TravelBizBuzz

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has established a global standard for mobile phone check-in using two-dimensional bar codes, according to an Oct. 11 release.

The innovation will allow airlines to send codes directly to passengers' phones (or other handheld devices). The code becomes the boarding pass, and a scanner can read it directly from the mobile device's screen. IATA's standard uses codes that are already used extensively in Europe, North America and Japan.

Next step: IATA plans to create guidelines for implementing the standard. The industry deadline for 100 percent bar coded boarding passes is 2010.

Challenge for mobile marketers: The mobile phone check-in will be a "tough sell" because no one wants (to see or pay for) advertisements on his or her cell phone, Diane Clarkson, a JupiterResearch analyst, tells TDR. This innovation has taken off in some international markets, but it will be slow in the U.S., she predicts.

-- Kimberly R. Gilbert, Managing Editor, TDR

Posted by TDR at 01:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today's guest blogger is Michael Strauss, CEO of PASS Consulting.

Industry analysts anticipate formidable growth of 20 percent annually for the United States in the online segment. For 2008 the Internet is expected to be the preferred tool for travel planning. A similar trend can be observed worldwide.

But while direct distribution via suppliers’ own websites already accounts for almost 60 percent of the bookings in the leisure segment and is still growing, in business travel the use of online tools still varies greatly from company to company. The expected run towards direct connections has not yet occurred.

Instead, large TMCs operating worldwide emerged as a result of their customers going global and expecting expense reduction and travel management as well as global service. Thus TMCs appeared to be in control, but conflicts of interest are intensifying; suppliers as well as GDS are trying to sell their corporate online booking tools directly to large national corporations and thus exclude the TMCs from the value creation chain. All of the various entities see themselves under threat from each other. And although the players are in intensive negotiations, in the long run, every flexible entity will try to keep its share in a fragmented distribution chain as long as it pays off.

A few things are certain: Airlines will continue to offer flights, hotels will offer accommodations and business travel will remain a part of corporate life. Everything that takes place in between is a form of distribution and therefore part of the value creation chain — and this is where the added value has to be created. All stakeholders — whether GDS operators, technology providers, aggregators, alternative distributors, online or offline agencies — have to reinvent themselves on a continuous basis.

Find out more about how to cope with developments in the U.S. and European travel markets by reading PASS Consulting’s whitepaper entitled “Trends In The Travel Industry: Why It Is Well Worth Taking A Look At The US.”

Posted by TDR at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Travel companies need to get involved in and be talked about on social networking sites.

That’s the directive Spannerworks' business development manager Madeleine Wood delivered at the recent Travel Technology Initiative's conference on the Future of Travel Distribution.

Why? Some 70 percent of Internet content will be created by individuals as opposed to publishers and brands within three years, Wood contended. Statistics show that by combining paid-for and natural search, companies are already getting 98 percent more clicks-through to their websites, with users spending 37 percent more time on the sites, she added.

Industry players are getting hip to those facts. Many have already begun reaching outside the industry -- to masters like Facebook and MySpace -- for consumer networks that can spread brand messages to the masses, by the masses.

Want an inside look at how some of today's top travel companies are thinking outside of the box to build loyalty and brand recognition on sites like Facebook? Read the TDR article "Social Networks Build Travel Brand Connections Among The Masses" (Vol. 15 No. 17). For a free copy, e-mail me and write "Social Networks article" in the subject line.

-- Kimberly Gilbert, Managing Editor, Travel Distribution Report

Posted by TDR at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're seeing more examples of once-narrowly focused travel websites expand their offerings to try to broaden their appeal.

Case in point: Travel-planning website Viator.com has debuted several new online features the company hopes will help travelers book affordable trip activities and tours.

Getting users involved: One of the main themes that emerge from the makeover is user interaction. Viator has been testing such features as "Star Ratings and Customer Reviews," which "actual travelers" post, a la TripAdvisor; a new travel blog that enables user comments; an Amazon.com-style "Shareable Wish Lists" feature; and user-based "suggested itineraries," "first-timer guides," and top 10 lists. Viator boasts that its expanded options have more than doubled bookings over the last year, according to a company statement.

Among the other functions Viator is continuing are simple category searches, price-promotion alerts, airline-miles eligibility finders, and carbon-offset opportunities to reduce travelers' effects on the environment.

Market forces: Viator is increasing its focus on the consumer-direct market as it emerges from its history as a technology and activities provider to many travel companies, including Priceline, Wyndham, British Airways and SideStep, spokesperson Kate Sullivan told TDR.

-- Scott Walker, Editor in Chief, Travel Distribution Report

Posted by TDR at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An important step toward pleasing online travelers these days is helping them keep track of all the information that’s now at their fingertips.

Listen up: Consumers are demanding online tools that cut out the pen and paper from the travel research process: When they log on, they don’t want to scramble for scraps to jot down notes. And travel companies across the board are catching on.

Web sites, including those operated by suppliers, have added "save" features and other organizational tools. "Some airlines let you store regularly traveled routes, and a number of hotels let you store preferred cities or properties," Henry Harteveldt, VP and principal analyst for travel at Forrester Research, told TDR earlier this year.

The trend has continued to pick up steam more recently, with new breeds of travel organizer sites popping up, including TripIt and Yapta’s tagging software.

Learn more keys to wooing online travelers in the TDR article "4 Steps Put Your Company On Consumers' 'Favorites' List." For your free copy, e-mail me.

-- Kimberly Gilbert, Managing Editor, Travel Distribution Report

Posted by TDR at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)