Distribution Solutionz

Vetting Online Booking and Review Sites

2012-01-30T12:09:00.000-05:00

-- Republished from Solutionz Blog --

I love online review sites. I really do. And I use them to help me do everything from finding the perfect high school for my daughter, to buying a fabulous new refrigerator and yes, to book travel.

According to a 2011 article by Kevin May of TNooz, 60% of all reviews are positive, 28% are "neutral" and just 12% are out and out negative. These stats were taken from a study done by Spain-based ReviewPro.

Most legitimate review sites (including TripAdvisor, iGouGO, TravelPost as examples) have a vehicle for hotels, restaurants and attractions. But you should be aware that other travel related services such as online travel booking services sit out in the hinterlands of these sites, often reported in moderated forum sections of the site.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I happen to manage one of the top 100 travel booking sites (per Hitwise/Experian), that thanks to our user generated destination and property reviews is also in the top 40 in the travel and accommodations category. The site is RoomStays.com. You will recognize the site from the examples in this video.

What I've been finding out is that if a consumer comments on our site (or any other online site), the designated moderators (who are generally NOT employees of the review site) are allowed to make very general and often inflammatory comments that are not always an "informed position".

Out of my frustration with these sites, I created this video to help consumers "vet" sites that they are considering using for both travel booking and for reviews.

This video is intended to give consumers a way to gauge the viability of online travel booking sites from empirical evidence provided by independent analytics firms (such as Compete.com) and trusted advisors, such as the Better Business Bureau.

What consumers should consider when selecting an online booking service:

1. PROFITABILITY - This is readily available for those sites that are run by public companies. We recommend checking out the companies on Yahoo Finance and paying special attention to the Key Statistics section and the MARKET CAP, REVENUES and GROSS PROFIT.
2. VOLUME METRICS - For private companies that do not disclose the profitability information, volume metrics are key. To check the volume metrics, we recommend that you use COMPETE.com, an independent analytics site. You can put in ANY URL, including the URL of review sites and booking sites. This site shows TRAFFIC, GROWTH and SEASONALITY.

TRAFFIC - It is important to note that to run an online business of any kind, you must have a sustainable amount of traffic. While that number changes based on your business model, I have a rule of thumb that I look at companies that have over 100,000 average unique visitors per month as "viable". Now that doesn't mean that they are profitable on a cash flow basis, but it does mean that they have a great chance of surviving and thriving.
GROWTH - What you want to look at here is year over year growth, as month over month (particularly during 4th quarter), travel sites will often show a decline due to SEASONALITY.
SEASONALITY - If you look at both large companies in a particular category (such as Online Travel Agencies OTA), you will see the "normal seasonality" over the course of a 12 month period. In travel, it is totally normal for visitors and bookings to decline after Labor Day. Do not be concerned if you look at the current Compete.com site for your favorite site and see a decline for December. Next month they will show January stats and you will see a remarkable rebound for nearly all travel sites.

There is also a great feature that lets you click on SIMILAR SITES.

3. REPUTATION - This one used to be simple. You could call the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and see how they rank the firm. With the advent of online ranking sites, this is no longer quite as clear cut as there are many companies getting into this "game".

Some sites (include the BBB) charge the business to become "accredited", but the BBB has very strict standards for accreditation and they will not grant the use of their logo to companies that don't adhere to their standards. If a site allows you to pay to claim your business, but does not have any quality standards, beware. What this means is that companies may not be able to challenge complaints that are posted without becoming a member.

Once again, you can use COMPETE.com to see how many people are actually using the review site and stick with those that are used by a broader range of consumers and also take a look at the ratio of negative comments to positive comments and see if it aligns with the ratios that were noted in the TNooz article. If they are unduly skewed toward the negative, beware, as you may only be getting the views of those people that may never be happy with anything. Most review sites allow you to click through to see the complaint history of an individual and you can easily see patterns emerging that could render their complaint as fraudulent.

4. KNOW THE POLICIES - Back before the advent of online travel, you could call a travel agent or a hotel and "reserve" a room without paying. Not so with most online travel sites. On most sites, you pay up front and the retailer is responsible for conveying the reservation details and payment to the hotel prior to check in. This is not always instantaneous, so you may call a hotel right after booking to see if they have your reservations and they may not have the details yet. This is generally a limitation of the level of sophistication of the property, not the booking site.

Every booking site and every property have their own unique relationship and contract for how changes and cancellations are handled. Please make sure you read the website's policies before booking so that there will be no surprises.

Even if there is a "no cancellation" policy for prepaid bookings, if there is a reason out of your control (e.g. an accident or illness), the booking site will generally work with you. They may require proof, so make sure that you keep documentation from your doctor or hospital that can be faxed to their customer service department.

5. GET EDUCATED, THEN BOOK AND GO!
If you do your homework, you should be able to confidently book and go on your trip, knowing that your reservation will be secure. Many of the complaints that we see on the review sites have to do with the hotel's customer service or the hotel not honoring what was confirmed.

We recommend that you give the company a chance to respond to you directly if you do have a problem (versus posting on one of the hundreds of complaint sites that may or may not be monitored daily by the company). If the problem was with the hotel and the hotel refuses to resolve it, then by all means, post your negative review of the property on a public site. Quite often the booking site will remove that hotel from its live booking system if they repeatedly create this type of service problem.

If you are happy with the elements of the trip, please post a positive response on the various public sites and mention who you used to book the trip.

If you have additional ideas for vetting sites and companies, I'd love to hear about it.

Integrated blogs are best practice

2011-11-09T10:09:00.001-05:00

Here at Solutionz, we practice what we preach -- best practice.

Dilbert.com Comic Strip by Scott Adams - 06-01-02

And no, it is not best practice Dilbert style, but to get your attention we thought that we would embed a little humor and variety in our blog as it moves into its new home.

I know that many of you "have the t-shirt" with your own company's brand of change in direction that is portrayed in the Dilbert cartoon.

The one thing that resonates about Dilbert is that we have all known leaders that try to drive strategy and plans in areas where they do not have expertise. They definitely do not know best practice, even when it bites them.

Yesterday I came across an article published by Hubspot on best practice for company blogs. It said, unequivocally, that your blog should be a part of your website, not published separately on Blogger or Wordpress or some similar tool.

If you are the key person for both marketing and distribution and blogging falls on your long list of responsibilities, then perhaps you should read "13 Business Blogging Mistakes and Their Easy Fixes" from @HubSpot. Get it here: http://bit.ly/gTzEe3

We read it. We listened. So here we are. The Distribution Solutionz blog will now be an integrated part of the Solutionz site.

Thanks for following our musings on distribution. We address traditional distribution, as well as all manner of digital distribution.

Enjoy and stay tuned. We will continue to put a link to our daily blogs here for those of you using RSS.

The real emergency test

2011-11-09T08:04:00.000-05:00

Today at 2pm the government is doing a nationwide test of the emergency broadcasting system.

"Don't stress; it's only a test." That's what FEMA wants you to know about today's Emergency Alert System test at 2 p.m. The first nationwide test of the public warning system should last three and a half minutes.

What will be interesting is whether the federal government acknowledges that TV and radio are not the only media in use by our nation's citizens.

Let's see if anything goes out over Twitter and Facebook. That would be the real test.

Digital Media is NOT a strategy

2011-11-07T11:55:00.000-05:00

A recent Comscore article said

"Today’s digital media environment is rapidly evolving, driven by the proliferation of devices people use to consume content both at home, at work and on the go. With smartphones, tablets and other connected devices, consumers have become digital omnivores."

There is no doubt that digital media is here to stay and that it has changed the landscape for brands that are trying to reach and own the consumer.

But lest we get sucked into a singular focus on digital as we did into web marketing in the late 90s and into social media in the last decade, I'd like to remind you that none of these are strategies. They are channels to reach the customer and should not the "be all" and "end all" of your strategy.

Although those companies that dominate the digital space and those that make a living doing research on these channels would like for us to believe that they have hit upon the Holy Grail, consumers are still multi-channel and contrary to popular belief, they do not buy everything online or via mobile.

Case in point, the hospitality industry. TravelClick reported that in Q2 of 2011, 46% of bookings for the major hotel brands still came through the travel agent community and their call centers. And while Internet (including mobile) bookings year over year were growing, 1.6% growth is hardly meteoric.

Source: TravelClick™

By putting the medium at the center of the equation, it is easy to forget that our strategic focus should actually be on the consumer and if we are smart, on driving business through the most profitable channels, not necessarily the hottest ones on the scene.

And yes, we do need to keep the web, social and digital in our strategic sights, but a knowledge of channel profitability and an integrated customer centric distribution strategy across all channels is what will lead to profitable growth.

And where I sit, profitable growth IS the Holy Grail.

If you need help with development of an integrated customer-centric strategy, give us a call.

Stay tuned for more this week about developing a profitable, multi-channel distribution strategy.

Is there anywhere that Google is not disintermediating?

2011-10-18T10:38:00.000-05:00

Media Mavens: Robert Kyncl, Google - Tasked With Leading Search Giant's Charge Into Content-Based Platform Wars, Veteran Exec Is Ready for Battle

By: Published: October 17, 2011

When Google appointed a head of TV and film last year, it was a sign that changes were afoot. If Google is to compete in the platform wars, be it YouTube on TV screens or Android on tablets and phones, it will need content, and that's where former Netflix exec Robert Kyncl comes in.

Robert Kyncl, Google

Mr. Kyncl's first big project is one he's not talking about; indeed it's one that Google itself has yet to acknowledge. That's the $100 million effort to seed curated "channels" on YouTube that will have TV-like appeal to viewers and to advertisers.

While this is still a big secret in Mountain View, it's an open secret in Hollywood, where it's hard to find anyone who hasn't had at least exploratory talks with Mr. Kyncl and his team.

The big difference between this effort to bring professional-grade entertainment to YouTube and prior efforts is that production companies, studios and startups are actually clamoring to be among the anointed few to go into business with YouTube, not just for the startup funds (YouTube is expecting a return on those) but for the chance to help YouTube invent the linear TV network of the future.

To read the rest of the article, click HERE

Here we find differentiation at its finest.

As reported in the HITWISE statistics below from week ending 10/15, consumers have already wed themselves to both Google and YouTube for a significant amount of their day.

Add to that a significant boost in the caliber of the already popular YouTube site, with all of the built in intelligence that brings to Google.

Then add the convenience of mobile, notepad devices and soon to be pervasive hybrid Google TVs (based on Android operating system), and Google has the makings of a huge, very profitable hit that will likely leave a huge dent on traditional broadcast media.

I of course am hoping that their channel lineup includes a 24/7 wine channel, weaving in lifestyle, food and travel for good measure! Can you say winechannel.tv?

Stay tuned.

IFLYBAGS.com is out of the bag

2011-10-18T07:11:00.001-05:00

My husband and I are flying to San Francisco tomorrow on US Air. Of course if you follow me on TripIt or Traxo, you already know that.

What you don't know is that we used Farelogix' new iflybags.com site to make some very important travel decisions.

1. We are not going to take our boogie boards with us. It would cost $200 extra per boogie board and besides, Google will be keeping us much too busy at their top travel advertisers conference to make it to the Pacific this trip and the ocean is just too cold for boogie boarding.

2. We are leaving our 125 inch antlers at home. Who knew you could only travel with antlers that were 120 inches in diameter? And of course this begs the question of why ANYONE would travel with antlers.... but you know if US Air has a price for it that it is because someone did.....

3. We will just have to do without woofers and tweeters this trip, as it would cost $200 to take along our speakers to listen to our iPod in high fidelity.

In all seriousness, bravo to Farelogix for their amazing job of simplifying complex information on a consumer site that gives us literally everything we want to know about not only excess bag fees, but about the cost of traveling with every imaginable item.

The most important piece of information of course is still in very fine print on US Air's site, but features front and center on iflybags.com. We need to pack light and carry on, as there are zero free checked bags allowed.

Note to self, next time, I fly Delta or Southwest.....

The Beat Live - Court of Chancery

2011-09-20T12:35:00.000-05:00

Wikipedia says that a court of chancery has jurisdiction over the estate of lunatics. Let’s hope Jay wasn’t making a backhanded statement about either party by choosing this particular forum for the airline/GDS debate.As I see it, there are a number of real issues at the heart of this battle. Content, Technology, Merchandising, Business Model, Connectivity.I frame it as a battle, because it reminds me somewhat of the parent child battles that emerge when a child gets its independence and leaves home. The child continues the behaviors taught from the earliest age, both the good and the bad, but the parent tends to it in a whole new light, even fighting what they modeled for years. One example is having a cocktail before dinner and a glass of wine with dinner, then being upset when your kids start drinking in college. Another is being a workaholic and never being there for your kids and then getting upset when they don’t come to visit you. On the good side, it may be attending church or staying fit and eating right.In this battle, the GDSs for whom I am advocating are the children that earned their independence from the parents, the airlines, represented by my esteemed colleague Mark. When a child leaves home and goes to college, it costs the parents quite a bit for tuition, books and room and board, not to mention what it cost to raise them. In this case, the GDS “children” each left home somewhere in their late teens. Their companies went public and/or were purchased by private equity, and in each case, I believe that the airline parents pocketed a substantial amount of money from the transactions. And in the case of Amadeus, who is still partially owned by several of its founders, the airline owners continue to benefit from that ownership. With the massive losses of the last few decades in the airline arena, I can’t help but wonder whether the airline parent companies should have sold the airlines and kept the GDS.Back to the issue at hand. Let’s start with the business model and the alleged “sharing” of a portion of each booking fee with our travel agency customers. Those in the room may remember that when the first “bag man” appeared on the scene, literally with a bag of money. It was the early 1980s and the business cards for the automation staff at that time read American, United, Delta, TWA and Eastern Airlines. The money was not “revenue sharing” on a segment basis, but an incentive to switch systems. Soon the incentives were used to retain business and to offset the cost of equipment. And once commissions were first cut, then eliminated, the incentive was also called “financial assistance”. The issues are of course intertwined. Prior to the elimination of the CRS rules in 2003, full content was not an issue, as all airlines that had a stake in a GDS had to participate at equal levels between all GDSs. But selling different content through different channels has always been the practice of the airlines – case in point running ads in the newspaper on Sundays that were not available through agencies on Mondays. My position is that the onus is on the GDS to offer a compelling business proposition to the airlines, such as aggregating variable cost demand at a higher average yield. If the GDS cannot do this, then the airlines both can and will sell their products through other channels. As far as merchandising and legacy systems, the evidence will show that each of the GDS companies can and do offer merchandising of ancillary products for airlines and have made substantial progress in transitioning from legacy systems where it makes business sense to do so, just as the airlines have done in their internal reservations systems and web platforms.The one issue that actually makes the most sense in this battle is that of connectivity. In the late 1980s, a group of hoteliers formed a consortia known as THISCO, later renamed to Pegasus. Those hotels decided that rather than trying to keep up with connectivity to a growing number of GDS companies, they would instead connect once to Pegasus and let them connect to the GDSs (and later the other internet powered channels that emerged. If American and others desire to connect via Farelogix or other alternative platforms so that they can get out of the connectivity business, this is of course there prerogative, but where the GDS as an industry begin to get concerned is where there is incremental cost for development and additional complexity for our agency customers that may indeed erode the profitability of this valuable channel for the airlines, who as a matter of fact have been our core customers for over 30 years.INDUSTRY IMPACTWe live in a free market economy.Producers are free to distribute their products using intermediaries or directly or a combination of the twoThe channels have to provide compelling reasons to the producers to garner their business Variable cost channels have a high appealThe companies that thrive ensure that they drive as much business as possible through the highest yield channelThose that shift business to the lowest margin channel will not be as profitable and may indeed failThe issues is really one of points of saleValue of a collective network of over 50,000 agencies globally selling travel at minimum 5 days a week, 40 hours a week – aggregating high value demand

A Book Recommendation - It's Not About You, Bob Burg and John David Mann

2011-09-17T17:28:00.000-05:00

Click here to pre-order

There has only been one book in my life (other than the Bible) where I've bought more than one copy. That was The Go-Giver, by Bob Burg and John David Mann. The concepts are simple but profound.

Well, I'm thinking that another book is about to share that distinction. Bob and John have finished their next book and my only challenge is whether I pre-order the book in hardcopy so I can pass it on (as I know I will want to do) or download it on Kindle so I can get it immediately!

Set once again in the fictional Pindar’s town (with some inside references readers of THE GO-GIVER will enjoy bumping into!), this book expands on the first book’s Third Law, “The Law of Influence,” showing what happens when an unexpectedly cagey mentor by the name of Aunt Elle takes the ambitious young Ben under her wing and shifts his focus in a way he never expected.

The book is filled with quotes you’ll use the rest of your life! And if you currently lead a team, my guess is you’ll most likely suggest that everyone on your team read it.

Today is the official pre-release date for my friends, Bob Burg and John David Mann’s brand new parable, IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU.

Written in the style of their huge international bestseller, THE GO-GIVER, the story is woven around captivating new characters who will both touch your heart and show you how to be the leader and influencer you’ve always known you can be.

If you like, you can go to www.INAYbook.com and download Chapters One and Two. If you like what you read (and I believe you will) you can click right through and purchase online, or wait and pick it up at your favorite local booksellers.

You’re going to love this book.

Learn, prosper, and most of all, enjoy!

International travelers spent a record $13.3 billion on travel to the US in July

2011-09-14T14:34:00.002-05:00

TI News: An information service from Office of Travel & Tourism Industries (OTTI)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 14, 2011

News Media Contact:
Kevin Griffis, (202) 482-4883, kgriffis@doc.gov

Statement from Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank on International Travel to the United States in July 2011

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Commerce announced today that international visitors spent a record-setting $13.3 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States during the month of July - $1.8 billion or 15 percent more than was spent in July 2010. International visitors have spent an estimated $86.9 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services year to date (January through July), an increase of 13 percent when compared to the same period in 2010. Americans have spent nearly $63.7 billion abroad year to date (up 8%) - resulting in a $23.2 billion trade surplus for travel and tourism through the first half of 2011.

“Today's numbers underline the vital role travel and tourism plays in strengthening the U.S. economy, helping to create jobs in communities across the United States,” Blank said. “The industry is also an important part of America's exports success story. Travel and tourism accounts for 26 percent of exports in services and 7 percent of all U.S. exports, and helps to achieve President Obama’s National Export Initiative goal of doubling exports by 2015.”

AA/Sabre - Will anyone win on this? (besides the attorneys)

2011-09-12T07:18:00.000-05:00

In case you missed the story last week, here is a little tit for tat on the latest in the AA/Sabre argument from this snippet of an article from Travel Weekly in the UK

------------------------------
A spokesman for American said: “We believe evidence will show that, among other illegal behaviour, Sabre has used its market power to inflict harm on American by hindering the sale of tickets on American flights. The sole purpose was to preserve its monopoly position by deterring American and others from continuing to pursue cheaper, more flexible means of distribution.”

Sabre has filed a counter antitrust claim against American, arguing that: “American is unlawfully forcing travel agencies, travel management companies and corporations to take its Direct Connect product in order to access the airline’s full fare information.

“American Airlines is attempting to eliminate the GDSs . . . by refusing to provide complete fare information to GDSs and by forcing travel agents to use its direct connect product instead of GDSs.”

-------------------------------

Not sure where you weigh in on this?

It's easy to find arguments for and against the requirement that airlines display and sell all fares and ancillary services through the GDSs.

However, where but The Beat Live 2011 can you witness completely unauthorized representatives of both perspectives hashing it out in a Court of Chancery? Largely obsolete in the real world, the Court of Chancery sits without a jury and empowers its presiding chancellor to determine all issues of fact, pronounce injunctions and issue writs. Advocating for the GDS perspective on Sept. 20 in Las Vegas will be Solutionz' Chicke Fitzgerald. Her opponent? Former Air Canada exec Marc Rosenberg of Marsalyn Creative. Presiding as chancellor will be Tom Wilkinson of KesselRun Corporate Travel Solutions.

Don't miss The Beat Live, Sept. 19-21 in Vegas.
Register to attend here:
http://www.thebeat.travel/live

GAME ON: Google Buys Zagat: It's All About Local

2011-09-08T13:07:00.000-05:00

You can tell an awful lot about a company based on its acquisition strategy. I'm seeing someone that basically wants to own providing information to us about both travel and local. Content is King may just be their new tagline.

Google Buys Zagat: It's All About Local | Digital - Advertising Age

With Deal, Internet Giant Is Starting to Look a Little More Like a Media Company
By: Kunur Patel Published: September 08, 2011
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Google has acquired Zagat, a high-end restaurant and shopping reviews publisher, to bolster its local business content.

"Moving forward, Zagat will be a cornerstone of our local offering," wrote Marissa Mayer, Google VP-local, maps and location services, in a blog post announcing the deal.

Until now, the search giant has populated its Google Places pages with aggregated content from outside sources, which until recently included Yelp reviews. However, Yelp, a user-generated reviews site for local businesses, found Google Places to be in direct competition to its business. With Zagat publishing arguably some of the most respected restaurant reviews and ratings, Google now has its own store of highly respected local content. The restaurant and shopping reviews publisher has been in the business more than 30 years and covers 13 categories in more than 100 cities.

For the rest of the article, click HERE

Another day, another lawsuit

2011-09-07T22:19:00.000-05:00

American Accuses Sabre of Staging Bookings Boycott in Reservations Dispute - Bloomberg

And here we thought that they had at least temporarily kissed and made up....

The engines are revving again....

A short sabbatical to write the Multi-Channel Distribution Manifesto

2011-08-31T01:13:00.002-05:00

Leading up to GBTA, I started blogging a lot. It paid off, because there were many new subscribers to my blog, which is gratifying. Thank you for your loyal visits to the site.

My next event is a fun, surprise event at The Beat Live in Las Vegas.

While it might seem natural to keep up the pace of blogging about current events in preparation, I have decided that I need to take a break to get my book done. So I am taking a one month sabbatical. I may post the occasional article written by someone else, but my original blogs will not be available in September.

stay tuned for more information about availability of this eBook