Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

BBC Abandons Lonely Planet, Or Is It the Other Way Round?

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Lonely Planet, one of the world’s most recognized names in digital travel, will now be owned by Nashville billionaire Brad Kelley’s NC2Media. BBC reported the deal for some $77.3 million, about half of what the British broadcasting giant paid for the business back in 2007. Despite the reported £80 million loss BBC will take, some say there are lessons worth learning still.

IAVRA: Putting Tech With Travel Agents for Value

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Today I revisited an exclusive villa rental player IAVRA, which I covered initially back in 2011. Back then my review was mega-positive, and I only have more positives to add today about the International Association of Villa Rental Agents (IAVRA) mode and method for renting us all fantastic getaways. Let’s take a look at how far these travel entrepreneurs have come.

Vacation Rentals Move In On Hotels – Some More

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Every Baby Boomer contemporary I know remembers the family beach vacation rental. Sure, we stayed at the Holiday Inn or Thunderbird Inn every now and then, but back when the best value was just a house or condo rental. And guess what? For the most part, renting a vacation flat, villa, home, or even houseboat beats forking over ten times as much for a hotel room.

Tunisia: A Vacation Land You Won’t Believe

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If you are in the mood to explore some fabulous attractions a scant few have ever seen by comparison, Tunisia is one place to investigate. Despite the negative reports, even Thomas Cook has rated the country one of the biggest coming trends for UK travelers. Based on the numbers of searches people make online, Tunisia is a lot more interesting than many have considered for travel.

Sochi Mayor Plans on Freezing Transportation Fares for 2014 Games

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Sochi’s Mayor, Anatoliy Pakhomov, submitted a proposal recently to freeze all air and rail ticket prices to Sochi until after the Olympics. Fearing the negative impact of potentially skyrocketed prices for the games, the freeze is suggested simply for the times surrounding the 2014 Olympics.

More Eastern Europe Stay’s You Never Imagined

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We take great pleasure in finding wonderful places and faces to share with you. Really we do. Today we bumped into a super friendly group of hotels presented though a company we found on Twitter actually. White Line Hotels may be semi-famous to some people, but we just found them to be quite honest. By way of a focus on what they offer, here’s two hotels in their group you may have never found, were it not right here with us.

Europe’s Beautiful, Aggravating Snow Blanket Continues

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Snow is one of those natural phenomenon we all love to love and hate. Here in Europe 2013 has been all about the perfect Winter landscape – yes, that would be a vast carpet o Snow White herself would be proud of. It has snowed in our village a dozen times this year, if not more. Still, our part of Europe is not the far frozen North most news agencies report.

Hotels In Hot PR Water Again Over Hidden Fees

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A a very high profile hotelier friend sent me an article just now from Hotel News Now. As his email interjected, I sit here agape and slack jawed at the prospect the US hotel industry could go down the chute. At least Ed Watkins visits upon the idea that all business credibility is at stake if the FTC finds foul play from some 22 hotel companies and a few OTAs. You are reading this right, alright.

Britain Travelers Hit the BRICS: What to Expect Next

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According to the World Travel Market (WTM) industry report for 2012, the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are set to finally emerge as the regions with the most growth potential. The BRICs are now seen as the biggest opportunities for growth this and next year.

Localeur – The Latest Shot At Nearby Travel Recommendations

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With localized information and services finally coming to the forefront, Austin, Texas gets a brand new travel startup named Localeur that takes aim at Milennial travelers. The local recommendation service is powered by insiders on the ground, according to the news.

Greece Still Has It: More Amanzoe Grandeur, That Is

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A bit of a funny info bit here. Looking at all the news today we ran across a fantastic new place to visit, represented by a fantastic PR company, with an even more fantastic gala event to draw your attention to it. The other day the founders of Aman Villas, Miltos Kambourides and Katerina Katopis, at Amanzoe attended a swanky press gig for just about anybody who is anybody in hospitality journalism. Funny, Argo Travel News is the first to tell you about these marvelous villas.

Our Segregated Travel Marketing: Putting “You” in Your Travel Place

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What about those gay and lesbian travelers? What do women really want? Is travel a man’s world? Is travel all business class and no play? Aren’t you about ready to break free of the bonds of cliche niches? I am. There’s so much targeted marketing going on out there in hospitality land, we’re surprised more people have not noticed the laser sighting scanning their prone suntanned bodies. Look at what just this week’s news reveals about you as a “niche” rather than YOU the person.

Armenia’s Eurovision 2013 Dark Angel – Tony Iommi

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Eurovision 2013 in Malmo may end up being the most talent filled competition in the history of the contest. And all along the trip to the finals there we run across fascinating stories, none more fascinating than that of Armenian contenders Gor Sujyan & Dorians. Now a news bit from Yahoo! News makes things even more interesting a Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi comes into view.

Exquisite Experiences – Scarlett Hospitality’s Value Proposition

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Scarlett Hospitality Group has taken aim at becoming your exclusive online luxury booking source, among other wares and services. I thought we’d take a look at the service, since they were kind enough to follow our stories here and us on Twitter too. Here’s a look at a very nice online engagement. Just to let you know, I find this one really interesting.

#Travel Tuesday Short: A Passion for Boats on the Elbe

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Our attention was directed this #Travel Tuesday toward the Baltic and North Seas and tje wonderful traditional ships in Museumshaffen Oevelgönne e.V. These vessels, part a more than 100 years old tradition are simply a marvelous time portal back toward the heyday of Hamburg, the Elbe River, and the commerce that made seafaring the heartiest of professions.