Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

Travel Technology

OTA CEOs and Who Has Your Back: Part I

Phil Butler

What do you want from information providers? How about service providers that offer information you need to know to make decisions? Where online travel is concerned, there has been a lot of shakeup of late over these questions. Can you trust reviews? Which OTAs can you trust? We decided to micro-analyze some questions and answers already provided by none other than USA Today, and the leading bosses of your online travel agencies.

Stay Where You Surf! Surfbreakrentals.com

Phil Butler

Surf’s Up. News from Northern California tells of surfers there launching a beach vacation rental site, Surfbreakrentals.com, by the company of the same name. The new travel website, with obvious intentions, offers some of the world’s best breaks and beaches at deals to users. In further news from the surfer dudes launching the site, world […]

Travelport Chief Envisions Better Cooperation With Airlines

Aleksandr Shatskih

Amidst all the kerfuffle regarding the failed attempt by American Airlines to change the way that global distribution systems operate, one of the key players in the squabble, Travelport CEO Gordon Wilson, has predicted a much more harmonious relationship between airlines and GDS companies in the future.

Twigmore Puts People First in Travel

Phil Butler

A new startup called Twigmore is aimed directly at putting people and their real impressions of “places” in the correct order. Unlike many “geocentric” travel tools, this new entry tries to arrange for local review wisdom for your trip planning. At least this seems like the gist.

NORTHWIND: Congrats to Maestro Software Clients

Aleksandr Shatskih

NORTHWIND, the leading provider of hotel management and reservation software solutions is delighted to offer its congratulations to a number of its valued clients, which have landed numerous top awards from top level travel organizations, including TripAdvisor Choice, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure Magazine, Forbes Travel Guide and AAA. NORTHWIND’s clients have built their […]

SITEX 2011 Expo Singapore Set To Be Biggest Ever

Aleksandr Shatskih

The SITEX 2011 Electronics and Computer Fair is back once again, and this year’s show promises to be the biggest and best yet with more than 900,000 visitors expected to attend the exhibition at the Singapor Expo Hall.

OTAs and the Offer Hotels Can’t Refuse

Aleksandr Shatskih

An article by Hotel News Now Editorial Director Jeff Higley last Thursday may just be the bugle call for a coming battle between OTAs and their benefactors, hoteliers. Higley’s report from the 23rd Deloitte European Hotel Investment Conference shined a bright light on growing friction between third party distribution agents, and the service providers they are supposed to help.

Nickels & Dimes & Billions: Ancillary Revenue Notes

Phil Butler

An article just the other day at Travel Agent Central hints at just how deep the well of ancillary travel revenue may be. According to a cited Amadeus/IdeaWorks report, ancillary revenues could triple from $32 billion to over $100 billion on the heels of electronic miscellaneous documents (EMDs). But, the real story beneath transactions may be the […]

Taking a Whiff of WIHP

Phil Butler

As you surf the web today, take note of just how many times you run across a WIHP ad. If ever there were an “over” the top campaign, the so called “all inclusive” hotel marketing agency may have gone too far.

So, since WIHP is all into viral evangelism and digital visibility, let’s take a look at just what’s going on there. First up, how about website creation?

Eva: Natural Language Search Revival

Phil Butler

A new product called Eva (Expert Virtual Agent) aims to become your virtual travel assistant. Unveiled at the recent PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Summit, Evature is an Israeli company marketing the Eva online travel search assistant. Winner of the DEMO Award for Most Game-Changing Travel Innovation, Eva aims to please a billion travelers soon.