UPDATE: Major reverse following original story. Carnival Cruise Lines intends to introduce a new travel agency policy that bars partners from using any Carnival trademark or intellectual property on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn or a blog - any social media website, really - without prior written approval. This is Carnival's first social media policy for travel agents, and it's a bruiser.... Read More

Startup metasearch site Zoombu has finalised a six-figure funding round courtesy of an Oxford, UK-based investment group. The company won a competition run the Saïd Business School Venture Fund in May this year to share a funding pot to tune of £1 million alongside health startup Altitude Medical. Zoombu says the investment will be put to expanding the small team and quickening its product pipeline.... Read More

Sabre appointed Greg Webb president of Sabre Travel Network, which is the company's global distribution and travel agency business. Sabre spokeswoman Pam Wong says Tom Klein, group president of Sabre Travel Network and Sabre Airline Solutions, will retain these titles and roles, and Webb will continue to report to Klein. Webb, who will have responsibility for the travel network globally beginning Jan. 1, 2010, also will keep his role as Sabre's chief marketing officer, Wong says.... Read More

Confirmation yesterday that cabin crew with British Airways will strike over the Christmas and New Year was met with a mixture of outrage and panic by passengers planning trips during the festive period. BA says up to one million customers will face cancelled flights or require hastily re-arranged plans as a result of the 12-day action beginning 22 December. It appears that a high number of those impacted also hit the airline's website yesterday.... Read More

Most popular travel websites in the US for the week ending December 12 2009. Data includes Top Ten travel search terms and the Top Ten Agency, Airline and Destination/Accommodation sites.... Read More

The next outing for Tnooz's barcamp-style events - #tcamp2 - will take place during Travel Technology Europe 2010 in London on Tuesday 9 February. Kicking off immediately after the delegate and exhibitor VIP dinner at the end of the first day, Tnooz will take over the atrium at the Hilton Kensington for an evening of informal, lively and relevant debate from 7pm until 8.30pm. The event is open to anyone attending the two-day exhibition and is produced in association with Travel Technology Europe.... Read More

Load times: Your website homepage is the first glimpse many potential customers will have of your brand. Therefore, enticing them to stay on the site and have a look around is crucial to converting browsers into buyers.... Read More

It dawned on me recently that like so many other Google apps, Wave has the potential to disrupt the crowded trip planning site arena. It occurred to me that the tool would be particularly useful if I were planning a trip with a group of people. Here is how I imagine it would work:... Read More

Getting Started: You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint, so don’t plunge headfirst into designing a website without a framework. With your website being the first place most prospective customers will go to find out more about your company, knowing your target audience and displaying content relevant to them will be vital.... Read More

Most popular travel websites in the UK for the week ending December 12 2009. Data includes Top Ten travel search terms and the Top Ten Agency, Airline and Destination/Accommodation sites.... Read More

Recently we have seen a spate of travel startups describing themselves as a GDS - Global Distribution System. I am intrigued by TourAbout, a social GDS. Then there is Kumutu, an adventure and activity tour GDS. So are they really a GDS? And what is a GDS anyway?... Read More

Tnooz’s ten-part series How to Build a Website, Not Just a User Experience concluded last week. Each day we featured a different approach to thinking about creating a website that incorporates principles of good user experience and not simply a flashy looking design.... Read More

Expedia Inc.'s corporate travel business has been a huge disappointment, and the company has failed to jump-start the business since acquiring French corporate travel agencia Egencia in 2004 and rebranding Expedia Corporate Travel as Egencia in 2008. Egencia -- i.e. Expedia's corporate travel business -- still isn't profitable, but Expedia believes there is huge potential in diversifying beyond its leisure brands and turning a corner with Egencia. With that in mind, Egencia announced a few days ago that it had signed a slew of global partnerships that will take its presence beyond its current 15 global points of sale and expand its services into Argentina, Hungary, Russia, Romania, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Uruguay.... Read More

What you missed on Tnooz this week, Sunday 6 to Saturday 12 December 2009. Read on to see the most commented articles, every other article this week, and the most commented articles of all time...... Read More

The "indefinite break from professional golf" for Tiger Woods following recent dramatic revelations about his private life has put further pressure on his sponsors to stick with him or send him to the naughty step of the clubhouse. The big guns on his roster, Nike, Accenture, EA Sports and Tag Heuer, are obviously attracting the most attention by virtue of being global mega-brands, but Woods also has a suite of second tier commercial partners, including US-based plane "fractional ownership" website, NetJets. The company arranges business class segments on private jets for wealthy individuals or corporations who need transportation between 50 and 400 hours a year.... Read More