Graphics: Images on a homepage are a great way to get your message across without using lengthy copy and can give the brand a personality. But too many graphics and automatically loading videos can be unnecessary.... Read More

I am a logical fellow, at heart just a code developer, hence when I look at what is happening I tend to analyse from what is possible, regardless of probability. Code developers have to handle the one in 1,000 chance that a particular section of code will run hence we have to consider everything. That is just how it is. But our logical minds don't work quite so well when it comes to business.... Read More

Travel planning and online concierge service TripIt is launching Facebook Connect functionality to allow members to share and create trips on the social network. The tie-in works by posting a user's trip information on Facebook and re-feeding responses back into the TripIt profile of a journey. TripIt says the tool will also be useful for people to get "relevant and timely" advice which, in turn, will flow through the existing Tripit connections into mobile for on-the-move services and assistance.... Read More

Dark clouds are forming around the relationship between the collapsed FlyGlobespan airline business in Scotland and its travel technology partner EClear. In a statement, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the administrator appointed to handle the financial affairs following FlyGlobespan's demise on Wednesday 16 December, says it is "shifting much of their focus" to the business activities of the company. EClear is a UK-based credit card system technology firm which worked with FlyGlobespan to process customer payments, but has now found itself at the centre of growing concern that the airline was owed substantial monies by a number of third parties.... Read More

One month does not a search engine make. But it's clear from the comScore's U.S. search rankings in November that Microsoft's Bing search engine is making market share gains, and Yahoo's share of queries are falling. Google's queries, meanwhile, continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace.... Read More

In recent months there has been plenty of discussion about some of the opportunities that DMOs have when it comes to the mobile space. I also discussed how destinations have the leg up when it comes to aggregating local and regional content. It would seem that some DMOs are actually making some positive steps towards embracing and potentially leveraging the mobile space to market their destinations more effectively.... Read More

The collapse yesterday of Globespan, parent company of Scottish airline FlyGlobespan, saw customers and those in-resort heading to their computers in dramatic numbers. Figures from Experian Hitwise UK paint a sad picture of travellers desperate to find out how they will either get home (around 4,500 are said to be stranded overseas) or those hoping to fly with the airline in the coming weeks and months. As news emerged of the company's dark and unfortunate route into financial administration, visitor numbers to its website soared by 511% on the previous day.... Read More

Pricing: Having constantly updated pricing on the home page can not only make it feel cluttered but will also impede load time. Most sites will interrogate live data, to ensure pricing is up to date and that what is seen on screen takes into account current stock availability.... Read More

You've heard of user-generated content? Well, Glassdoor.com tapped into employee-generated content -- i.e. the opinions of the rank-and-file -- and picked Southwest Airlines as #1 in its Top 50 Best Places to Work, 2010, in the USA. Although the Glassdoor board includes a quartet of former or current travel industry heavyweights, all with Expedia pedigrees, the fact that a travel company, an airline, topped the list is a coincidence because this ranking is based on employee sentiment from each of the corporations being scrutinized. So, Southwest Airlines topped the list, and other travel companies in the top 50 included Continental Airlines at #8 and, just squeaking in, Marriott Hotels at #50.... Read More

The National Business Aviation Association has pulled its advertising from USA Today over a story alleging that more than half of federal grants to U.S. airports since 1998 went to projects that the FAA characterized as low priority. The USA Today investigation, using records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, found: "More than $2 billion in low-priority funds has gone to airports used mostly by private jets and piston-engine planes, including $700 million for terminals. Pellston Regional Airport in Michigan used $7.5 million in federal funds to build a terminal with stone fireplaces and cathedral ceilings. The airport averages three departures a day." The NBAA, in conjunction with the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, began a No Plane No Gain video and print advertising campaign in October to highlight the positive role business avaition plays in small and midsize municipalities across the country.... Read More

After what has been a terrible year for many in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry, will 2010 bring commercial joy to the sector or simply more of the same as companies dig in for further financial pressure? What are some of the social and mobile trends likely to impact on travel consumers? And is the industry well placed to handle changes in airline and hotel distribution? Here, each member of the Tnooz team has drawn on his or her wisdom and experience, and we are now excited to offer you the ultimate travel tech prediction list for 2010. Enjoy, and feel free to add your own...... Read More

Online travel agency air transactions settled through ARC increased 19.54% in November 2009, compared with the previous November, as the OTAs continue crunching torrid volumes of transactions after eliminating consumer booking fees on flights in March and April. And, in a hopeful sign for corporate travel, mega corporate travel management companies saw their transactions climb 5.86% for November, their first increase this year after 10 previous months of declines. To provide some perspective, ARC's overall transactions were up 8.64% for the month, which was only the second monthly increase in 2009. October's 5.13% jump in overall air transactions settled through ARC was the year's first monthly jump.... Read More

The Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC), the airline-owned settlement service, will begin releasing, on a regular basis, monthly numbers for online travel agency and travel management company sales. ARC has traditionally released monthly stats on travel agency sales, including the dollar amounts, numbers of transactions and a breakdown of things like domestic and international fares. For example, total travel agency sales remitted through ARC in November 2009 increased 6.72% to $5.1 billion, compared with the previous November, and this was the first monthly uptick of the year.... Read More

2009 may possibly have been the year when everyone appeared to upload every conceivable piece of footage ever taken to video sharing websites. Unfortunately not much of it was any good in the eyes of web users as viewer counts are still extremely modest given the visitor numbers on YouTube et al. So, who in the Travel category did manage to please? Find out...... Read More

Direction: Many travel company landing pages are trying to do too much. There is a fine line between building a site rich in content and it actually being user friendly, a point which some fail to realise.... Read More