Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

Google Travel

Big OTAs and Big Hotels in Price Fixing Lawsuit

by

A federal lawsuit naming the likes of Expedia, Orbitz, Booking.com, Travelocity, Trump International Hotels Management, Intercontinental, Kimpton, Sabre Holdings, Priceline, Marriott, Starwood, and Hilton alleges the companies conspired to fix hotel room prices. According to the news from Reuters, the suit claims the travel giants did so in an effort to fend off competition from smaller online retailers.

Should Google Buy Travelzoo?

by

What could Google do with Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO)? This is the question some insiders may be asking if reports of the beleaguered travel deal company’s sale ring true. Having had shared plummet over 70 percent since last year, Travelzoo would seem ripe for the picking, but just who’s plucking online booking portals these days? Reuters has it the company is seeking advisers on a potential sell.

Google Search: Concerts & Mind’s Eye Travel Boosts

by

Google’s seemingly never ending list of improvements and refinements to search received the latest “tweak” with concert information in real time. Released yesterday with little or no fanfare, Google users can now see live concert and artist info including; dates, venues, and links to sites offering tickets. Tools for locals and tools for travel come to light in the last two days.

Google Flight Search Moves to Mobile

by

Good news for the die hard Google user, the world’s biggest Internet player has just announced Google Flight Search for Android and iOS devices. The company says these mobile variants offer all the functionality and benefits of the desktop platform. According to a post on the official Google blog, since launching Flight Search back in […]

Who’s the Big Bad Wolf of Hotel Marketing?

by

Just out, the Distribution Channel Analysis study via the American Hotel Lodging Association (AH&LA) and STR, has been released. The detailed study, supposedly aimed at helping “all” hoteliers better understand hotel room distribution, discusses distribution channel mix, among other salient hotel profitability instances. But, is the study really meant for all hoteliers, or just the fat cats?

Google Hotel Finder Adds “Search by Travel Time”

by

Google Hotel Finder has finally rolled out some of its much-anticipated ‘innovation’, in the form of a new search parameter than allows us to search for hotels by travel time from key attractions and destinations

HotelMaps: Clean, Clear Alternative for Hotel Finding

by

Sparkly clean accomodation finder HotelMaps is a welcome surprise to the space being dominated by Google and Hipmunk currently. The German startup affords users an interactive experience that leads to a no nonsense booking experience. For those in search of simplicity and accuracy in hotel finding, HotelMaps appears to be a winner.

Will Expedia’s “Verified” Reviews Fly?

by

Last week, Danny King over at Travel Weekly hit the nail on the head with his assessment of Expedia’s so called “verified” review system. Expedia Verified Reviews attempts to qualify hotel reviews using “use” of Expedia as a criteria. Having pushed TripAdvisor from the OTA nest on its own, Expedia seems intent on milking the last drop from the user review teat.

Twigmore Puts People First in Travel

by

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.

Zagat: Defining Move of Google’s Travel Strategy

by

The highly anticipated New York City restaurant guides are out now. A story about his by Garth Johnston of the gothamist not only drew my attention, but made me put on my thinking cap too. Google’s movements into travel, the changing framework of online travel, and the real value of credability seem to be boiling to the surface of the online business soup. Zagat, the online restaurant guides slash data company, offers interesting value.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts: The Luxury You’d Expect

by

Starwood Hotels’ Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts has released a limited edition US destination guide published by Assouline. Part of a set of bound books, the luxuriously crafted books show off the Luxury Collection’s most exquisite properties around the world.

Gowalla: Will It Be Google’s Next Announcement?

by

It was inevitable once Google announced they were to acquire Zagat, the race for lost applications to engage travel. TechCrunch already reported on Gowalla, so did GigaOm, PC Mag, anyone “interested” in Gowalla. Chief Executive Josh Williams, according to PC Magazine, the Gowalla site will “re-focus” primarily on travel now. The selling point being, in depth guides, travel stories, relating the experience of travel – all conveniently on Gowalla.

Google Restaurant Finder? Well, Not Quite Yet

by

Google’s head of Local, Maps and Location Services, Marissa Mayer, just announced the acquisition of Zagat, publisher of worldwide restaurant guides, on the Google blog. Zagat is the entity that produces some of the world’s best printable restaurant guides, and accordingly, the platform will now help refine Google tools like Maps, Places, and Hotspot too, Google’s growing recommendation engine.

TripAdvisor’s Fake Reviews Sickness Goes Critical

by

TripAdvisor, the leading online travel reviews site in the world, is now under investigation by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over concerns reviews from travelers may be illegitimate. A formal investigation has reportedly been launched on the heels of complaints TripAdvisor’s reviews problems have reached monumental levels.