Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

TripAdvisor

10 Reasons “Crete” Should Be TripAdvisor’s Number One Destination

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TripAdvisor’s Top 25 Destinations of Europe 2018 were just announced, and Crete now sits at prestigious No. 4. However, us Minoans take great offense at not being chosen number one, since we gave you roads, usable toilets, and the world’s greatest EVER jewelry.

TripAdvisor Releases Experiences, Tours, and Activities Trends 2018

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TripAdvisor shares its top travel trend report for the experiences segment. TripAdvisor bookings data revealed that iconic sites remain wildly popular, while travelers are expanding their horizons and bringing growth to new, non-traditional and experiential categories.

A Top Ten of Crete Stays from TripAdvisor

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With hundreds of choices as to where to stay on Crete, one of the best ways to choose is to read and compare reviews before booking. Given the swath of worldwide hotels reviewed by TripAdvisor, we thought we’d save readers and potential travelers a bit of time sorting things out for themselves.

Travelers’ Hotel Choices: No Choice At All

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When Google acquired ITA flight software a couple of years back, a group of competitors went ballistic warning of unfair practices by the Internet search and ad giant. Most people back then blew off what FairSearch was contending, this author included. As it turns out, a half dozen court cases won and a lot of water under the hotel search bridge, and potential guests really have no choice at all. Google has rigged the hotel booking game into an ad recommendation one.

Scorecard: Winners in the UK Online Hotel Game

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According to a report (PDF) from greenlight recently TripAdvisor, Booking.com, and Laterooms now dominate the three most crucial search and social sectors of online visibility in the UK. Greenlight’s analysis of the top 15 brands across the online billboard showed not only each’s relative position to competitors, but just how seriously businesses engage via PPC, SEO, and social media means.

Scandic Hotels Adds TripAdvisor Reviews to Its Websites

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Swedish chain Scandic Hotels has partnered with TripAdvisor to include traveler ratings and reviews on each of its hotels’ website. Scandic wants to make the online booking process easier and straightforward for its hotels, and as recent data from Forrester shows that over 70% of guests read reviews before booking their accommodation, the chain is trying to reduce the need of going to third party sources for ratings.

Can Swipp Whip Facebook and Swipp Market Intel Into Shape?

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CEO and co-founder Don Thorson has been “Swipping” his team’s startup into shape, according WIRED’s Ryan Tate, actually “quietly honing its social search system” until BANG. Even Tom Foremski admires the team behind the data/social/whatchamakawlit Facebook ankle biter.

WIHP’s DirectPack & Trivago – Direct Bookings Imminent?

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World Independent Hotels Promotion (WIHP) has just announced a sweet partnership with leading meta comparison site Trivago, one which could end up being a sort of strategic masterpiece. Testing their so called DirectPack ad platform with Trivago, WIHP’s test hotels achieved a 10x ROI with no sweat, according to WIHP’s Marketing experts. The implications of this news may not be readily obvious, we suggest you read on.

Places to Stay: BYD Lofts Patong Beach

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Situated Thailand’s largest Island, Patong Beach is a Phuket resort any visitor to this part of Asia simply must discover. And, what better way to enjoy this fascinating part of the world than at a chic boutique like BYD Lofts, our Monday places to stay focus? Check out one hidden gem set to make your Thai vacation all the more enjoyable. If you are planning travel to Phuket, a look at this luxury boutique stay can’t hurt.

Stay.com App Updates Travel

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Stay.com, which was named one of TIME Magazine’s Top 50 websites in 2010, offers a new collaborative travel app that allows users to navigate a ‘city in their pocket’ by downloading their own guides for use offline, saving on international data charges. Each combines advice from Stay.com’s international travel experts, partner sites, input from fellow travelers and friends and users’ own preferences. The Stay.com app can be downloaded free from the Apple App Store, Google Play and www.stay.com.

Tune Hotels Bags TripAdvisor Awards

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The runaway success of Tune Hotels, the world’s leading value hotel chain with properties across Southeast Asia and the UK, has been officially recognized by the world’s largest travel site, TripAdvisor, which has just awarded it with a Certificate of Excellence for its consistently outstanding user reviews.

The Curious Case of Room Key

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A news release yesterday via Business Wire tells of conglomerate hotel booking site Room Key’s coming out of Beta status. What’s curious about this news is not so much the fluffy nature of it, but claims of millions having flocked to the startup to book their hotel rooms. At least this is the feel of the announcement. A bit of one of those “non-event” specialties creative PR agencies excel at perhaps? What’s the real story?