives is considering a bill, already passed by the state Senate, that would require parental consent for children to join MySpace.

(First children, next single men over 40)

The AdAge article quoted John Aristotle Phillips, CEO of Aristotle, an age-verification technology firm, as saying, "On the most basic level, this is horrifying".

Well, of course he's going to say this, isn't he? Come on.

I'm in no way making light of this, but I really think we're in danger of opening a Pandora's box the moment we start to even talk about restricting the Internet.

Yes, there are some bad eggs out there--29,000 in Myspace's case--but there are many more decent folk who have no ulterior, perverted motives for using social network sites.

Predators are a fact of life--online or offline--so I can only hope the good citizens sitting in the North Carolina House of Representatives will recognise that and leave their legislation where it belongs---out of MySpace.

Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution

Brits abroad, oh dear

Sadly, a new poll from Cheapflights.co.uk, “What annoys you most about ‘Brits abroad?’”, has confirmed that our chavvy, crude holiday behaviour continues to shamne the nation.

Nearly half, 42%, of those polled cited "drunk and raucous behaviour" as their cheif repulsion (Oi, wotz rong wit a lettle tipple, den?).

The cone effect – they always seem to be red and white - but never brown annoys nearly a quarter of tan, fit people, who are less than impressed with Brits' physical appearance.

Expecting foreigners to speak English rather than learning a bit of the local language rounds out the top three most loathsome traits of the Brit Abroad Brigade.

Surprinslgy, only 7% cited holidaying football fans as a blemish on the British flag and only 3% of the nation mind Brits complaining about the weather.

Well, that's pretty derepssing...innit?

Guess I better use soem self-tanner and learn a few local words before I head off to Corfu this weekend...How do you say, "Gimme a pint, mate" in Corfuian?

Wot???

Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution

The dark side of social networking

Every time we start to have a little fun online, some government regulator or "concerned" citizens' association has to go and ruin everything.

The latest scaremongering comes from credit information group Equifax (aka the ultimate Big Brother), which warns that subscribers to social networking sites like Facebook and MySapce are sitting ducks for potential identity fraudsters.

Wow--good thing you told me! I was just about to add all of my personal financial details to my FaceBook profile....

To be fair to Equifax, people probably ought to think twice about posting too much personal information to any website and this will obviously present some challenges if (or, more likely when) these sites decide to enter the travel fold.

Details such as your date of birth, where you were born, and your marital status are particularly sensitive, says Equifax.

There is no denying (unfortunately) that identity theft is rampant in the UK. Last year, 80,000 people were victims of ID theft, costing the economy in the neighbourhood of £1.5 bn.

But it's wrong to imply that social network users are more at risk than online banks, for example.

I've had my bank details ripped off three times in two different countries because some genius figured out how to hack into my account or copy my debit card.

Yes, it's bloody annoying, but, sadly, it's a fact of our virtual world.

Equifax is advising people not to give too much away online....I think Equifax has probably never been on a social networking site.

Why else would they think the personal details on these sites are true anyway?

I know for a fact I'm not alone in embellishing my profiles.

Take how I met my FaceBook friend Nick, for example. He wasn't really the roller skating champion at the Croydon Blink-O-Rink.

I could be completely wrong here, though I hope I'm not, when I say that Equifax may be overreacting just a tad. I mean, if my own profiles are anything to go by, then the worst that could happen is someone snatches the identity of my avatar.

That's OK by me. I was planning a new autumn personality anyway.

Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution

Sell travel online...no experience necessary

One of our loyal readers recently brought our attention to an online offer which promises that any Average Joe can set-up an online travel agency..."no experience necessary".

The offer comes from Explorer Travel, a division of Baileys Travel, which is headquartered in Wellingborough and operates retail outlets in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, and claims to be an ABTA member.

The Explorer Travel website claims that it will provide "all the training and marketing support you need, leaving you to enjoy your business and reap the rewards of your success".

The only requirement, according to the site, is "lots of enthusiasm and a passion for travel".

You see where this is going, don't you?

Explorer offers three agency categories, with fees ranging from £250 to £10,000.

On the upper end of the scale, Explorer says it will create and maintain one or more specialist travel web site(s) operated by its fee-paying "Consultants".

The enticing offer holds the promise of high commissions (really???) and a wide range of "other benefits, including holidays at cost for you and your family and membership of the exclusive Travel Agents Club (whatever that is)".

"Promoters" pay a lesser fee and, apparently, all they have to do is promote their site to family, friends and work colleagues and market it in their local community.

Oh, is that all?

Those in the "Ambassadors" category are promised access to sell products from "over 150 tour operators, almost all of the world's airlines, over 50,000 hotels and villas, car rental, airport parking and excursion, theatre and sporting tickets."

This all sounds eerily familiar to me.

Post 911, when thousands of high street agencies in America were forced to shutter their shops, companies like Explorer popped in the dozens.

They had a variety of names (the infomercials of the travel industry springs to mind) and many were eventually pressured to cease such promotions.

I'm not taking issue with Explorer Travel itself, as I do not know enough about the company to give them a proper spanking. But I do take issue with the message it sends to consumers.

At a time when the high street is suffering a major blow, with leading operators closing down dozens of shops, the industry needs to find a new strategy and professional footing in the online market.

It doesn't need to recruit armies of inexperienced wannabes who are out for a discount on their next cruise.

I understand that companies like Explorer want to make money and take advantage of the booming online travel marketplace, but the last thing this industry needs right now--or anytime, for that matter--is a bunch of amateurs armed with package holiday offers and a credit card terminal.

Not that I have an opinion on this or anything.

Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution

Pot, pants and teeth...Kayak's own Hotel Babylon

Pants, marijuana, a tooth and an “intimacy aid” were among the bizarre objects found left in hotel rooms by respondents to a new survey by travel search engine Kayak.

The company says it has been checking out its UK users’ naughty hotel confessions (why???) and the results would "make the bell-hop blush".

According to the survey, 79% of respondents had booked a hotel room purely for a romantic rendezvous and 87% said that being in a hotel room made them feel randy (Ewww...I so did not need to imagine that).

The survey also found that 41% of us shameless Brits think it's OK to check-in together for a dirty weekend after just three months of dating.

Just under a third (probably Catholics) would wait six months before sneaking away with their lover.

Jude Law and Hugh Grant were the most desired hotel room mates for the girls, where as the boys opted for Julia Roberts and Sienna Miller.

Pete Doherty was the least popular for the girls (unless you fancy getting as close to necrophilia as possible).

Fellow addict Lindsay Lohan also hit rock bottom of the ‘desired room mates’ list.

Brits however are not quite as naughty when it comes to helping themselves to souvenirs on check out.

Whilst 64% admitted to taking toiletries, very few took anything else from a hotel room and only 4% admitted to swiping towels.

(So...I guess this indicates some bizarre sense of morality??? )

More likely we're just switched on to the fact that hotels will charge our credit card £100 for a cotton flannel.

We may be depraved sex fiends, but at least we draw the line at overpriced linens.

I take some comfort in that, don't you?

Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution

EasyJet's unique strategy for baggage crisis

Now I've really got to hand it to easyJet, because not many airlines would have thought of this...but first a little background.

When British Airways has a baggage crisis, such as it did following the recent terrorist attack at Glasgow airport, which resulted in a backlog of 20,000 bags, it finagles a special dispensation from the UK government to load luggage without matching it to the passengers onboard.

Normal security procedures require airlines to match bags to passengers, but BA says there have been a number of occasions in the past when it has temporarily gotten around this rule in the interest of re-uniting passengers with their luggage.

Maybe not the best solution from a security perspective, but a good effort nonetheless.

EasyJet, apparently, has a very...how shall I say this...unique strategy for dealing with a baggage crisis.

When easyJet had a technical cock up with a luggage conveyor belt at Newcastle airport over the weekend it decided the best solution was to just leave dozens of passengers behind.

According to a BBC article, four easyJet flights took off with "only a handful" of passengers in an effort to stem further delays.

Fewer passengers, fewer bags, right?

Errrm...is it just me who is struggling to see the logic here?

Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution

EasyJet's search for the perfect search

Low cost airline easyJet has tapped London-based search marketing services firm, The Search Works, to help boost traffic to the carrier's European language websites and decrease user drop-off rates.

Using SEO to increase revenue generation and paid search efficiency is hardly a new concept, but the deal comes at a pivotal time for easyJet, which, like other LCCs, is facing sinking load factors.

Excess capacity, coupled with external forces such as the doubling of the air passenger duty, higher mortgage rates and stricter (more annoying!!!!) security procedures, have made it difficult for the low cost airlines to fill planes.

With even more capacity planned over the next few years and the steady tugging at consumers' green conscience, the immediate future may not look particularly rosy.

For a business renowned for using the Internet to reduce distribution costs (it sells 98% of its seats via its website), it's little wonder easyJet is searching for a better search model.

Commenting on the deal, Andrew Berks, easyJet’s Brand Communications Manager said, "Pricing in particular was extremely important to us as a low-fares airline.”

Isn't it to us all.

Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution

Travellers say no to high-street package prison

High-street packaged holiday companies take note: Consumers want out of your 7 to 14 day prison!

According to a recent poll of 1,000 consumers, 64% of Britons prefer to use the web to research and book a holiday of their own making.

This growth in online booking has created, what price comparison website Travelsupermarket.com terms, the "pickage holiday" –where consumers pick and book all the elements separately rather than going with a pre-arranged package.

Separate research by Travelsupermarket.com found holiday hunters aged 25 to 34 are the most likely to book online (surprise, surprise), with 68% stating they use the Internet to make travel arrangements.

The survey of 2,300 consumers found only 16% of 25-34 year-olds would consider phoning or going into a travel agent. In 1999 that figure stood at nearly 50%.

The research, which was conducted by YouGov, found 38% more people now book their holidays online than with a travel agent. Back in 1999, 39% more people booked through a travel agent than online.

(Well, that certainly explains the recent spate of high street closures and mergers)

Responding to the findings, Bob Atkinson, flights manager at Travelsupermarket.com, said, “It may not be the end of the high street travel agent, but we have certainly entered a completely new era in holiday booking".

Lesson of the day: Restrict the modern-day consumer, especially the young, at your peril!

By Tricia Holly Davis

Technorati tags: packagetravel

Google is confusing the Aussies

The Times happily gives over a page lead today to a potentially explosive court case in Australia.

According to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Google is apparently not doing enough to "expressly distinguish" the difference between paid-for advertising (sponsored links) and natural search results.

[Full ACCC citation here]

How strange. Sponsored links boxes are clearly labelled as such, whether they appear at the top of a page or down the right hand side.

Google has reacted pretty strongly to the action.

"Google Australia believes that these claims are without merit and we will defend against them vigorously. They represent an attack on all search engines and the Australian businesses, large and small, who use them to connect with customers throughout the world."

Peter Coroneos, chief executive of the Internet Industry Association, has also waded into the row:

"The internet industry has always had a positive relationship with the ACCC. It's very unfortunate that the ACCC has decided to pursue a litigious strategy against one participant, rather than consulting more broadly on an issue that affects the entire industry."

What made the Times report even more interesting was its choice for an image to accompany the story: a screen grab from Google.co.uk, featuring - you guessed it - a travel seach query.

Cheapflights and ThomsonFly came in first and fourth place respectively for sponsored search results and in first and second for organic results. [marks are on the original Times article]

Paul Dolman, CTO and head of paid search at digital marketing agency Spannerworks, who count both Cheapflights and Thomson as clients, was equally dismissive of the claim from Down Under.

In fact, he says, newspapers have been placing ads and editorial (the equivalent of paid-for and natural search in Google) "for centuries".

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: australia competition consumer

Feed-a-thon - An Apology

Our apologies if, like us, you have been having problems reading the Travolution Blog on your RSS readers today.

We hope the - rather bizarre - error has now been fixed.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Google: fill yer boots

The value of online advertising in Europe is set to reach £10.8 billion by 2012.

A report from Forrester reckons revenue from online ads will account for 18% of the overall marketing cake within seven years, eclipsing national press, radio, billboards, regional press and consumer magazines, and heaping pressure on the giants of TV.

Paid-for search accounts for around 38% of all European online advertising spend.

Google dominates...

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

The Joy of SEO

Search engine optimisation can be a fickle business at times. Indeed, travel companies up and down the land are known to agonise long into the night about where they appear on that Official Gateway to Instant Traffic, Google.

Digital marketing agencies are appointed; months are spent on designing Google-friendly landing pages; complicated keyword folksonomies are created – all in the hope that the consumer will chance upon seeing an entry in natural search listings for a company, product or destination.

And then some upstart comes along and shows them how it’s done, without any special investment.

Type “flight search engine” into Google and appearing in first place, as you might expect, is a high profile meta search engine – Skyscanner, in this case.

But what is this? In second place is that pesky Travel-Rants consumer blog.

In fact, the US version of Sidestep, IfYouSki, GooFlight and VisitBritain are the only pureplay "flight search engines" to appear on the first page.

So, well done to Mr Cronian of Travel-Rants – a developer by day with a passion for travel, writing his blog purely as a hobby.

The message here is simple: good content – or content deemed important by others on the web – can be as valuable as any investment in a digital marketing strategy.

NB: If anyone doubts whether “flight search engine” is a phrase in demand (it not being destination specific, for example), just check out the number of companies bidding against it in Google’s pay-per-click listings.

TravelSupermarket, Travelzoo, Opodo, Ebookers, Airline-Network, Kayak, SkyScanner (again), DialAFlight, Expedia and Travelocity obviously consider it worth paying money for every click.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: search engine SEO pay-per-click natural search

Social networks - not quite right for travel?

UPDATE: Bainbridge has continued his musings on a new post.

Current social networks - such as MySpace, Facebook, WAYN - are not the place for promoting travel companies. Why? Because travellers fall into three categories:

• Pre purchase information - finding out more product information from people who have been there before.
• Post purchase, pre travelling - checking last minute changes (errata?).
• Post travel - photo / video uploading, getting back in contact with people you travelled with.

Well, so says Alex Bainbridge on his Musings on Travel E-Commerce blog.

A fascinating post, although Bainbridge does have a social networking-type service being used by his own company, TourCMS, to plug at the end.

Worth a read...

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

What next for Sidestep?

Tim Hughes on the The BOOT blog has been musing over the long term strategy for Sidestep.

He reckons it is probably too early for a sale of the business per se, but he raises some interesting points/speculates wildly mainly in the area of whether Sidestep would consider a "technology buy".

Hmmm.

Anyway, Sidestep has its fingers in many pies - content deals, white labelling with Orange, blogging/reviews, as well as travel search, of course - and is rolling out international versions reasonably frequently.

The question remains: what is the end game for a meta search site?

TravelSupermarket (and Cheapflights soon, perhaps?) is going one way and will - if all goes to plan - list on the London Stock Exchange later this month.

It is an enormously complicated sector, and no-one really knows where the future lies for the likes of Sidestep, Kayak et al.

...except our hugely opinionated audience, of course: so write your What Nexts in the comments section.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Two blokes in deckchairs...in a TV studio

Don't rub your eyes.

It's actually Ian McCaig, chief executive of Lastminute.com, on BBC Breakfast last week with presenter Declan Curry, talking about the current state of the travel sector:



A prize for anyone who can identify the two people in the background.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Poorly targeted PR puff #94

This has to be shared:

"Not every female outdoor adventurer likes to turn up for an assault on the local peak or white-water rapids equipped like a Marine, so rock, snow and mud specialists *********.com [altered to save embarrassment] are going pink - amongst other feminine colours.

"Women-only outdoor adventure watches from market leader Suunto are to be launched by *********.com, the UK's leading online adventure and extreme sports goods retailer."

Interestingly, when users click on said pink watch on the website, the next page cries "NO PRODUCT FOUND".

Delete...

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

TV advertising is the new black?

Looks like other internet-based travel companies - who perhaps in the past would have turned their noses up at something as old media for offline marketing - have taken note of TravelSupermarket and its recent spending spree on TV advertising.

Hotels.com - the accommodation aggregator from the Expedia stable - is launching its first TV ad campaign in the UK this week.

A fairly hefty £3.5 million has been spent on the campaign and it follows its recent rebranding - new logo, look and feel of website, etc.

Although it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of TV and other offline marketing campaigns (Hotels.com will also be evangalising on radio), TravelSupermarket's recent rise up the Hitwise rankings does suggest shoving your brand in front of a nation's eyeballs night after night has an impact.

Whether those visits convert into referrals/bookings is another matter entirely. But clearly Travelsupermarket thought its £9 million so far this has been well spent.

But there does appear to be more offline advertising - but not press - being used by online travel companies, simply for branding. Think HotelClub, Expedia and what seems like every second bus in London from Lastminute.com.

So, why? Some points to consider:

• 1) In a commoditised market like travel, branding is perhaps more important than ever?
• 2) TV and billboard ad rates have come down as their market share of overall advertising spend has decreased?
• 3) Pay-per-click is expensive/unreliable/congested/Long Tail keyword-buying too fiddly?
• 4) Search engine optimisation is becoming rather pricey?

Food for thought. Answers in the comments section please...

Anyway, some grabs from the Hotels.com TV campaign:

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: hotel travelsupermarket advertising marketing billboard

Introducing...SpotRedSea.com

Instead of directing readers to a site, the people behind SpotRedSea.com guys have made a handy video, which we can publish instead!

Billed as a cross between a travel booking engine, shop, directory, classifieds and social networking site, they have also created portals for Maldives, Seychelles and Dubai.



Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: seychelles maldives dubai red sea mash-up

We will fight them on the beaches - well, not our beaches

The British are full of the "bulldog spirit", apparently - something the tabloid newspapers are forever reminding their readers when 1) England football team loses again on penalties or 2) two inches of snow falls overnight and plucky Brits have to use their initiative.

And so, unsurprisingly, travel companies have been quick to show the "resilience" of the British people following the terrorist incidents in London and Glasgow last week.

TravelRepublic put out a press release yesterday claiming the past seven days - since the attacks - has actually been the best in the company's four-year history.

In fact, on the day of the attack on Glasgow airport, bookings were up almost 22% on the previous Saturday.

[TravelRepublic is celebrating moving up the Hitwise rankings in recent months anyway]

Meanwhile over at Cheapflights, chief executive David Soskin reckons British consumers are defying the "doctors of death" in their droves.

The price comparison site has seen a 33% increase year-on-year for the first four days of July.

Strange how neither company mentioned the appalling weather to have inflicted the UK in recent weeks.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

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One unhappy customer

Here is an interesting tale of how a technology company - Inside Messenger - ended up banging its head against a brick wall (repeatedly) when it's API plug-in to one of the world's biggest online travel agencies broke down.

Read the full story here.

Inside Messenger runs the technology behind a travel search tool for use on messaging services such as Windows Live Messenger.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Introducing...Mapjack.com

Another very good site out of the US, Mapjack.com is a walking tour of sorts of San Francisco - but with a twist.

Rather than have functionality seperated into different channels on the site, Mapjack is a mash-up of Google Maps, Google Earth and their own, well-shot 360-degree views.

In simple terms: as users navigate around map or aerial view on the bottom half of the screen, the upper area changes automatically.

As Jebworks rightly points out, adding hotels and other attractions from around the city - and, indeed, other cities around the world - would make it much more useful.

But as a concept it really is rather good.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: mapjack mash-up san francisco aerial view

Spend most of the day offline...

...and all hell breaks loose.

While Travolution was hosting its latest advisory board meeting, Blackstone - owner of Travelport (Ebookers, Orbitz et al) - was busy splashing out an astonishing £13 billion on the Hilton hotel chain.

Well, fancy that..

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Vortex of change

Letter to the editor [Not often we get these! So old media] from Steve Endacott of the OnHoliday Group, responding to Paul Evans' column in the June edition of Travolution ("Grass roots are still important"):

"2007 could easily become the year the travel industry ran out of excuses and recognised the inevitable facts of life. Just as CO2 emission have become the accepted cause of global warming and belated actions taken, the travel industry needs to face up to the fact that the internet is scraping most of the rules and the “vortex of change” is spinning faster than ever.

"Yes, interest rates have gone up and consumer confidence has been hit, but the underlying influence over this year’s disastrous lates period for traditional package holiday companies and low cost carriers alike have not yet been recognised by many.

"Global warming in general has improved the UK climate in the summer months and holidays at home fuelled by the advances in gaming technology are no longer the nightmare they used to be for parents.

"Have you tried to sale the virtues of an overseas swimming pool, over 24 hour Sky TV, Playstation and broadband internet access to you kids lately? I have and as Expedia’s CEO recently put it “today’s generation are wired completely differently to us, having been brought up in a different world. Why therefore do we assume they want the same overseas holidays we always enjoyed?

"The internet has turned the beach holiday into a price lead commodity for most of the beach market and its never been easier to wait until the last minute to pick up a bargain.

"These are being supplied in their millions by either traditional operator’s locked into excess guaranteed seats and beds, or from the new age dynamic packaging specialists who have massively broadened customers access to distressed bed stock in the 4 to 5 Star bracket. The customer has never has it so good, with high class holidays at knock down prices.

"The low cost model has traditionally protected itself from the last minute discounting market by launching with low prices, which in turn generate good load factors and allow them to manage prices in the “lates’” period.

"However, this year many have failed to achieve the right balance and for the first time we have seen thousands of seats dumped into the “lates’” market at 1p fairs or via 50% off sales. Yet more options for the average customer to consider and given the low cost carriers aggressive growth strategies these are unlikely to go away.

"Hence, the Vortex is spinning faster and the rate of evolution required is accelerating by the day. Nobody is safe in the new world and we all have to constantly look at our models, with the aim of reducing overheads per passenger and increasing flexibility, so that we can ride the later booking tidal wave and not get left high and dry on a beach that used to be called Holiday Heaven."

Tony Blair on holiday - Opodo sends daftest press release of 2007

PING! Email arrives with a fantastically opportunistic publicity effort from Opodo.

Following the "transition of power" from the prime minister Tony Blair to Gordon Brown last week and "after ten years at the top, there is no denying that the Blair family could do with a well-earned holiday".

[Perhaps Opodo have already forgotten about the controversial and luxurious Blair holidays with Silvio Berlusconi, Cliff Richard and Robin Gibb?]

If this press release was meant to be funny, then it did the job. If not...oh dear.

Produced only to plug travel deals on its site, Opodo has recommended some holidays the Blairs might be interested in. Highlights include:

• "Hobbies and pastimes have been the last thing on the premier's mind" during his ten years, so he might want to consider a cooking course in Tuscany, giving Cherie a "well-earned break from the kitchen". And selling flats.
• The Blair "administration" was also concerned with third world poverty, so a "meaningful travel option" to Sri Lanka to volunteer might also tempt him. Perhaps it's too early for Make Poverty History cultural holidays?

Strange that there were no holidays recommended for the Middle East.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

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Keeping in touch with Travolution

...during the long hot wet summer:

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Kevin May, editor, Travolution

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