Google says it has no plans to extend its recently launched Comparison Ads project to include products from the travel vertical.
The confirmation comes during a busy week for Google as it rolls out the real-time search, boosts it mobile play and launches the photo search Goggles application.
The Comp Ads scheme was unveiled in October 2009 and creates a list of mortgage products automatically taken from paid-for ads included in its AdWords system.
Consumers should get ready for a form of e-ticketing for airline bag fees, wi-fi service, lounge access and other ancillary services in 2010.
Travel industry tech folks, including ARC and Farelogix, say they are readying the behind-the-scenes technology that will enable consumers to purchase and print [or otherwise receive] coupons or electronic receipts for purchases of an array of add-on services.
It might work in a similar manner to the way consumers print — or opt to receive electronically — boarding passes for flight e-tickets.
Most popular travel websites in the US for the week ending December 5 2009.
Data includes Top Ten travel search terms and the Top Ten Agency, Airline and Destination/Accommodation sites.
Metasearch is finally climbing into what could be an exciting second phase with news that TravelFusion is developing new functionality to allow full travel plan searches.
The UK-based firm will launch an overhauled version of its consumer-facing website in early-2010 to include point-to-point metasearch featuring a breakdown of time and prices of transportation to and from the main departure and arrival points of a trip.
The functionality is similar to the widely praised, closed-beta only Zoombu metasearch engine, which also has point-to-point search capability.
Nadine Godwin, Travel Weekly’s editor-at large, will retire from the trade publication at the end of December after 37 years.
Godwin, who served as editor of Travel Weekly from 1997 to 2001 and was ASTA’s Travel Journalist of the Year in 2002, says she decided to retire from full-time writing because she was seeking a lifestyle change from her 5-days-per week writing obligations.
Godwin, who authored a book on travel agency and distribution technology in 1982, says she will continue to write part time, as she has for a couple of years, for the start-up, Best Trip Choices, where she is editorial director.
Keeping It Fresh:
Both website users and search engines love fresh website content.
A site that is stale can have that “we’re not longer in business” feel, which isn’t the image you want to project.
Holland America Line is placing Microsoft Surface tables into its Mix entertainment areas on five ships as part of a spruce-up of the cruise line’s lounges.
HAL, which claims to be the first cruise line to get the Microsoft Surface tables on board, is focusing on the gaming aspects of the table for now, but in the future will likely adapt the tables to researching and online booking applications, a spokeswoman says.
However, plans for converting the tables into cruise research and booking tools are not yet under way, the spokeswoman adds.
Amadeus recently announced a partnership with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to provide the GDS’s customers information about their air travel carbon emissions.
Given the negative environmental impact of travel coupled with widespread online distribution of travel content (schedules, pricing, images, product details, etc.), I wondered how all the GDS’ were addressing the growing demand for more specific CO2 emissions data, specifically in air travel.
First, some terminology.
UK online travel agency OnTheBeach claims a world first today with the launch of a Facebook application to allow a customer to organise bookings for friends.
Once the BeachMate application is shared around a group of people, each member can input a unique BeachMate reference number of another person’s holiday into the service and be directed to the relevant booking page on the OTB website.
The application then aggregates friends into groups of those going on a particular trip.
Information is beginning to leak out that travel technology provider and global GDS Amadeus and British Airways are ready to sign a new multi-year, full-content deal.
The Madrid-based firm will be the second of the global GDSs – after Travelport in November – to secure a long-term deal with the under-pressure BA.
BA officially says that for the moment the negotiations are still ongoing, but it is understood that both parties are in agreement and an announcement will be made shortly.
As the always-connected traveller turns to mobile and other devices to search and book products, travel brands must finally grasp the importance of providing a seamless multi-channel customer experience.
Another year, another 2,500 articles published on Tnooz. But which stories attracted the most traffic or moved readers in their dozens to add their comments?
Tnooz is lucky and privileged to have some of the brightest minds in the industry reporting and contributing to its service almost every single day of the year.
With the rapid advancements in mobile and social media, travel companies often find themselves struggling to separate hype from fact.