Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

Russia, the Oh-So Photogenic Subject

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Earlier this year I profiled a wonderful Russian photographer named Slava Stepanov, who is absolutely one of the finest photographers in the federation. Slava, who is from Novosibirsk, is the co-founder of the stunning agency known as Gelio Vostok. Over the years Over the years, Slava’s company has taken on projects from the US to the Far East […]

Airbnb to Sell Experiences Now

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In the news of Airbnb, the mighty vacation property rental platform is gradually rolling out a new homepage design. Set to coincide (supposedly) with the launch of City Hosts, the new simpler design is said to be focused on experiences as a key message. Whether or not Airbnb’s PR department is working overtime to get “juice” out of the paradigm “user experience” trend or not, this remains to be seen. As for most of the changes rolled out by Airbnb, the new homepage has been released as an A/B tests and thus is not yet live for 100% of the traffic.

Crete’s Best Resorts: Volume One

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Argo Travel News has done dozens of reports on the touristic value of Crete, our staff and affiliates love the island just that much. However, we have yet to do a roundup of the best all around resorts set on this majestic paradise. Here’s a the short bucket list of luxury and even economical vacation wonders, in the land where the Minoans once ruled.

Balancing In Between a Rigid and Adaptive Hotel Business Model

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The advent of new technologies has brought about a great deal of change for hospitality businesses. The trend has opened up amazing possibilities, while at the same time causing great apprehension.

Searching for Hospitality’s “Holy Grail” – Sustainability

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We hear so much about how tourism, hospitality, and especially hotels will ride the wave of Big Data into a revenue sunset. But underneath the hyperbole, there is a certain reality, the realization that sustainable businesses simply must emerge. It is also true that companies that provide the most stunning technological advancements in this field, cannot thrive unless their clients do.

AccorHotels Appoints First Chief Disruption Officer?

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Thinault Viort (at left) has been named the very first Chief Disruption and Growth Officer of AccorHotels. The move is reportedly to keep pace with a fast-moving consumer market. In one of the most interestingly worded press releases ever, a European mega hotel company touts an exec intent on shaking things up? According to the news […]

Airbnb’s Rocky Road to Vacation Bookings Supremecy

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Airbnb announced recently collaborations with a number of tech companies, in order to boost the company’s business conversions. API tests last year with the likes of Live Rez, BookingPal, Kigo and LeisureLink, as well as other connections, promise Airbnb hosts a billboard to reach even more guests. Tech connectedness is certainly Airbnb’s forte, as is the shared economy, but there’s some trouble brewing too. Here’s a look at what’s up with travel’s most forward thinking company this month.

Earth Day 2016 In Eastern Europe

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Celebrating its 46th year, Earth Day is all about igniting the passion for Mother Earth, and for inspiring people to channel energy toward environmental issues. Starting tomorrow, the latest issues and groundbreaking ideas come to the forefront. Here’s a sampling of Earth Day events across Eastern Europe.

Montenegro Resort Gets SOCAR Funding

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In tourism development news from Baku, an interview given by Montenegro President Filip Vujanovic tells of Azerbaijan investors putting money into a new resort slated to open in 2017. Here’s the news along with a little preview of the resort to come. The Azerbaijan national oil company SOCAR, along with large scale Azerbaijani companies,  Pasha […]