News

OTAs vs metasearch - a collision course or room for both?
News / Distribution
OTAs vs metasearch - a collision course or room for both?
By Pamela Whitby | March 5, 2015
Freedom of choice can be a wonderful thing. But when faced with countless travel websites consumers, more often than not in search of the best deal, can be left feeling confused. NB: This is an ana... Read More
Making foreign sites work in China, technically, commercially
News / Distribution
Making foreign sites work in China, technically, commercially
By Viewpoints | March 5, 2015
Website performance, particularly site speed, is something for foreign operators to consider. NB: This article is written by Ritesh Gupta, a reporter at Chinatravelnews. Capturing the attention... Read More
This is how many visitors hotels are losing to OTAs via paid search
News / Distribution
This is how many visitors hotels are losing to OTAs via paid search
By Nick Vivion | March 4, 2015
In the fourth quarter of 2014, the average hotel brand lost an estimated 31,653 clicks per month to intermediaries bidding on their trademarks. Brand Verity's report, which looked at a wide cross-s... Read More
Are travellers really using mobile to act on impulse?
News / Technology
Are travellers really using mobile to act on impulse?
By Linda Fox | March 4, 2015
Statistics are funny things - they can be twisted and turned for greater impact and when it comes to use of mobile in travel there are volumes of them. As an example - it seems that 46% of smartpho... Read More
Can hotels use metasearch to compete against OTAs?
News / Distribution
Can hotels use metasearch to compete against OTAs?
By Viewpoints | March 4, 2015
After several years of growth punctuated by major acquisitions, mergers, partnerships, and product launches, travel metasearch looks set to evolve rapidly in 2015 as the line with OTAs continues to bl... Read More
Chinese outbound leisure trend shifts into the cities
News / Distribution
Chinese outbound leisure trend shifts into the cities
By Martin Cowen | March 4, 2015
IHG and Oxford Economics have released a report into the Chinese outbound travel market, predicting a shift towards long-haul international leisure travel in the next ten years or so. There is no d... Read More
Data crunching who is using Twitter to give a new vision of a destination
News / Technology
Data crunching who is using Twitter to give a new vision of a destination
By Kevin May | March 3, 2015
Twitter might be a big echo chamber of noise at the best of times, but there is an enormous amount of data flowing through it. The so-called firehose of activity gives those trying to do interestin... Read More
HomeAway shares its game plan during investor roadshow
News / Online
HomeAway shares its game plan during investor roadshow
By Sean O'Neil | March 3, 2015
Vacation rental giant HomeAway has been sending its executive team around the US this month to talk to rooms full of investors, to get the word out about its stock. This week, chief executive Brian... Read More
Control of TripAdvisor is not at risk in the near-term, says chairman
News / Distribution
Control of TripAdvisor is not at risk in the near-term, says chairman
By Sean O'Neil | March 3, 2015
TripAdvisor's fate is not entirely in its own control. But recent speculation about the company's ownership seems to have been overheated. Since TripAdvisor’s initial public offering, controlling i... Read More
Google to rank brands with Android apps higher in mobile searches
News / Technology
Google to rank brands with Android apps higher in mobile searches
By Nick Vivion | March 3, 2015
Developers, pay attention: Google has changed its ranking algorithm for mobile searches and will prioritize results for those brands with Android apps installed on the searcher's phone. The announc... Read More
The new Ryanair - a mobile-first travel retailer
News / Technology
The new Ryanair - a mobile-first travel retailer
By Martin Cowen | March 3, 2015
Ryanair is promising "a big investment in digital and a big investment in data" this year as it enters the second year of its "Always Getting Better" approach. Kenny Jacobs, chief marketing officer... Read More
Six ways to connect user-generated content with marketing
News / Distribution
Six ways to connect user-generated content with marketing
By Viewpoints | March 3, 2015
Ready to integrate that beautiful picture of a guest enjoying your hotel’s pool into your marketing mix? How about that priceless video of a couple celebrating their honeymoon on the deck of your crui... Read More
From pizza parlour to global beast of the industry - that would be...
News / Online
From pizza parlour to global beast of the industry - that would be...
By Kevin May | March 3, 2015
There are many aspects of the TripAdvisor story which are well known - the fact that CEO Steve Kaufer co-founded the business above a pizza shop. Or that fellow founder Langley Steinert now runs a... Read More
Options Away, an airfare lock startup, raises $3.5 million
News / Online
Options Away, an airfare lock startup, raises $3.5 million
By Sean O'Neil | March 2, 2015
Options Away, a provider of a service for locking in airfares as a hedge against airline price hikes, has locked in $3.5 million of fresh funding. The Series A equity round was led by OCA Ventures.... Read More
THack Berlin - winners, presentations, pictures and more
News
THack Berlin - winners, presentations, pictures and more
By Kevin May | March 2, 2015
Nearly 100 developers took part in our debut hackathon in Germany, conveniently timed ahead of this week's ITB Berlin extravaganza. THack Berlin took place at the Factory co-working space in the ci... Read More