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

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