TravelBizBuzz

I came across a tech news story this week that makes “Travel 2.0” seem like old news. The Associated Press story, "Virtual Trip: Travel in ‘Second Life’” that crossed the wires May 11 left me wondering if virtual reality travel would create some competition for the travel industry.

A downloadable program called “Second Life” is offering serious Internet users much more than a 3-D photo tour of their hotel rooms: “… tourists can watch their online embodiments — known as their avatars — lounge at the beach, dine at a romantic restaurant or go out dancing at a crowded nightclub,” in destinations ranging from Ireland to Hawaii, the article said.

Surprise: It’s totally free — at least for now, and the program already saw one million visitors last April, according to the article.

I can’t help but chuckle at the novelty of this new hobby, especially when I read that users can not only tour real places around the world but also “hover,” “fly,” or even “teleport” along the way. But people seem to be taking Second Life pretty seriously. For example, longtime users are creating automated tours, opening virtual travel agencies and even publishing travel guidebooks, the article noted.

And forget about language barriers. Visitors can opt for a free translation program and have typed conversations in nine different languages.

Potential: When word of Second Life spreads to the public, I see doors opening for consumers that can’t afford to travel to their dream destinations. But at the same time, I wonder how tech savvy a user would need to be and just how much time she’d really want to spend behind a computer screen. I’m also interested to see if anyone tries to monetize this program.

Bottom line: As cool as Second Life sounds, and as much as I’d enjoy trying it out, I don’t think travel companies have to worry too much about competition right now because nothing can replace an authentic trip. If you foresee a different outcome, drop me a line.

--Lindsey Rushmore, Editor-In-Chief, Travel Distribution Report--

Posted by TDR at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As online travel booking revenue is estimated to reach $70 billion in 2006 (Jupiter Research), hoteliers want to make sure their online marketing investments are on target.

That’s why Pegasus Solutions has stepped in and launched Web Analytics Service to help hotel marketing and Internet managers get the right data “to improve site conversion and segment their most valuable customers for repeat business,” Pegasus said in a Nov. 8 release.

Even though 66 percent of consumers have abandoned purchases while visiting a hotel Web site, Jupiter Research has shown 71 percent of sites do not analyze customer drop-out rates, noted Mike Kistner, Pegasus Solutions COO and president of Reservation and Distribution Services. “Without understanding where you’re losing customers in the shopping and booking process, you can’t be completely accountable for every dollar of your online marketing spend.”

Through a relationship with DDSA Partners, the Web Analytics service will help hoteliers understand online consumers and track online revenue from its originating source through the reservation conversion process.

To show hotels their exact revenue sources, the solution analyzes Web activity integrated with revenue data that comes directly from the NetBooker Internet booking engine.

Posted by TDR at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A better customer experience on an airline Web site could be all it takes to bump up a direct distribution channel.

At least that’s what Virgin Atlantic Airways is hoping. The carrier has inked a 5-year partnership with travel distribution software provider Datalex to spearhead its mission to improve shopping features on its site, according to a Nov. 3 press release.

Virginatlantic.com is now using the Datalex Travel Distribution Platform (TDP) to “revolutionize the way it sells online,” Datalex said.

For example, the TDP availability management system drives better response times to the consumer. In fact, already “consumer response has been very positive,” said Simon Fox, director of information technology for Virgin Atlantic.

The solution also offers opportunities for distribution cost savings “which were previously unattainable,” says the carrier. Users may now shop preferred flights using low fare shopping functions, upgrade their cabin choices for each flight and shop for available 'Flying Club' redemption fares or the cheapest flights via a calendar display.

Posted by TDR at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

European hotel travel Web site HotelReservations.travel now has more exposure to travelers around the world, thanks to SynXis.

SynXis, a Sabre Holdings business that provides reservation management, distribution and technology services for hotels, announced Oct. 25 it has developed a direct connection to HotelReservations.travel using its Channel Connect interface.

Channel Connect integrates the RedX Distribution Management System directly to third party travel sites and custom-built booking engines. The Channel Connect interface also helps hotels better differentiate their products by providing information such as detailed stay policies and child pricing directly to retail points of sales, SynXis explained.

“Using SynXis’ Channel Connect means thousands of properties can now be distributed on our site with no extra set up costs, no extranet to manage, and reservations are delivered electronically instead of via fax,” said Danny Scholtens, Sales Manager of HotelReservations.travel.

Posted by TDR at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Travel agents can now book VIA Rail Canada’s inventory directly, thanks to the rail provider’s new agreement with AgentWare.

Search and booking technology provider AgentWare announced Sept. 25 that VIA’s inventory will be available through its DirectConnect program.

As part of VIA Rail’s new Web-based distribution strategy, corporate travel customers must use AgentWare’s DirectConnect channel to search and book VIA Rail content in the coming months. The DirectConnect feature will be available immediately to AgentWare customers, such as TRX-powered ResEX and Sabre Holdings’ GetThere program, AgentWare said.

Travel professionals using DirectConnect will gain access to all VIA 1 and Comfort class fares for Canada’s Quebec City to Windsor Corridor and will have the ability to use advanced sorting and filtering tools to plan trips with multiple components, including hotel reservations.

AgentWare specializes in providing travel agents with access to non-GDS product suppliers, such as low-cost airlines, hotels and passenger rail services, as well as enabling the integration of agents’ non-GDS booking technology and back-office functionality with the major GDS systems.

Posted by TDR at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ITA Software will be helping Air Canada revamp its reservation management system to be more customer-friendly.

The airline signed an agreement with ITA Software on Sept. 13 to develop a new reservation management system that will upgrade reservations functionality, inventory control with seat availability, and check-in and airport operations modules, said Air Canada.

The complete solution will be deployed in late 2007 across the entire Air Canada network, including reservation call centers and airport locations worldwide. The reservation system presents itself as an application hosted by ITA Software and will simultaneously support the airline’s ongoing participation in the Star Alliance.

“This next generation reservation system will mark an end to airlines’ reliance on legacy systems and processes and the merchandising limitations that result from these archaic technologies,” said Jeremy Wertheimer, ITA Software’s President and CEO.

Posted by TDR at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (40)

Travel agents that subscribe to Worldspan, L.P, now have a set of new desktop booking tools the GDS promises will be big timesavers.

Worldspan unveiled its Worldspan Go! Car and Hotel Booking products -- described as feature-rich, browser-based and interactive -- Sept 11 at THETRADESHOW.

The Go! Car Booking tool gives agents the option to quickly ‘direct sell’ a car -- or to book and sell car rentals by first shopping availability and information. The program simplifies shopping off-airport car rental locations through a new feature that searches locations by zip code.

The new Go! Hotel Booking tool helps travel agents who are unfamiliar with traditional GDS formats, which are eliminated from the agent’s buying experience and replaced by point-and-click access to Worldspan’s global hotel content and booking functionality, Worldspan explained. The new tool interfaces with the Worldspan global reservations system, ensuring agents receive real-time availability and rate information from hotel suppliers.

Posted by TDR at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (363)

Portaga is out to woo mid-sized business owners.

The travel technology company has closed a Series A round of financing to the tune of $5.8 million, according to an August 11 release.

Led by Ascend Venture Group, the funding will help Portaga further its sales, marketing and development efforts, all of which focus on providing a desktop booking solution for small- to mid-sized businesses.

Portaga’s goal is to become part of the “online travel infrastructure, available to users in a variety of forms and a variety of channels,” said Robert Kost, CEO of Portaga. The $5.8 million investment will “help get us there before others,” he noted.

Portaga’s investors also include First Round Capital and Cove Harbor Partners, among others.

Posted by TDR at 01:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (46)

Travel companies are beefing up their online storefronts to attract self-bookers, but that doesn’t mean travel agents don’t play an important role in booking travel products.

“Travel agents are the experts on finding the best travel solution and presenting it to the consumer in a way that makes them want to buy,” says Lee Rosen, president of agent technology solutions provider TRAMS.

But agents can’t rely solely on in-demand products or sophisticated technology to lure travelers and remain important to suppliers — they must become marketing and sales dynamos, Rosen asserts. Here’s how.

Tap Into Travelers’ Histories

The greatest value that travel agents bring to the table is their past experiences with their customers, Rosen notes. Each time a traveler books a trip with an agent, the agent learns another piece of crucial information, such as where the traveler has been, what type of trips he prefers, what level of accommodation he seeks, how much he wants to spend and what his family is like.

Key: Agents must mine that information and promote travel products that make sense for the traveler. As agents make the best matches between travelers and products, they build loyalty into their client relationships, Rosen says.

That loyalty is very lucrative to travel suppliers who want a full house or sold-out flight — which means that by leveraging their own experiences with travelers, agents become the key intermediary between a supplier and the customers their businesses hinge on.

Use Web To Manage Sales

Where agencies used to need elaborate management systems, now they can rely on the Web for rapid, efficient customer management — whether they’re managing customers, suppliers or other agents.

Rosen suggests that agents “use the Internet to retrieve customer and product information, distribute and track that information as well as store it in a customer database.”

By using the Internet to manage their clients, agencies also open themselves up for incentives from suppliers who use the Web to promote their products. For example, a hotel may offer agents a steep discount for steering a client to its Web site over its competitors — or for booking that hotel over all other hotels when possible.

Lesson Learned: Though agents used to be used a basic transaction processing tool, their real value today is in knowing the customers, creating detailed databases and influencing how and where consumers purchase their travel products, Rosen claims.

For more information about how agents can remain relevant in the online travel landscape of the future, check out the current issue of Travel Distribution Report.

Posted by TDR at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Internet distribution systems (IDSs) have the potential to replace traditional systems, but they have a few hurdles to overcome. Here are two specific limitations IDSs must address:

—Consumer Sites Need Consumer Speak. Almost every Internet booking system still hosts travel industry jargon — which is Greek to the average traveler. “Travelers have no idea what a Rule 25 restriction or a PNR is,” says Pawel Mastalerz, an industry analyst with T2Impact.

Hotel descriptions also suffer from antiquated, technical definitions that were written for travel agents and don’t enrich the customer’s experience.

However, this is one area where IDSs are starting to get it right. Hotel sites and distribution systems are creating virtual tours and consumer-friendly descriptions that leave out the industry jargon.

—IDSs Must Solve Complex Problems. In their most basic forms, IDSs quickly solve easy problems, but in order to become a stand-alone distribution source, the systems must be able to solve complex problems, Mastalerz says.

Example: A complex problem might be a traveler who wants to fly to Chicago for three days, then to Europe to meet with a client, then to China for five days before returning to Denver.

IDSs aren’t capable of solving this problem yet, but the systems’ developers are working on the type of functionality necessary to solve not only this problem, but unforeseen issues down the road.

Want more information about IDSs? Check out the July 31 issue of Travel Distribution Report.

Posted by TDR at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (117)

Cell phone users now have another reason to gab it up in the Starbucks line.

Hotels.com has partnered with Sprint to allow users to access rates and book rooms through their Sprint Vision mobile phones, according to a June 15 release.

Mobile customers will have real-time access to more than 70,000 hotels, vacation rentals and bed & breakfasts. The feature includes “sorting options, viewing pictures of properties and instant access to their itineraries without the need to print and carry the itinerary with them,” says Scott Booker, VP of customer marketing for Hotels.com.

The “first of its kind” service harnesses OpenMotion LLC’s mobile distribution platform, the company explains.

Posted by TDR at 03:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TRB's first guest blogger is Ankur Bhatia, executive director of The Bird Group, an IT and travel services provider for India. Bhatia took the time to share his thoughts on the challenges online travel agencies will face as they move more deeply into online travel in India:
___________________________

Online travel players are quickly swooping into the Indian travel space, but don’t think they have an easy journey ahead.

India is being touted as the world’s fastest growing aviation market in the world. Its thriving economy and investment in aviation are contributors to India's thriving travel market, but the country can also thank its geographic size, population, lack of road infrastructure and increased consumer spending.

Bonus: The Indian online travel space has huge potential for growth. It is projected to be one of the fastest growing travel and tourism markets (behind Montenegro and China) between 2006 and 2015. And, currently only 2 percent of India’s local population travels by air, but the middle class is 10 percent of that population — which means local travel will pick up, as well.

But, online agencies have their work cut out for them. They will have to find and aggregate the content that travelers need and want. They’ll also need to invest in the technology necessary to provide high quality service. Passengers want more convenience and less cost.

Most important: To reap the benefits of India’s travel boom, online agencies must focus on innovating online travel so that they can offer the travel-related information and services that consumers need for a unique travel experience.
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For more information about online travel agencies’ expansion into India, check out the June 19 issue of Travel Distribution Report, which features a one-on-one interview with Scott Blume, CEO of ZUJI, the company spear heading Travelocity’s move into the Indian travel market with Travelocity.co.in.

Want to be a guest blogger? Simply send us an e-mail with your thoughts and we'll take it from there.

Posted by TDR at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The OpenTravel Alliance (OTA) has updated its XML message standards.

The group’s 2006A specifications offer a beefed up cruise message library that includes message sets covering multiple components of the cruise booking cycle, including a PNR update message, OTA announced June 7.

Other features of the new specs include two new message pairs for car rentals and an enhanced group hotel rooming list request and response message to meet the Convention Industry Council’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) data requirements.

This publication cycle offers a reference guide for “travel companies who want to transport OTA messages” using the SOAP protocol, noted John Turato, chair of the OTA and VP of technology for Cendant Car Rental Group.

For more details, click here to download the specifications.

You can learn more about what the OTA is up to in the next issue of Travel Distribution Report. If you'd like to share your experiences using OTA standards, send us an email.

Posted by TDR at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)