The folks at Google are trying to solve for “X” again with a Google Maps feature called “Mapping Thanksgiving.”
Google Travel
City Mapper: An Idea Worth the Big VC Bucks
Tnooz reported last week the urban transport app Citymapper having received Series A funding from Balderton Capital and other VC of $10 million. Taking a closer look it’s pretty easy to see why the app is worth the big bucks.
Google Refines Top City Attractions Search Results
With this move, Google rendered SEO useless. Frommer’s, Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor, Nileguide, Virtual Tourist, Igougo and so on are now buried. They still can compete as apps, but the Google search results are no longer enough to drive traffic and readers.
Big OTAs and Big Hotels in Price Fixing Lawsuit
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?
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
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
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?
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”
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
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?
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
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.
WTM: 2011 Money Generation Machine
Travel Daily News reported this morning, the start of this week’s World Travel Market in London, the leading worldwide travel industry event, welcomed some 183 new exhibitors for 2011. From national tourism boards, destination management companies, to technology entities and beyond, ExCeL, London is the place to be November 7 through 10.
Zagat: Defining Move of Google’s Travel Strategy
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
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.