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It's the Travolution Generations one. So get clicking.
Be warned: any extra copies will be going to events such as our Question Time, World Travel Market, PhoCusWright in Florida, and our conference on the 1 November.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
...because every now and again the reader can almost choke on their dinner.
"Brits 'addicted' to cheap flights", screamed a headline on the BBC website this evening.
For a brief moment I thought Soskin and co's PR company Rooster had been working overtime and come up with a highly dubious survey which revealed how compelling the price comparison site had become with UK consumers.
Thankfully not.
It's actually a rather interesting article relating to a study from Exeter University into climate change and how "cheap flights" have become a lifestyle choice which many consumers are reluctant to give up.
Right. Back to eating my dinner...
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: cheapflights cheap flights exeter climate change airport
A lengthy but excellent post here from one of our guest bloggers, Andy Atkins-Krüger, managing director of Web Certain:
Putting this post together, I realised why so many expert highly successful SEOs don’t enjoy the same success when they go international; the potential pitfalls are simply different. All their years of experience and their gut instincts don’t give them the right answers.
I remember my days training people to sail racing dinghies. Newcomers always made the same error – the yacht would heal as the wind filled the sails – but, instead of leaning out and backwards from the dinghy creating a counterbalance, our trainees would head for the middle and WALLOP – get very wet.
Dripping wet international SEOs, are towelling themselves off from similar experiences internationally! From personal experience I have seen errors in the international field which range from highly technical subtle differences – to pure rank stupidity.
Let’s get the really stupid one out of the way first.
Error One: IP Redirection
An international web-based company with a site which targets the far east to Europe and north America wants to point its US visits away from a very popular UK site. Easy, let’s just point all the American IP addresses over to our international dot com site, they say. Clap clap, job done. Days later traffic levels don’t just go off a cliff they dig a trench in the ravine and the ER team (Web Certain in whites) is called in. Now don’t you just know that they redirected the search engine crawlers too – wasn’t that obvious to you…?
Error Two: Autotranslation
I once came across a site where all of its non-English content had been auto-translated – to generate traffic. The problem was that our team of non-auto-translators (we call them that to keep them on their toes) couldn’t understand the first thing about the content – it was so far from having any value. In fact, it was easier to for them to work from the original English. Now in that process of autotranslation, our carefully crafted keywords become thoroughly mangled. In fact I’m starting a campaign to get the words “AUTOTRANSLATIOM KILLS KEYWORDS” added as warning on the packet.
Error Three: Assume everyone speaks English
Not exactly an SEO error – but certainly a missed opportunity as well as a cultural one. This presents difficulties on two levels; the audience may well understand English – but if you’re trying to persuade them to buy something – you’re going to be more successful talking to them in their own language, especially as your competitors are probably already doing that.
But there is a second reason why this is an error: the scope for keyword variety and therefore maximum potential for the site is much reduced by not expanding into the customer’s own languages.
Error Four: Several languages on the same page
This seems to crop up less frequently but not so long ago there was a fashion for the same web page to be published in, for example, English, French and German in different columns. However, this error still crops up but more subtlely and less deliberately where the metatags and page content are in different languages – and this we see frequently particularly for sites run by content management systems.
Error Five: No local inbound links
Today it is common knowledge that to succeed with search engines you need to have inbound links. But that becomes doubly more complex when you have different countries and languages to consider – and you need links from both. You can have some really strange things happen with page rank between countries too and a high page rank does not guarantee success in a particular language (because often the inbound links have been linked in English).
Error Six: Using only a dot com
This is a truly world phenomenon. So many organisations find that for either political or technical reasons – or because they think it looks good – they end up with a dot com and can’t shift from it. There are ways of mitigating the impact of this of course – like local links – but the people who will win the good fight in the end are those with the local country domains.
Error Seven: Duplication of content between countries
The way this happens is that the company hierarchy bounces the most recent web budget asking why it’s costing so much – “And why do we have translation costs for both Germany AND Austria – don’t they speak the same language”. They do of course – but an Austrian page in German is going to disappear into the ether in search engine listings terms. The reason is because it will be a duplicate of the same page in the company’s German site – which on a law of averages will be better linked because German is just a touch bigger than Austria (don’t tell the in-laws…). So you may need special content – just for the Austrians please.
Error Eight: Javascript changes the language content
This happens more often than you might think where javascript – controls the language setting of the page and pulls in a different language to the same template following the user’s instruction. The problem is that search engine crawlers don’t follow javascript navigation (which this is of course) so languages other than the default (English usually) just disappear.
Error Nine: Links in a different language to content
Now how many times have I seen this – or error messages the same. Let’s assume the main navigation has been changed, there are many sites where you still find odd little links in the footer – that really should have been translated and haven’t been. One or two and you’ll get away with it possible – but don’t overdo it!
Error Ten: Language code not set to the correct language
Very common – and the more minor of our peccadilloes for today. In fact, I did a study of this a few years ago and found that the majority of the Government web sites around Europe were actually encoded ‘en’ for general English and it didn’t have a huge impact on their rankings (thanks to being link loved by their own communities of course).
Summary
The above 10 errors are not the whole story. All the normal SEO errors still apply and I haven’t delved into the depths of hosting which is a whole story in its own right. But the fact is that the above errors are repeated so often that I think this must be a useful checklist to avoid the most typical pitfalls. Now I’m going back to our non-automatic non-alien humanoid team (otherwise known as international SEO experts from around the globe) to see the latest little linguistic challenge the world of SEO has brought to us.
Andy Atkins-Krüger, managing director, Web Certain
Technorati tags: seo search engine optimisation
Our latest column in Travel Weekly:
It is often very easy to fall under a mesmerising spell when using technology.
E-mail is no exception. Many people rightly argue that e-mail has revolutionised and sped up communications – although my own trade, journalism, has become increasingly lazy because of it – but as with anything, the benefits must be tempered by its pitfalls.
E-mail is terrific for reaching potential customers quickly and cheaply with targeted offers.
But here is a good example of the perils of the technology. A few weeks ago, chief executive of US low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, Ben Baldanza, came unstuck when he hit the dreaded ‘Reply to all’ button.
Rather than forward an e-mail to someone within the company regarding a complaint he had received, the customer received the following reply:
“Please respond, Pasquale, but we owe him nothing as far as I’m concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He’s never flown with us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny.”
Obviously angered by the e-mail, the customer sent the reply to a well-known blogger who immediately posted it on the Internet. It’s a sobering thought that we came across it within hours.
Forget for a moment what the response says about Baldanza and the customer service processes used by Spirit Airlines – there are a few lessons to be learnt from this.
Firstly, do not misjudge the simplicity of technology applications, they can get you into all sorts of trouble.
And secondly, never underestimate the power of the consumer to turn your actions against you and use the web to their advantage, damaging your reputation within hours.
NB: Our own e-mail (yes, I know the irony of all this) to Spirit’s director of communications about the incident has yet to result in a reply.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: spirit airline customer service
PING! Press release from the Comscore web measurement service arrives with happy news for Lastminute.com, First Choice and Cheapflights.
The trio are amongst a list of the top ten UK web brands showing the strongest growth in July.
The top ten are as follows, showing monthly uniques and the shift on July 2006:
Odeon 2,618 (up 49%)
Lastminute.com - 5,172 (up 30%)
Facebook - 7,604 (up 26%) Well, derrr
Cheapflights - 2,801 (up 22%)
Disney Online - 3,190 (up 22%)
First Choice Holidays - 3,592 (up 19%)
Play.com - 4,753 (up 19%)
Next Group - 3,851 (up 18%)
Dixons Stores Group - 4,712 (up 17%)
WordPress 2,716 (up 16%)
Bob Ivins, executive vice president at Comscore, says this:
“The success of travel and holiday sites mirrors the seasonal trends in the offline world, with July being a popular month for holiday, retail and entertainment sites. However, with the weather in the UK being so poor this summer it’s clear that – for domestic recreation activities at least – people have been surfing the Internet for indoor entertainment, hence the growth in traffic to cinema site Odeon.co.uk.”
Would this have been the case a few years ago? Probably not. The lead-in time for holidays is shortening every year. Holidaymakers will happily wait until the last minute before booking. The shoddy weather just exacerbates the situation.
[Full press release featuring the overall top UK brands]
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: thomson
cheapflights first choice comscore uk web traffic
Apparently a fifth of office employees are spending their working day engaging in personal activities and not actually working. In other words, messing around on the web. [Travolution employees - well, all one and a half us - are kept on a very tight leash!]
As an article on ZDNet today says: "Walk into any large office, and you will most likely hear the telltale computer bleeps of chat programs and online games, accompanied by furious mouse-clicking."
[This is why travel companies like Thomson have banned social networking sites such as Facebook]
Lastminute.com didn't care about this until recently, allowing its own customers users to click a button on the top horizontal navigation titled "The Boss if Watching - Look Busy".
The page would suddenly turn into a rather dull looking spreadsheet. [Pics courtesy of the WayBackWhen machine]
Alas the recently redesigned Lastminute.com homepage has done away with such mischief making functionality and would rather employees get caught while booking their holidays. How's that for customer loyalty!
UPDATE: A reader notes that the US Lastminute is still showing the Boss button.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: lastminute waybackwhen 2005 zdnet
A pleasant introduction to the minefield that is "Web 2.0 applications".
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: web 2.0 apps youtube simplespark
Hat-tip: Jebworks
No matter how evolved we think the Internet has become, if we're really honest with one another, we know there are only a handful of times when an online process is truly and utterly simple.
I was fortunate enough to experience one of these precious moments of simplicity last week when applying for a tourist visa to Cambodia, which I'm visiting next month.
A week later, I am still dumbfounded by the fact that you actually can apply for a visa online.
While I know this should be the case (after all, if we can file our taxes online, then why not a tourist visa application?), I've never come across an online visa application process before--well, not one that works anyway.
I don't know about you, but, sadly, it's my experience that most embassy and foreign consulate websites offer nothing more than an address and phone number, if you're lucky!
So imagine my (pleasant) surprise when I landed on what is, by far, one of the best websites I've ever come across--both within and outside the travel industry.
The website of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia is everything a website ought to be: informative, well-designed, easily navigated, and attractive.
But best of all, I was able to apply for my visa with just a few keystrokes and received my visa via email in under an hour.
Amazing!
What's more, the site provides detailed instructions on how to attach a photo to your visa application. (Unusually, the instructions are not, apparently, translated by someone whose first language is not English.) There is even a link provided for those who need to download photo software.
Even better, the Cambodians don't seem to mind if you take a photo with your mobile (which I did), and provide instructions on how to upload the photo to your desktop.
The website says it encourages tourists to apply for a visa online in the name of helping to protect the environment (even though you need to print your visa, at least you don't have to waste environmentally toxic petrol commuting to the embassy).
I suppose that kind of helps to offset all those carbon emissions I'll be pumping into the atmosphere as a result of flying to Cambodia from London in the first place.
Oh well, you know what they say...every little helps.
Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution
We have been saying for a few months that Ebay will become a force in travel.
Singapore Airlines has clearly been listening and has launched what it calls an "unprecedented event".
The South-East Asian carrier will be auctioning tickets for the maiden flight of its brand new Airbus A380 on Ebay from Monday 27 August.
Starting prices for the first trip - Singapore to Sydney and back again on 25-26 October - start at a modest $3.80 for economy seats, $38 for business class, and $380 for "suites".
No Buy It Now for this auction!
We will track some of the tickets to see how much they sell for once the auction is complete.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: ebay singapore airbus a380 singapore airlines
Picture shows the Lastminute.com team during a recent industry cricket match at London's Lords Cricket Ground. Marketing director Simon Thompson is on the far right.
The men in pink eventually drew the tournament with Yahoo!, but saw off those other masters of search Google in the semi-final.
Apparently Google president for operations in EMEA Nikesh Arora turned up all kitted out to play in the final, atlhough the Googlites had already been beaten by then. Mustn't laugh.
Entries via the comments section please.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Fill in the blank space.
Here is one to get us going:
...the private beach in the photo is clearly not "white sand"
Leave responses in the comments section. Start a list on your own blog. Just a bit of Friday fun...
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: bogus review fraud user review
Ben Baldanza, chief executive of US carrier Spirit Airlines, put his mighty foot in it this week.
A couple emailed the company - quite a few executives, in fact, after finding their addresses on the web - with a lengthy complaint about a flight they had taken from Orlando to Atlanta.
Unfortunately Baldanza hit the wrong button and sent this back, not only to Pasquale (who we presume works in the customer service department), but also the sender:
Please respond, Pasquale, but we owe him nothing as far as I'm concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He's never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny.Ouch...
I've actually been a bit unnerved by a post from a fellow blogger today.
Alex Bainbridge, who usually writes the well thought-out and informative Musings blog, is clearly losing the plot over at TourCMS Towers. Either that or he wants free tickets to our Autumn Conference or Question Time event. No...
Anyway, not sure what to say about all this, but hopefully readers can help out.
[Read the full post]
For real revolutionaries, of course, readers can discover how the industry voted when we put together our Influential Ten list last year, created to celebrate the pioneers over the past ten years in online travel.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: awards conference
Well, not THE David Dimbleby (he of the BBC), but his presence will be felt during the inaugural Travolution Question Time on Tuesday 25 September.
Joining me, as chair for the evening, on the panel will be:
We have been getting this irritatingly vague message for most of the day.
We are not alone - other leading blogs on the same platform have suffered the same fate and it is not a fault with the network here at RBI.
Anyway, thankfully the problems at Blogspot Towers appear to have been resolved.
Normal service resumes, hopefully...
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
We like this:
A demo of a mash-up for Google Earth to track hurricanes and other weather patterns using feeds from Weatherbonk, TropicalAtlantic and GUI Weather.
Seems like a useful tool for travel websites which are using Google Earth to show the location of properties and destinations. Unless you're a Caribbean tour operator trying to flog holidays in August, of course.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: google earth hurricane weather mash-up
Hat tip: Nathan on TW Blog
Google promised last week that users will soon be able to embed Maps onto websites - and they have fulfilled that promise today.
This is an excellent and incredibly simple way of bringing a huge amount of functionality to a site. Existing features such as the switch to satellite view are also available, as well as the scroll bars and mouse-led movement. Nice...
Developers will also no longer an API for the basic map tool, although tags and extra functionality will still need some coding.
But a fantastic development for travel companies, especially those only beginning to dabble in the online world.
A quick demonstration, of course. [The view is of the new stadium belonging to Arsenal Football Club. Yes, I know: blatant exposure for London's best football team]
View Larger Map
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: google maps API mash-up
Much has been written in the past few days about the lawsuit filed in the US by American Airlines against Google.
Irony corner: check out Google News to see just how many news stories there have been.
In short, the scrap is over American's annoyance that Google will sell the keywords "American Airlines" to all and sundry, meaning that rival airlines, online travel agencies, meta search sites, et al, can hijack the paid-for ad slots against search results.
On Google UK, Airline Network is currently occupying the top spot.
Amid the coverage that this is potentially the biggest lawsuit over brand hijacking ever brought against Google, lies this poigant comment in a post - "Lawsuit destined to Fail" - on ZDNet.
"Instead of going after the people actually abusing their trademark, they want Google to pay the price for letting it happen in the first place."
Copyright and branding law is a minefield, of course, but is Google really that unstoppable?
One argument could be that American could actually be trying to raise the profile of the issue again to the extent that other high profile brands take a stance. And then, with a group of companies in commercial solidarity, Google might find the problem too big to ignore.
Interesting times...
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: american american airlines lawsuit
Sutori is a rather curious new website, launched earlier this week in the UK, following a year or so in Beta in the US.
It has the potential to take off - but also flounder pretty quickly.
At the most basic level it is a common-all consumer review site which allows users to post their thoughts about brands or products - but it also has some nice Web 2.0-themed features.
Users can tag how they are feeling, such as "livind with rage", "annoyed", "delighted", etc.
Other users can then rate each post (agree or disagree), add their own comments, and companies criticised or praised can respond.
Tag clouds are also included on the homepage. Here is the tag for Travel.
And a nice touch is the Goodwill Meter, showing the level of "agreements" or "disagreements" currently running on the site.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: sutori consumer review tag cloud
Sitting in the garden of a relative's house in Cambridge last Friday afternoon - annual leave, I hasten to add - and who should call?
The Ottawa Business Journal, of course.
One of its hacks, Krystle Chow, was writing a piece about the ten year anniversary of travel journal website TravelPod.
Kevin May, editor of UK-based travel industry magazine Travolution, says the challenge for TravelPod is to stay on the cutting edge in order to keep and attract members, since there are so many alternatives for the Internet-savvy, connected traveller.What wasn't mentioned in the piece was how we got onto TripAdvisor's takeover of the company. It is certainly a logical step for the user review website as it attempts to spread its (Expedia-owned) tentacles into new areas, and a nice injection of funds for TravelPod.
"A lot of travellers now have the confidence and feel empowered to create their own blogs and there are lots of other travel networks on the scene, so where does TravelPod go next?" he says. "There are other viable alternatives to the TravelPod model now ... and the challenge is to be constantly innovative, since good, successful travel sites need to continually evolve,' Mr May says.
"Some people feel that Facebook is the de facto social network [here in the UK], so you can see why people would want to use Facebook to spread the message, but on the flip side, it doesn't take a lot to use Facebook in a TravelPod way, by posting notes and pictures on Facebook in the same way they do on TravelPod. In that way, Facebook could become quite a competitor for TravelPod,' he says.
Fascinating article on Reuters about the rise of and strategy behind the price comparison site.
The focus is very much on the financial services sector but there are some lessons for the travel industry, especially in terms of public perception.
In a pretty scathing opening, writer Jennifer Hill says:
"The marketing conceals strong commercial motivation: these are profit-making businesses, raking in billions of pounds in commission and advertising from product providers."
Sites mentioned in the piece include MoneyExpert.com, MoneySavingExpert.co.uk, SimplySwitch.com, uSwitch.com, Gocompare.com and ComparetheMarket.com, as well as Moneysupermarket, owner of Travelsupermarket.
Worth a read...
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: mortgage insurance financial services bank price comparison
"Forever, until victory". Or at least until you get found out.
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control is $182,000 better off after Travelocity was found to have broken rules originating from the Cold War which prohibit companies from trading with the Communist haven of Cuba.
This is really rather naughty in the eyes of the US government, who take a dim view of companies who trade with the devil small island in the Caribbean without a license.
According to The Register, Travelocity claimed the transactions had only been allowed because of a "technical malfunction". Nevertheless they managed to do it on 1,458 occasions for, er, over six years.
[OFAC statement]
Kevin May, editor, Travolution Technorati tags: castro che guevara cuba travelocity treasury
UPDATE III: TripAdvisor in the US told us: "This is untrue. Beyond that, we do not have any comment."
Influential blog Mashable has reacted with barely disguised astonishment today after discovering TripAdvisor has bought a Facebook application for $3 million.
The Where I've Been tool - yes we've tried it out - has around 2.3 million "users" (or those that have installed it on their Facebook pages) and simply allows people to plot locations they visited on a world map, which can then obviously be shared with friends.
"INSANITY", screams Mashable. [Full post]
"We say users in a relative way, however, since these surely aren’t as valuable as the users on an independent site: they’re “borrowed” members of Facebook who could ultimately decide that they’d like to switch to a different travel app.They've got a point.
"Monetizing them, meanwhile, is also a challenge. No doubt TripAdvisor was wise to tap the youth demo through acquisition, but justifying that price seems impossible."
Our latest column for Travel Weekly, headlined "Users’ online experience is far better than the offline reality":
Online travel companies are forever talking about ‘user experience’ as one of the key areas that must be absolutely perfect before launching a website or piece of functionality.
From the moment of conception to early drafts by web designers, through usability testing to trial runs with consumers, a desire to have an as-near-to-perfect user experience is more often than not at the top of any list of requirements.
Given that user experience is paramount to success in the new world of online travel, it would be fascinating to see how the sharp end of travel in the offline world, the departure airport, would fare if put to the same levels of scrutiny.
The problem is that many passengers – this summer in particular – would argue that the user experience at a number of the UK’s leading airports is poor.
There are a number of external and widely discussed factors at work here, but the basic procedure of passing through an airport is clunky, stressful and time-consuming.
However, the best travel websites have an easy entry point for users, seamless navigation and have been created with the modern consumer in mind.
Many UK airports are not run using the same philosophy.
Consumers often behave the same way online as they do offline – busy people who want to reach the end of the ‘journey’ as soon as possible.
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic claim their new entry points at Heathrow (the new Terminal 5 and a revamped Terminal 3 respectively) will improve the passenger experience greatly. Both have been designed, they say, with the modern consumer in mind – like the best websites.
But until there is a wider rethink about the design and usability of airports, travellers will continue to be faced with a user experience akin to those awful websites of the early 1990s.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: heathrow gatwick protest user experience
Good article on the excellent E-Consultancy website about the dreaded booking process - and how ecommerce sites can (try to) reduce the number of drop-outs.
A full report - Online Retail Checkout - can be bought here.
In short:
Does this little revelation surprise anyone at all?
No, thought not...
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Following the success of the Travolution Summit in April, we are pleased to unveil this year's autumn conference.
Thursday 1 November 2007, Imagination Gallery, London.
Consumers live in a multi-channel world, communicating, researching, shopping and being entertained via a host of channels – online, text, video & TV programmes, print media etc – and to match the expectations of their consumers the travel industry is going multi-channel too.
The Travolution Autumn Conference combines the latest strategic thinking from some of the industry’s leading players with a choice of in-depth seminar sessions led by experienced multi-channel practitioners.
The programme will explore multi-channel issues and approaches in f core areas: Platforms – TV and mobile; Suppliers – hotels and airlines; Search; Social Networking and Travel Providers – traditional agents, OTAs and tour operators.
Confirmed speakers include:
David Soskin, chief executive, Cheapflights
Richard Firminger, regional sales director, Northern Europe, Yahoo!
Annie Wilson, business development director for Europe, Kayak
Ignacio Martos, chief executive, Opodo
Andrew Botterill, chief executive, Global Travel Group
Kristie Goshow, Jumeirah
Jonathan Wilson, senior account director, Red Bee Media
And many more to follow...
More details, booking instructions, agenda, etc.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Those progressive types at travel technology company Click With Technology sent out a press release a few days ago with news of how they are using Facebook to conduct consumer surveys for some of their clients, such as Hays Travel, On Holiday Group, Cruise.co.uk, Holidaytaxis and Teletext Holidays.
Not wanting them to take all the glory for being progressive and, er, thinking-outside-the-box, we thought we'd launch our own series of polls - the results of which we will share each week.
We asked 200 London-based Facebook members the following question:Where Do You Go To Find Out About Travel Deals?
The poll took less than 24 hours to complete and we do not know the individuals that took part.
Here are the results:
Brace yourself for some breaking news: Revealing your personal details online, or leaving your passport and/or wallet hanging around a hotel room, could make you a target for identity theft.
I know, I must be joking, but alas it's true.
Aren't you pleased I shared this important nugget of information?
I know August is a slow news period, but surely it's not necessary to trot out the same old stories week after week, year after year (change the date, keep the headline, is a phrase which pops to mind).
Over the past few weeks, a number of "warnings" have been issued to consumers about the hazards of revealing their personal and financial data online.
The scaremongers of late seem to favour targeting online social networking sites like FaceBook and MySpace (see our recent blog post Dark side of social networking).
Obviously, something which is new and interesting (though social networking sites are not really all that new) must have some major flaws (please).
But the "news" doesn't stop there.
Fraudsters are helping insurance premiums to skyrocket, so it is only logical that banks remind their careless customers not to leave their wallets hanging around for all the world to see.
New research from Capital One reveals that 45% of British holidaymakers don’t use the safes provided in hotels, with the majority leaving passports and personal documents lying around hotel rooms and apartments, or carrying them around whilst out and about.
Actually, that is a rather staggering statistic.
But, having just returned from holiday in Corfu, where many of the apartments and villas charge you a fiver a day to use their safe, I can understand why holidaymakers might opt instead to spend their hard-earned dosh on something more holiday-like (like a carafe of local wine).
The sad truth is we all have that "it will never happen to me" arrogance. I do it and I'll bet you a fiver you do it.
So, whilst I am a bit tired of all the scaremongering, I guess maybe we do need to be reminded to use some common sense---whether it's at home, abroad, online or offline.
(I do, however, take issue with targeting specific companies barring some firm evidence of their specific risk.)
Do we really need all these statistics and reports to tell us what we intuitively know?
No. But will we forget all about this by the time the next summer holiday season rolls around?
You betcha. Hence why I'm saving this blog--just gotta change the date next year.
Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution
Good news for the Average Joe.
Apparently, Google is launching a new version of Google Maps, which will allow anyone with a website to embed the mapping functionality into their site.
Prior to this technological feat, you needed an API (that's application programming interface for you mere mortal readers).
Adding Google Maps will now be as easy as uploading a YouTube video---just a bit of Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V of some HTML code and you're in business.
The embedded maps provide a satellite view, map view or hybrid view, and users can click and drag the maps around.
The development is great news for the great unwashed, especially small businesses with limited technological savvy.
Now any business with a website will be able to include a map of their location (or locations), and allow users to get directions with a few keystrokes.
All hail the democratisation of technology.
Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution
According to a report on the BBC.
Right - off to check emails.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
...Times Online Travel Section.
Hot on the heels of the 100 Best Travel Websites just two months ago, the Times Online travel team has assembled the Top 10 Travel Websites!
And rubbing shoulders with the likes of EasyJet, TravelSupermarket, WAYN.com, Laterooms, Worldweather, Simplyparking, Multimap, TripAdvisor, Expedia is, er, Times Online Travel.
"Yes, we’re blowing our own trumpet here. But where else can you find more than 5,000 skilfully written and carefully researched travel articles, all easily searchable?Oh dear.
"Once inspired, you can also find exclusive deals on thousands of hotels, villas and apartments. And if you want the latest travel blogs, webcams, websites and internet booking tips, you can check out Timesonline.co.uk/onlinetravel."
UK regulator the Office of Fair Trading is cracking the whip against airlines which "did not include all fixed, non-optional costs, such as taxes, in prices on their websites".
Ryanair and Aer Lingus have changed their homepages but are still to fully implement the OFT directive to their sites, the regulator said.
Eleven other airlines under scrutiny have promised to change their advertising and online booking processes to ensure consumers know exactly how much the price of a flight will be.
And the underlying message from all this:
Why on earth did it take so long to implement?
[OFT press release]
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: ryanair aer lingus
A keen Travolution blog reader, responding to my recent post about the banning of FaceBook, has alerted me to the fact the all the cool kids now refer to the site as Facey B.
Dear me.
Here I was thinking I'm so switched on to new technologies, when all my self-assuring beliefs that I'm actually still 17, are dashed in one fell swoop.
Damn.
I really don't need to be reminded of my age when I'm six weeks away from my 3...birthday...errm, I'm mean my 18th birthday.
Now, be honest (and make me feel somewhat better, please)...how many of you techies out there knew about Facey B?
Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution
Have you heard that the UK government has now banned its employees from using FaceBook?
Well, they have, as have a number of private firms, who shall remain nameless in the interest of sparing them the shame they deserve.
Let's go back to the UK government's decision for a moment, though.
It says it doesn't want its employees using FaceBook for fear that they will not get any work done.
That really helps to instill my faith in civil servants' commitment to their jobs. Cheers.
You can just hear the Homer Simpsonesque grumble..."Stupid working".
Can't you just see the next Prime Minister's Questions:
David Cameron (who no doubt has lots of hoodies as "friends" on his personal FaceBook account): "So, Mr Brown, why has your government banned its employees from using FaceBook?"
Gorden Brown (Scottish droll): "Britain will stand united against terrorism."
It's absurd.
Here's a newsflash: Banning FaceBook, YouTube, MySpace, or any other social networking site, will not solve corporate and government productivity dilemmas.
If companies and government really want to know how their employees are spending their time online, they should check out the lunchtime hits on travel sites like Expedia.
Three words: Through...The...Roof.
Translation: Employees are more interested in leaving work...not hanging out at their desk talking to some other poor slob whose bored at his desk.
Leave FaceBook alone!
Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution
That business class-only airline SilverJet never misses an opportunity to 1) promote itself or 2) take a pop at those without a luxurious Luton terminal all to themselves.
The latest missive from its PR agency has this rather bold claim:
"Passing through Heathrow Airport is more stressful than being mugged at knifepoint."It turns out that SilverJet has commissioned a "scientific study" to look at stress levels of passengers passing through Heathrow Airport - and this the headline finding.
"The shocking results from Dr Lewis’ experiment showed passenger heart rates peaked at four times their resting levels and physiological stress levels exceeded those recorded amongst Formula 1 racing drivers or free-fall parachutists.Far be if for Travolution to cast doubt on the study and its conclusions ("These findings help us to understand the stress points in the customer journey and enable us to completely remove them from the Silverjet service," said SilverJet boss Lawrence Hunt), but one concerned contact emailed us with this:
"Some parts of the experience even proved to be more stressful than being mugged at knife point."
"...a severe restriction on our ability to compete, grow, create jobs and provide our excellent service to both business users and leisure travellers.But when pressed on whether SilverJet had abandoned its desire to operate out of Heathrow, now that the Bermuda II agreement will be replaced by Open Skies from early next year, a spokesman sent us this response:
"We and our investors would like to invest further in the development of Silverjet, but currently the opportunities for this are limited."
"Luton was chosen after careful evaluation of all of the London airports and offers passengers considerable benefits that would not have otherwise been achievable at other airports - namely that Silverjet has been able to operate from its own private terminal and is not restricted by BAA.So that'll be that... We'll wait to see if SilverJet does become one of the eager airlines knocking on the doors of Heathrow in the run up to March 2008.
"The current situation at Heathrow highlighted recently in the media and the results of our own study only go to highlight the benefits of flying from regional airports such as Luton and in it’s current state of turmoil Silverjet wouldn’t entertain the idea of putting it’s passengers through the airport."
Apologies for somewhat lacklustre activity on the Travolution Blog in recent weeks.
Our chief writer Tricia Holly Davis and and I have been taking some leave (phew...) and also our time has been spent on some rather exciting developments Chez Travo.
The September edition of our magazine [digitial editions of previous issues are available to download] will see the publication of months of hard work here at Travolution Towers.
We hinted at the Travolution Generations project in our Friday e-news bulletin a few weeks backs [sign-up] but we can now reveal more.
The entire edition will be examining the behaviour of different generations of consumers (16-24, 25-34, 35-54, 55+) with travel brands on the web.
Central to the Generations project is a three-part piece of research, backed by AOL UK.
Understandably we have been asked quite a few times this year about Web 3.0.
The Web 3.0 page on Wikipedia goes into a fair amount if detail, but here is a video of the top man at Google, Eric Schmidt, answering the same question at a recent conference in the US.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: web 3.0 web 2.0 semantic web
Here is a column for Travel Weekly from a few weeks back, which apparently generated some interest (can't track down the Letter of the Week in TW in response to it):
The editor of Travel Weekly and I recently attended one of those industry events that journalists often love and hate in equal measure: a debate restricted by the dreaded Chatham House rules.
Assembled in the room of a top London hotel was a venerable Who’s Who of the industry travel – every area of the industry was represented, old and new.
“Chatham House Rules” dictate that we were not allowed to report on who said what during the evening. Disappointing, but fair enough.
But the restriction on us as editors, therefore, means that the conversations were frank and extremely interesting.
Operators and agents explained strategies and predicted the future. Some of it was rather grim, much of it was upbeat.
At one point during the discussions, however, after plenty of talk about bed and air stock, retail and online distribution points, one attendee reminded everyone why they were there: customers, customers, customers.
Travolution is guilty as everybody else for often harping on about the latest web-based tools or technology, a new meta search engine or niche operator with a fancy website.
But as soon as travel companies forget the very reason for their existence – to provide an excellent service to the customer – they are effectively fighting a losing battle.
This is more relevant now than ever. As margins tighten and concerns grow about the economy in 2008, ensuring you provide the best possible customer experience is going to be vital.
A multi-channel world means there are more “touchpoints” than ever with the consumer. The web may have opened up choice to levels never seen in the industry before – but it also means you really do have to get the basics absolutely right.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: consolidation web 2.0
After radio silence for a few weeks, Travelsupermarket parent company Moneysupermarket has finally listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Here is its share ticker from Yahoo! Finance.
Founder Simon Nixon, pictured left alongside brother and Travelsupermarket boss Chris Nixon, appear to be smiling rather nervously on the first day of trading last week - perhaps because they just discovered the share price had tumbled by almost 10% (a cool £100 million) in the first few hours. They did recover (the shares and the Nixons).
Other recent City convert Thomas Cook has seen its price climb back slightly in recent weeks after shares lost almost a quarter of their value in mid-July.
[Thomas Cook ticker]
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: shares travelsupermarket moneysupermarket
This week's Travolution column for our sister title Travel Weekly, which kind of follows on from our post about Qantas last week:
Technology, coupled with the flexibility of the web, is continually pushing the boundaries of what the consumer demands from travel providers.
Qantas, for example, will fill its new Airbus A380 – due in August 2008 – with all sorts of goodies for passengers in every class.
Customers will be able to surf the web, check e-mail and browse destination guides from the Lonely Planet. Laptop owners will be able to do all these things anywhere on the aircraft thanks to wireless access.
This kind of service makes sense for a long-haul carrier such as Qantas, but how will other areas of the industry boost their own offering?
Customer service-driven technology is already everywhere in hotels. But, on a recent holiday to Spain, I was struck by how much opportunity there is for car hire companies.
Family May hired a vehicle via the user-friendly Holidayautos.co.uk (it even won a Travolution Award earlier this year, so the industry likes what they do as well) and had a hassle-free experience – both administratively and on the Spanish roads.
But in terms of boosting the customer experience I wondered whether more could be done. Perhaps in the not-too-distant future a GPS system could be pre-populated with the location of our villa, local attractions (restaurants, museums etc), supermarkets and petrol stations.
Better still: how about the car stereo having all the songs from my MP3 player already installed thanks to an easy upload carried out via the web before leaving the UK?
A lot of this stuff will undoubtedly be rolled out to high-end customers pretty soon (the technology is just around the corner).
But if Qantas is planning technological advances of its own for all passengers, including the great unwashed of economy class, I am looking forward to driving a cute five-door hatchback with all the latest gizmos reasonably soon.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Technorati tags: lastminute car
British Airways will just have to take today's news - landing a £121.5 million £270 million fine for fixing fuel surcharges - on the chin.
One suspects it will be open-season for those waiting years to have a pop at the UK's main carrier. The Guardian has some analysis here.
Within an hour or so of the Office of Fair Trading's ruling, Travelsupermarket.com emailed with this, penned by their flights manager, Bob Atkinson:
“We have lived with high prices for oil for several years now, so there is no excuse for airlines struggling to incorporate fluctuations into their fares.Kevin May, editor, Travolution
"Travelsupermarket.com calls on all airlines to absorb fuel charges within their pricing to increase transparency, as some of the low cost airlines already do. This makes pricing simpler and clearer for the customer.
“Travelsupermarket.com is opposed to any airlines colluding over prices. We support the work of the Office of Fair Trading to police the industry.”
