Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - (Nearly) The End

The Travolution team finally managed to start winding down from the PhoCusWright conference on the way to Orlando International Airport yesterday.

But our adventure to Florida still had another twist in store.

As we happily sped along in the fast lane of Interstate Four, we suddenly heard a loud bang, quickly followed by rather violent shaking from the rear of the car.

Yep, the classic tyre blowout.

With a fair amount of effort, our taxi driver managed to steer the car into the central reservation of the freeway - where we greeted with the strong smell of burning rubber and the shredded remains of a tyre.

The driver refused any help, so there was little else to do except take pictures a few pictures, of course. [And hope the cops didn't show up]

Just thought we'd explain just in case any delegates travelling to the airport wondered why three pale Europeans were standing in the middle of I-4 on Thursday afternoon.


A surreal way to end a fantastic week.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Adios

...as they say in Florida.

For those who do not know, Travolution will be producing its Spring 2008 conference in London in association with PhoCusWright.

See you then.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Expedia's new model

Predictably, Expedia's announcement today about its move to a media-based system, initially with Intercontinental Hotels Group, has sparked an enormous amount of debate today.

Dara Khosrowshahi admits he doesn't know if or how the model will expand, either into other hotel groups or airlines.

He declines to say when or how it will impact on the bottom line.

Although it has not been stated, there is a feeling that a wait-and-see approach has been adopted by Expedia - and IHG - to see whether it works or not.

It really is a fundamental shift in Expedia's supplier model.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Dara is looking for the Holy Grail

So this is it. The final slot of the conference, featuring Expedia chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, is trying to tackle what is still the trickiest issue for online travel agencies:

How do OTAs replicate the role of the traditional agent?

It involves three things:

• Email marketing (especially suggestion-based or reminders)
• Segmentation of the customer (eg offering exclusive call centre numbers)
• Taking search to the next level (understanding the behaviour and preferences of users)

"We want to see the world as flat", Khosrowshahi says, so Expedia can have a relationship with every single consumer.

It all sounds simple doesn't it.

It isn't...

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - But the biggest buzz of all...

...probably goes to VibeAgent, which finally made it out of private beta this week and was unveiled to delegates.

It really is worth a look.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Whizzy Farecast

General nods of approval in the press area - where hacks take a feed from the mainstage onto screens or headsets - as Hugh Crean of Farecast runs through a multitude of functions.

"Selection and price is not enough," seems to be the Facecast mantra.

And they are clearly trying to live up to it in reality.

The site allow users to search for flights using every possible permutation: price, weather, date, class, distance, type.

But how can something such as Farecast grow and attract consumers who don't actually care about such a multitude of options?

This would be a worry, someone mutters in the press area, because "info overload" is just not attractive, especially to those who actually like 'From' and 'To' type search capability.

Travolution's recent Generations project backs this up. Our focus groups across all ages preferred the simplicity of a Google-style website than reams of content.

Hmmm.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Metcalfe's law

The value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of users of the system.

Jeffery Boyd of Priceline opens his keynote with a reference to Metcalfe's Law.

He makes some interesting points about social networks:

"Social networks give everybody a shot a celebrity," he says. Not heard it in that way before - but it makes a lot of sense.

In America, he adds, more people are interested in Paris Hilton or a dog belonging to Ellen De Generes than the "Race for the White House" (TM).

And so to reach those people is a vital part of the future marketing strategy for online travel agencies and other travel companies.

However, Boyd highlights the concern of a number of travel companies with regards to brand value by asking whether a company should target sub-groups on social networks that have slightly, er, unusual interests. [The example he gives is displaying hotel ads alongside discussion groups about cannabis cafes in Amsterdam]

Priceline would not, he says.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Real Life of Second Life

Similar to the Travolution conference earlier this year, an entire session devoted to Second Life.

On the panel are Scott Hyden (STA Travel), Daniele Mancini (Costa Cruises) and Burt Rosen (Starwood Hotels), all of which have dabbled/are dabbling in the virtual world.

Rosen makes a good point in that in the early days of Second Life, when the business press (us included) gushed about its potential, many articles contained a reference to its experiment with the Aloft hotel - good PR, in other words.

But over the summer this year there were a series of scathing pieces in the media about Second Life, criticising brands that have wasted spent a fair deal of money in the virtual world, but often find themselves with embarrasingly empty buildings or land.

[Wired's article]

There is a critical point to consider over these sporadic forays into Second Life by travel brands. With a potentially tougher market looming (especially here in the US), companies are probably NOT going to R&D or marketing budgets in virtual words.

The wind in the sails of Second Life earlier this year suddenly feels like little more than a gentle breeze.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Long Tail factoids etc

• Johnson & Johnson's corporate travel budget totals $915 million a year - but only $272 million is spent on flights and hotels. The rest is on "Long Tail" products such as car hire, ancilliaries, taxis.


• 64% of online business travellers bought an event ticket during their trip.

So what you like about Ronald Reagan, but here's a nice quote:

When we come to the edge of our known world, we're standing on the edge of the infinite.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Final Day Pancakes

A slightly truncated programme today as many delegates are leaving the land of white picket fences for home.

Those staying on for a few more days are weighing up whether to play golf, relax by the pool or say Hi to Mickey - Travolution, however, is heading back to dear old Blighty on the red-eye flight to London tonight.

In the meantime, there is plenty to get through until 2pm, when the conference sessions end.

But spare a thought for your correspondent. Can you imagine the impact on the jetlagged brain when one of the first items on the news this morning was this:

Image of Jesus and Mary seen on pancakes.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Travolution and the Owl

Travolution sales and sponsorship manager Charlotte Davies fulfilled a lifetime ambition last night when she met TripAdvisor's infamous owl at the review giant's drinks reception.

Rumours circulating that TripAdvisor boss Steve Kaufer has a dual role at the company and quickly donned the outfit after his mainstage appearance yesterday are apparently wide of the mark.

Captions via the comments button...

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Travo told you so...

Everyone expects Expedia boss Dara Khosrowshahi will have something to say about the Intercontinental Hotels Group deal when he takes to the stage here this afternoon.

Keen readers will remember how we picked up on this nugget of information from Murad Hajeebhoy at a conference in London earlier this year.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - TripAdvisor's new formula

Honest brokers = truth.

PLUS

Social networks = trust.

So this is where TripAdvisor is going. Chief executive Steve Kaufer has explained how the Expedia-owned outfit is slowly shifting its model from that of a mass review website to one which incorporates social networking.

It has to, some might argue.

But, as Philip Wolf rightly pointed out during Kaufer's introduction, TripAdvisor has helped shape the Long Tail of Travel.

And here is one mindblowing stat to support that accolade: 80% of all hotels listed on TripAdvisor are viewed every single day.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Roadtrippers

LeisureLogix has won the Five Minutes of Fame competition, based on a delegate vote of presentations from sponsored workshops over previous days.

They run a white label product in the US for roadtrippers, utilising car hire and hotel bookings.

And they are already up and running on Travelocity.

So, well done, LeisureLogix.

Take a look...

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Google takeaway test

Google, for it is here in force, with a dozens of delegates roaming the halls, has set delegates a task to carry out when they leave the land of alligators and Mickey.

Tim Armstrong, Google president for advertising and commerce in North America, said the search giant plotted a list of its "assets" on piece of paper a year or so ago.

The results were a very important exercise in understanding the business and trying to reach every user.

The test for travel companies is to evaluate how many of those assets are joined - or map your products.

Armstrong says: "If you do not know where your assets are connecting with consumers then you will not be able to connect with the Long Tail."

In other words: travel outfits have to offer everything to everybody.

Armstrong admitted Google, for a while, did not.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - It doesn't fit exactly

Steve Barnhart of Orbitz highlights a good point about the Long Tail of Travel.

Chris Anderson, Wired editor and author of the seminal work, The Long Tail, used the sales of books and audio to demonstrate the economics of the long tail.

But there is a disconnect when it comes to interpreting the model for travel, Barnhart says.

"Travel experiences" are infinite but "travel destinations" are finite.


Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Fibbing agents

What is the difference between a travel agent and a real estate agent?

Travolution boss Simon Ferguson posted this, er, response on the enormous SMS feed screens above the stage:

"Real estate agents know when they are lying."

Oh dear.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - How many names do you need?

OMIK.com.

CMIO.com.

Project Purple Demon.

Rocket.com.

This confusing series of names was the tortuous process the founders of Hotwire.com went through before they settled on Hotwire.

Let's be grateful that they procrastinated persisted...

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Anti-Long Tails

Okay - so the theme of the conference is 'Braving the Long Tail'.

However...

Michelle Peluso from Travelocity reveals a not-so-Long Tail side when she says: "I don't think we will become specialist content experts."

Steve Barnhart, chief executive of Orbitz Worldwide, at the beginning of his keynote after lunch, raises a few laughs when he highlights the irony of hosting a conference about the Long Tail of Travel in the "fat part" of travel's long tail: Orlando.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Travolution@PhoCusWright 07 - Worse than the IRS

Michelle Peluso, chief executive of Travelocity, takes to the stage for a 20-minute plea for unity within the online travel industry.

But this is not an industry love-in.

Peluso reels off a string a worrying stats regarding consumer satisfaction with travel websites.

On the whole the online travel agencies perform very poorly, with satisfaction levels either flat or declining.

"Together we can make this industry more satisfying for consumers between us," Peluso urges delegates, many of which are arch rivals of Travelocity.

It clearly needs to. OTAs come out worst than the dreaded Internal Revenue Service in the US.

Cue nervous laughter...

Ouch.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution