What is America’s Least Favorite City?

What Are America’s Least Favorite Cities?  Portland turned out to be the big winner in the latest TripAdvisor survey of its website users. In its American city survey of more than 3,400 U.S. respondents registered their opinions on the best and worst of major U.S. cities. Travelers named Portland the most underrated U.S. city, as well as the cleanest U.S. city. Detroit, however, was not well received by travelers, as it was considered the least favorite, least healthy, and dirtiest U.S. city.  And, it’s clear that travelers have a love/hate relationship with New York: it was rated “Most Friendly” city, and “Least Friendly” City within the same survey.  A snapshot of TripAdvisor findings follows:

Favorite City

1. New York City

2. San Francisco

3. Chicago, Boston (tie)

Least Favorite City

1. Detroit

2. Los Angeles

3. Atlanta

Most Underrated City

Portland

Most Overrated City

Las Vegas

Most Economical City

Las Vegas

Most Expensive City

New York City

Sexiest City

Miami

 

Most Boring City

Cleveland

Cleanest City

Portland

Dirtiest City

Detroit

Healthiest City

Seattle

Least Healthy City

Detroit

Friendliest and Most Helpful City

New York City

Least Friendly and Helpful City

New York City

Best Free Attractions

Washington D.C.

Most Romantic City

Honolulu

Nicest Sounding Accent

Atlanta

Most Annoying Accent

Boston

OTA’s To DMO’s about Taxes: “We’ve Done Nothing Wrong.”

E-Tourism Summit

• Early bird discount for e-Tourism Summit ends June 30^th.
• OTAs Begin to Lose Hotel Tax Battles say: “We’ve Done Nothing Wrong
• Using Social Media as a Customer Service Tool
• Top Three Ways to Plan Marketing During A Recession:

Early Bird Discount 10^th Anniversary of E-Tourism Summit ends June 30^th.  The 10^th Annual E-Tourism Summit in New York is the one place that destinations and suppliers can go to meet the top experts in the field of online travel marketing.  Early bird discount ends June 30^th.  Register now: http://www.thetouroperator.com/etourismsummit/registration.html

OTAs Begin to Lose Hotel Tax Battles say: “We’ve Done Nothing Wrong.” : In what seems to be developing into a trend in legal rulings, courts in Georgia and Washington have recently ordered online travel agency (OTA) Expedia to pay municipalities tax revenues based on hotel room prices charged consumers, not—as OTAs have been charging them—based on the wholesales prices that the OTAs pay hotel suppliers for the rooms.

• The Supreme Court of Georgia this month ruled against Expedia on the issue in a case involving the city of Columbia, Ga. The exact amount to be paid by the online giant will be determined by a trial court.

• A Washington State court last month ordered Expedia to pay more than $184 million in a consumer class action suit for breach of contract related to the company’s terms of use.

• Last February, OTAs were ordered to pay Anaheim, Calif. $21 million in hotel taxes.

The OTA take on this type of litigation and the outcome? According to an item in the Wall Street Journal, Art Sackler, executive director of the Interactive Travel Services Association, a trade group that represents OTAs, said while commenting on the Georgia case, that municipalities are reducing their own treasuries by litigating over the taxes when the companies have done nothing wrong. Said Sackler, “The courts effectively rolled up the welcome mat for an industry that really helps pump millions in to the Georgia economy.

Using Social Media as a Customer Service Tool. This is at its early stages for sure, but there are some companies that are already connecting customer service centers to networks, and I expect that these efforts will quickly reach a larger scale,” said Ian Jacobs, senior analyst for customer interaction technologies at Datamonitor. “The way to do that will be to link formal contact centers with those networks.” Jacobs, who is author of the report “The Rise of Social Networking and Emerging Channels in Customer Service,” says the current state of linking customer service with social networks is rudimentary at best. Social media monitoring tools such as Factiva, Nielsen Buzz Metrics, BoardReader, and dozens of others help automate social media conversation tracking.  Get Full story at: http://www.clickz.com/3634112

Top Three Ways to Plan Marketing During A Recession: Will lowering prices increase revenue?  According to the experts at PhoCusWright, lowering prices is more likely to reduce revenue than increase it unless there is substantial uncontested volume increase offset.  Top Three Ways to Plan During a Recession.  

Plan for each phase of the business cycle. All business cycles have the same pattern: recession followed by recovery followed by rebound.

1. Manage each phase in anticipation of the next one.     Manage discretionary costs during recession that do not overly inhibit the ability to exploit recovery when it comes.
- Manage the labor force in ways that support human capital pruning, development, cultivation and preparation for needed expansion when it occurs.
- Manage owner expectations for the near term, and position patience and loyalty for the long term.

2 .If you discount, do so carefully so you can preserve brand value and price opportunities when recovery comes. -With falling volumes and competitive environments, lowering prices is more likely to reduce revenue than increase it unless there is substantial uncontested volume increase offset.                                                                       - Reduce price in circumstances only where the percentage increase in volume will offset the percentage decrease in price. Even then, be conscious of covering variable costs, precipitating an unwanted price war, or thwarting future opportunities to raise prices.                                                                                               – Use opacity, value-add and packaging to obfuscate the actual dollar value of discounting and highlight unique service value.                                                                                                                                                                   - When discounting, reward the loyal customer rather than all customers.                                                                 - Negotiate shorter deals. Don’t lock in low prices you’ll regret later.

3. Do not over-allocate marketing budgets to promotion versus image advertising.  It is tempting in a recession, particularly a long one, to focus too much on promotional marketing with a measurable ROI, and financial managers can be persuaded more easily with measurable ROIs. Investment in image advertising is still needed, even if it’s at a temporarily lower level of spend. Shift to more measurable and tactical advertising in the short run, but not so much that your image and awareness take a hit in the long run

Slight Date Change For E-Tourism Summit in NYC

 E-Tourism was originally scheduled to open on Columbus Day, October 12, 2009,  as those were the only dates available to us for this property.  However, they have now notified us that that we can begin the event one day later, Tuesday, October 13th and we’re delighted to let you know that the new dates are now October 13-14th, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in NYC.  To register at the early bird rate, go to: www.etourismsummit.com

TOP US TRAVEL TRENDS According to PhoCusWright.

Recessionary markets provide extraordinary opportunities to observe shifts in consumer behaviors and attitudes. PhoCusWright projects that the total U.S. travel market will decline 11% in 2009, returning the industry to pre-2006 levels.

This decline reflects a dramatic shift in consumer demand levels, and new research from PhoCusWright’s Consumer Travel Report provides valuable insight into the changing behavior of today’s traveler.

Top U.S. Traveler Trends

Move over boomers—Generation Y has come of age

Twenty-five to 34 year olds are spending the most per household on travel and 18-34 year olds are significantly more likely than older age groups to indicate that they plan to travel more this year.
While boomers are commonly described as the wealthiest generation, the 45-64 age group is spending the least per household on travel and is also the most likely to reduce travel spend this year.

It is going to get worse before it gets better

Consumers who spend more than average on travel are more likely to reduce travel expenditure this year, and those that spend less than average are more likely to actually increase travel expenditure this year. The result of this mixed bag of intentions is that overall expenditure will decline considerably across the board, but budget brands will experience a smaller decline than upscale brands.

Online travel agencies will fare better than other channels

It may seem surprising given the recent flurry of fee cuts and revenue-eroding promotions from online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia and Orbitz, but OTAs will outperform other channels in year over year bookings because of their consumer base.

Online travel is mature but not saturated

Though the majority of travelers typically book online, there is still plenty of opportunity to grow online transactions. Consumers that spend the most on travel still use a mix of online and offline methods.

Travel search engines are (finally) making a mainstream impact

Travel search engines like Kayak are not new to the travel industry, but are now becoming a mainstream element in the travel planning process. Over a quarter (28%) of travelers typically turn to them when shopping for travel and new entrants like TripAdvisor will continue to broaden the audience.

Where Do Travelers Search First Before Booking? A. Google. B. Destination Site C. OTA?

Travelers visit search engines such as Google, Yahoo or MSN first (34%) when considering vacation destination alternatives. The Web sites of specific countries or destination boards are visited next (23%), followed by online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity (22%), according to a new study by Ypartnership.

While the percentage of leisure travelers who report making reservations online has grown more than thirty-seven percent (37%) since the year 2000, “Consumers’ search behavior has changed in recent years as people have become more familiar with search technology and the number of travel planning/purchasing sites has grown exponentially,” said Peter C. Yesawich, chairman and CEO of Ypartnership.

According to the just-released National Travel MONITOR, fully sixty-six percent (66%) of leisure travelers now use the Internet to plan some aspect of their travel (versus 35% in 2000), while fifty-six percent (56%) now report making reservations online. The nationally representative survey of 1,590 active travelers was conducted during the months of February and March, 2009, and is co-authored annually by Ypartnership and Yankelovich, Inc.

Travelers visit search engines such as Google, Yahoo or MSN first (34%) when considering vacation destination alternatives. The Web sites of specific countries or destination boards are visited next (23%), followed by online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity (22%). Only one percent (1%) of travelers commence their search for a vacation destination by visiting a blog.

Search patterns for selecting an airline or lodging accommodation are understandably different. Consumers who are searching for these travel services first visit the Web sites of online travel agencies (42% and 31%, respectively). Brand-specific sites (41%) follow closely when leisure travelers are selecting an airline, yet significantly less so when they select lodging (21%). Meta search engines that compare fares are visited first by over one-out-of-ten travelers (13%) when selecting an airline.

From The Floor At Pow Wow: Tuesday May 19th

 NAJ Report From The Floor At Pow Wow: Tuesday, May 19th, Day 2

● ATI’s Fitzpatrick Calls for “Swine Flu Guarantee.” Responding to the impact of the Swine Flu scare on travel to the U.S., especially from China where cancellations have been devastating, Michael Fitzpatrick, president of AmericanTours International,  told us, “What USTA should do, instead of charging a further, very sad, $10 admission fee on visitors to the USA (such a fee is called for in the U.S. Travel Association-backed Travel Promotion Act in order to help fund the travel promotion corporation that the act would set up)is to fully cover the costs of any visitor’s holiday in the USA in case of contracting the Swine Flu as a result of their visit to the USA, within a period of 7 days, of their return home.”

 ● Opening Night Party—Rate it Eight: Pow Wow opened on Sunday night with a spectacular beach party in which a two-block stretch at the foot of South Beach that was completely closed off to the public, while Pow Wow attendees frolicked barefooted in the sandy atmosphere.  Although the entertainment and a fireworks display were both among the best in recent memory for a Pow Wow, what stood out most for many attendees was that the event was organized in such a way that there were no lines for food—always a common complaint when trying to feed 5000 people within 60 minutes.  On a scale of 1-10, this event was an 8.

● Traffic The First Day—quiet.  Traffic during the first day seemed subdued and quite sparse, even in the high demand booth areas of New York, Florida and California. Shows take on a rhythm of their own with a first day generating a great deal of buzz, while the latter days taper off as buyers  lose energy and realize that they want to spend more time enjoying the destination.  With fewer operators from the UK and Asia this year, many delegates commented on the sluggish atmosphere, but others told NAJ that, while traffic was down, the number of quality meetings was encouraging.

● Enough Already with the Flu Inquiries! While speaking with a Mexican tour operator on the floor, it was clear that he was exhausted from being asked about Swine Flu.  He pointed out that the cratered global and Mexican economy has affected arrivals to the U.S. far more than the Swine flu.

● Virtual Ft. Lauderdale Featured: It’s a multi-sensory experience in the Ft. Lauderdale and the Beaches CVB booth.  At the Ft. Lauderdale booth buyers were invited to step into what looks like an upright tanning machine for a three-minute, four-dimensional experience of the destination that includes odors of the ocean, a breeze and an Imax visual experience.

● Scottsdale creates “Taste of Pow Wow” Video for its members.   Deanne Boynton, vice president of tourism for the Scottsdale CVB was filming the show floor, the parties and the media marketplace, as well as  interviewing clients and international media for a podcast for that would be sent to member hotels and attractions who could not attend on their own.

 ● Tequila, New Mexico: The Albuquerque CVB hosted a tequila tasting session at its booth on Monday afternoon. It was a great attention grabber as operators and media who slowly began to sip and sample in the booth, and learn the provenance of several New Mexico brands, really enjoyed the expert advice on making the best Margarita. 

● Atlanta Braves Take the Field at … Pow Wow? The senior group sales director for the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball team, Tom Patterson, was in the Atlanta CVB booth to showcase the team’s newly signed Japanese star player, pitcher Kenshin Kawakami, and proactively help the bureau promote tourism.  Patterson was brought out of the Pow Wow bullpen for every Japanese operator meeting, presenting them with a souvenir Atlanta Braves hat.

 ● Obama Factor a Factor: The positive impact of the election of Barack Obama as U.S. President on international travel to America, first evident at last November’s World Travel Market in London and in international travel and trade shows since then, is quite in evidence in conversation—Keynote speaker Eric Danziger, president and CEO, Wyndham Hotel Group, alluded to it in his remarks—and on the show floor itself. As NAJ was asking a reporter for the BBC on Monday about the “Obama Factor,” he told us that his film crew was, at that moment, out on the floor at the Madame Tussauds (New York) booth, getting footage of a stunning likeness of President Obama that is on display.  The likeness of Obama could also found at  the Washington D.C. booth and, of course, in  Chicago. 

 ● Chinese Are a No Show at Media Marketplace: Buoyed by all the discussion of the promise of the Chinese leisure market, U.S. supplier reps were understandably disappointed when almost none of the Chinese journalists showed up for their turn in Monday’s Media Marketplace (it replicates the open appointment scheduling process for operators and suppliers, with suppliers staffing tables during the first session and journalists at the tables during the second session). Of the 14 Chinese journalists listed on the roster of attendees, only one was there—a reporter for the Xinhua News Agency. The Swine Flu scare had nothing to do with the absence, it turns out. NAJ learned that the Chinese, who generally operate in groups, are simply not accustomed to talking one-on-one and chose to forego the session.   

 ● Dine Around Soaks  Pow Wow Attendees: Common to many trade shows, conventions and conferences, the dine around—or at least a variation of it—made its way to the Pow Wow calendar on Monday night, previously an evening for a single-site event. Delegates had a choice of dining at a predetermined list of restaurants in either Coconut Grove or Coral Gables. The long lines in front of the hotels waiting for shuttle buses were a trial for some (and it was exacerbated by one of those flyover rainstorms for which Miami is famous that wreaked havoc with transportation). In front of the Loews Hotel, it was a 45 minute-wait. Everyone was given a $35 debit card to use at the restaurants. For the flexibility it allowed delegates/diners, it proved to be a great idea.

 

● Flat is the New “Up” in the UK: The situation was best summed up by a journalist who told us that, in the UK , compared to last year, “If your business is flat, you’re doing well.” A receptive tour operator added, “We just hope the slide slows down.”  ● Staying out of the E-Zone: From conversations on Monday with international tour operators, receptive operators and others, come the following points regarding the UK. –One company has taken a negative 25 percent hit from year-to-year (2008-2009 booking season to 2009-2010) simply because of the change in the exchange rate between the pound and the dollar. –At last year’s Pow Wow, a pound was worth nearly $2.00. Today, it is just above $1.50. –UK travelers still consider the holiday sacrosanct, and they’ll still travel, but will stay out of the expensive eurozone in droves, except for Spain and Portugal. They are also beginning to book closer to the last minute, waiting for bargain prices.  ● UK Numbers—a Recap: Here are the latest available data on UK arrivals since the global economic recession sunk its teeth into the British economy last fall. Month UK Arrivals in U.S. % Change Year-over-Year October 2008 435,349 -5% November 2008 327,551 -14% December 2008 356,221 -14% January 2009 199,739 -20% February 2009 244,810 -24% Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries

New Study shows each visitor to SFCVB website generates $15.85 in Spending.

San Francisco CVB study shows each visitor to their website generates $15.85 in spending.

The San Francisco CVB recently concluded a year-long study of traffic to the city’s official visitor Web site, www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com.  The study, conducted by Destination Analysts, (DA) showed that for every 1,000 visitors to the site, $15,850 in direct spending is generated in San Francisco based on incremental visits and extending stay. The Bureau expects to attract at least 3 million unique visitors to the site in the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2009, generating an estimated $45 million in additional spending.  

Destination Analyst used methodology that employed intercept surveys of visitors where questions were asked about intent to visitation intent followed later by post-visitation a post visitation survey to determine the website’s influence on their decision and spending patterns. We caught up David Bratton, one of the partners in DA (and, along with his colleague Erin Cummings, a recent presenter at two previous E-Tourism Summit events) to ask about methodology he used.  In addition to San Francisco, ROI studies are currently in progress for Phoenix and Louisville.  

E-Tourism Summit: How was the study conducted?

David Bratton: The research was conducted over the course of one year, and used data collected in two surveys.  First, visitors to the website were randomly intercepted and asked to take a brief survey.  This initial survey identified the person’s reason for visiting the website, and if they were a member of what we call the “non-commercial” website user segments (i.e.consumers) they were queried as to the type of trip they were planning (if any), how far along they were in their decision making process (i.e., had they decided to visit already?) and in what month they expected to visit San Francisco.

Data from website survey was appended to data collected in a follow-up visitor survey (described below.)  This allowed us to track actual visitor activity from the point a person visited the website to the time they visited San Francisco (or not). Second, a follow-up survey was sent to persons completing the first survey. This survey was sent at the end of the month in which they said they were likely to visit.  (Persons who did not know when they would visit received the follow-up survey three months after their visit to the website.)  In this follow-up survey respondents were asked about their travels after visiting the website, the perceived influence of the website on their decision to visit and their length of stay in market, spending, etc.  

E-Tourism Summit:  For the SF study, how were you able to determine intent vs actual visit ratio?  What was the ratio? 

David Bratton: A set of highly conservative standards were put in place to identify visitors who think the website influenced their destination decision.  A person must not have (1) made up their mind to visit before arriving at the website (Survey 1), (2) later made a leisure visit to the city, (3) believe that the website actually helped them make their decision to visit and (4) think that the website was either “Important” or “Very important” to this destination decision.  The website’s impact on potential visitor’s length of stay in the city was estimated similarly based on user feedback.  Cannot release ratio information with SFCVB consent

 ET: How were you able to determine whether the website—and more specifically—what portion of the site, influenced their decision to actual visit SF?

David Bratton: It is described above. The research was not designed to measure the effect of specific elements of the website on later traveler behavior, rather we measure the impact of the overall website user experience on behaviors in the marketplace.

Harris Poll: Economic Downturn Changing The Way People Travel.

In a recent poll conducted by Harris Interactive®, 48% of U.S. adults say their financial situation is worse now than it was one year ago. For some that is translating into plans for fewer vacations and fewer dollars spent on leisure travel in 2009.

While almost half plan to travel just as much or more in 2009 as they did in 2008, two-fifths (38%) anticipate that the economy will have no impact on their travel plans, and 8% plan to travel more in the next 12 months than they did in 2008, nearly two-fifths (37%) of consumers say they are less likely to travel within the next 12 months due to economic conditions.

Other findings from the study include:

- Over one-fourth (27%) will decrease the duration of their leisure trips.

- Four in ten (40%) will reduce the amount of money they spend on leisure trips. Among these consumers looking to cut costs: Roughly three-fifths will find less expensive accommodations (62%), less expensive meal options (61%), or will look for less expensive activities (58%). Nearly half will reduce travel expenses by vacationing closer to home (48%), staying with friends/family instead of a hotel (46%), or reduce expenses by driving rather than flying (45%). One-third (34%) will stretch their vacation dollars by going on a “staycation” close to home or by sharing travel costs with friends or other families.

Companies are also changing their travel spending habits in 2009. Three in five (61%) people surveyed said their companies had changed their travel policies in last 12 months, and one in five (21%) said they were less likely to travel for business in 2009 than they were in 2008.

Reducing or eliminating nonessential travel was the most frequently reported method of cutting business travel expenses. Three in ten people (30%) reported that their companies had reduced or eliminated all nonessential travel, and 21% said their companies were using technology to reduce or eliminate travel costs. Other reported changes to company travel policies include encouraging day trips (13%), booking with hotels and airlines that provide preferred rates (12%), and enforcing per diem allowances (10%).  The good news is that travelers are still taking vacations; however, the nature of their vacations has changed. From finding less expensive accommodations to taking a road trip rather than flying, consumers are finding ways to continue taking vacations. The question remains – how long will this trend last?”  http://www.harrisinteractive.com

Hotel Prices Dropping, Dropping, Dropping…nationwide.

TRENDS AND RESEARCH Hotel Prices Dropping Nationwide: It is April 2009 and Hotwire.com’s monthly Hotwire® Hotel Rate Report shows us that Tampa leads major U.S. cities in hotel priced reductions and that New York City hotels studied in the report had prices drop 29 percent. The complete list follows. Top 10 hotel Price Reduction Markets for April 2009 Market & Rank Price Drop Type Example of a current Hotwire price per night

1. Tampa -31% Four Star $88

2. San Antonio -30% Three Star $82

3. Vancouver, BC -30% Four Star $91

4. New York City -29% Three Star $139

5. Portland -23% Four Star $96

6. Orlando -22% Four Star $87

7. Chicago -21% Three Star $65

8. Toronto -20% Four Star $72

9. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale -20% Three Star $76

10. Las Vegas -19% Four Star $93

Source: Hotwire.com. Results are calculated by looking at Hotwire stay dates for select regions in the current month, and comparing prices in the current month against Hotwire prices in the same month in the prior year. Map Sites Excluded.

10 Hottest Travel Trends in Online Travel (from Europe)

A reporter from the London Times Online attended this week’s Travolution Summit in London and took away what she calls “10 hottest trends in online travel.” Not surprisingly price is one of them: travelers search Google for ‘cheap hotels’ most often, then ‘beach hotels’ and ‘luxury hotels’.

Among the takeaways:

·         Flights come first: on average vacationers buy flights 44 days before travel, book their hotel 42 days before and their rental car 19 days before, says Frommers.

 

·         We trust reviews: People are more likely to book a holiday if they can read reviews from other travelers, says Frommers and TripAdvisor.  Research shows “consumer opinions posted online” are trusted more than newspapers.

 

·         It takes a month to book a holiday;: the average holiday booked online takes 29 days and 12 searches on 22 different travel sites.

 

Read the other seven trends at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/news/article6146810.ece

 

What are the Top 10 Technology Trends for 2009?

These ten technology trends will reshape the way consumers search shop and buy travel.” Carefully selected by PhoCusWright experts from a plethora of global business and technology initiatives, each trend is weighed for its business value and potential to change the face of travel. PhoCusWright’s 2009 Technology Trends

1. Despite Market Woes, Pockets of Investment Still Exist “During economic downturns, innovation is the single most important condition for transforming the crisis into an opportunity.” (Sami Mahroum, Research Director of Britain’s National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts and a Visiting Reader at the School of Management, Birkbeck College, University of London) [IN].

2. The Entire Trip Experience Will Be “Informationized” In the past, the main focus of the travel value chain has been those components that resulted in a booking. Access to further information was a challenge because of limitations of mobile devices, lack of acceptable technology in hotel rooms, language barriers and no clear business model. This is all about to change.

3. Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing and Open Source Spawn a New Flock of Innovators Open Source has matured to the point that many companies are fully dependent on it. It has become an enabler for startups, allowing them to rapidly accelerate their time to market. At the PhoCusWright’s November 2008 Travel Innovation Summit, demonstrator Home and Abroad explained that they would not have been able to bring their product to market if it had not been for Open Source.

4. Suppliers (Finally!) Provide Personalized Shopping/Booking Tools Today, most OTAs look much the same: Where do you want to go? When? Air only or hotel and/or car? To provide convenience and value to the customer, future learning and shopping screens will adapt to the users’ stated profiles, observed profiles and shopping style. Similarly, the content presented will be the most meaningful to the customer.

5. Technologies Will Continue to Converge Ten years ago, television networks were distinct from the Internet. Video was limited to TV and you went to see a movie at the theater. Now you can make a phone call anywhere to anywhere in the world using your laptop. You can watch movies and TV and browse rich content on your mobile device. You can watch content from the Internet on your TV and wirelessly network your house for all manner of content.

6. A Flood of New Mobile Travel and Location-Based Applications Come to Market Mobile usage in travel applications has languished for years with a poor technology capability and an even worse business model. The mobile platform finally has interactive capability that makes it the fully functioning “3rd screen” alongside the desktop and laptop. With the growth of 3G (broadband wireless) subscriptions and smartphone adoption, apps will embrace location and context in a new way, enhancing the travel experience.

7. Advertising Technology Transforms Travel Distribution Pure play booking fee models will become dinosaurs as blended models involving highly targeted ads, referral fees and fees for service establish peaceful coexistence. The technology convergence discussed in Trend 5 will enable the convergence of business models.

8. Still Searching…for Better Search Last year the trends were “Semantic Technology and the Semantic Web will drive the next wave of Internet technology” and “Search will evolve to become more effective.” These are still true. Lack of adoption of the formal semantic Web does not mean that search is not getting better. There are several instances where semantics are being used to improve search. As they begin to show differentiated business value over normal search, they will gain traction.

9. Democratization of Supply Levels the Playing Field In the beginning when the airlines created travel distribution, the GDSs (they were called CRSs then) controlled the distribution of travel content. This created an oligopoly. But times are changing. The implementation of standards for interconnection, the transparency of the Internet, Web services and mashups, new search tools and SaaS models have all contributed to the development of an open marketplace for travel distribution.

10. Business Intelligence and Analytics Move to the Forefront In tight times, you need to squeeze as much as possible from your existing operations and capabilities. This involves understanding what your competitors are doing, how efficient and effective your own operations are and what your customers are saying.