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According to Ypartnership's 2007 National Leisure Travel Monitor 25% of leisure travelers who plan vacations online consult travel blogs. The breakdown is as follows:
32 % TripAdvisor 19% Traveller.org 17% Ysearchblog 15% MySpace 13% VirtualTourist
The online travel market is experiencing an evolution with the balance of power shifting over the past 12 months from online agencies to the suppliers, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
High speed broadband internet connections combined with the ability for suppliers to take control of their own inventory have lessened the competitive advantage that online travel agents once enjoyed.
Link: Internet Travel News - Travel suppliers fighting back in online battle.
Link: Expedia Press Room - Press Releases.
LONDON, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WORLD TRAVEL MARKET -- IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) (LON: IHG; NYSE: IHG) and Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) today announced they have entered into a multi-year agreement under which consumers can now book IHG hotels on Expedia® sites globally. The agreement will result in the addition of more than 3,700 hotels across all IHG brands, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites, to the hotel selection on Expedia and hotels.com® branded points of sale globally, as well as Hotwire® and Expedia® Corporate Travel.
As a further testament to the relationship, IHG is participating as the launch partner for Expedia, Inc.'s new media-based pricing model. The dynamic, two-part economic model will blend transaction pricing with media pricing based on clicks on specific IHG properties in Expedia.com and hotels.com search results. Expedia and IHG collaboratively developed this innovative approach to distribution marketing -- a first in online travel -- where IHG will receive significant benefits from value-added media placement throughout the Expedia network in addition to the bookings they receive from Expedia.
Internet advertising contributes more to total media spending every year.
According to eMarketer projections, that share will reach 7.4% in 2007, more than one in 10 dollars in 2009 and at least 13.3% by the end of 2011.
We've spent many years forecasting and implementing travel and hospitality corporate and marketing budgets and plans. Our company like yours is in the midst of planning and budgeting for 2008. And, just like you, after reviewing this year's results, we generally pull out our crystal ball and project into the future what the travel and hospitality business will be like in the months ahead. This is actually the easy part! The real challenge is when the budget is set and the plan is agreed and now you have to implement your plan.
O.K. There is no Google Phone. As we wrote a while back, Google is not building a phone. Instead, the company has teamed up with others in the wireless industry to create an open-source operating system, as well as other services, for mobile phones. Other companies, including Motorola, LG and Samsung, are expected to build phones based on this software.
Link: A First Look at the Google Phone - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog.
Despite a great deal of hype surrounding its launch, Google's video content distribution network is in its very early stages. Even Google admits the new product, which comes on the heels of the introduction of similar YouTube player ad units, may evolve in terms of the ad formats offered. In fact, the latest product is a culmination of previous video-related tests by the company.
Link: ClickZ: Google Video Content Network Could Evolve, Converge with YouTube Overlays.
Link: Spam reaches all-time high of 95% of all e-mail: Commtouch.
Global spam levels reached an all-time high of 95% of all e-mails at its peak during the third quarter, according to a new report by Commtouch.
I return today from spending the last 2 days in NY at SMX Social Media. A lot of great speakers were present, and this post will summarize a set of 11 guidelines for putting together a successful social media strategy:
Link: 11 Guidelines to Social Media Success [SearchEngineWatch].
Our November '07 edition of HotelCast 2.0 is ready for download. Click the link below to listen in or download it into your iPod or iPhone:
