September 22, 2008
Some concern recently about a new project from Audi, called Travolution.
Just to let you all know, it is nothing to do with us.
We're obviously extremely flattered they have decided to name a vehicle-traffic light communication system after us.
September 18, 2008
"Letter to the editor" from Mark Simpson, managing director of Maxymiser:
Travel websites may be coming out on top of consumer surveys for design but there is no excuse for standards to slip when it comes to personalisation, lengthy registration processes or ease of use, all of which are vital for online success (Reference: Travel websites lead other sectors in design).
By utilising content optimisation techniques, travel companies can continuously compare conversion rates against different versions of the same web page based on real-time customer behaviour, and automatically present the most effective content to consumers.
Even the most basic content changes, such as changes to button colours, have proven to deliver significant results.
For example, through a number of subtle alterations to content and calls to action on the third page of its site, which equated to a few hundred possible page combinations, National Express was able to increase visitor engagement and drive 14% more visitors through to successful conversion on its coach booking website without impacting on brand identity.
Content optimisation can also be extended to support tailored messaging, with content presented based on the keyword search, traffic referrer or time of day.
Add in behavioural targeting, and organisations can present a landing page that reflects the consumer’s previous online activity, tailoring the content in line with proven interests – and achieving considerable conversion uplift as a result.
Having successfully invested in the core web design elements, the travel industry is already ahead of the game.
However, if they are to maintain this pace and position they must now move beyond the creative elements and look more closely at the overall user experience, if they are to translate their web investment into bottom line returns.
August 05, 2008
Every now and again we're asked to be interviewed by other sites.
Here's one I did for the ASAP Travel Blog - and it looks like it's the first post they've done.
Not sure about being titled a "heavyweight"!!
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Here's a quick test you can take which the creators hope will be able to identify gender based on your browsing history.
The Mike on Ads blog has all the details of how it works.
And take the test.
Anyway, my results. In IE7:
Likelihood of you being FEMALE is 62%In Firefox:
Likelihood of you being MALE is 38%
Likelihood of you being FEMALE is 21%I use Firefox for browsing and IE7 for Google Reader and RBI intranet tools.
Likelihood of you being MALE is 79%
July 22, 2008
When your mother told you to always put on clean underwear before leaving the house you probably thought it was in case of an accident.
Well, it seems mothers out there are far more advanced, technologically speaking, than we ever thought.
What our mums were really thinking was new technology about to be introduced at airports across the US that can see through your clothes.
Read the full story from the Chicago Tribune but it seems it's lumps, bumps, warts and all!
Some may call it an infringement of civil liberties blah blah, others are happy for it to go ahead in the interests of security.
Passengers can of course object and opt for the traditional frisk or worst case scenario - strip search!
Choose your poison but Chicago's O'Hare airport will be among the first to get the full-body imaging machines.
Linda Fox, lead reporter, Travolution
July 22, 2008
Hotel Girl points to a bizarre story of how a group of people managed to get into the kitchen of a hotel in the UK's Lake District in order to unearth the secret recipe of its famous sticky toffee pudding.
They managed to secretly film the start of a demonstration of how to make the pudding, only to be discovered by management. Ooops.
Anyway, they posted it on Youtube, much to the disgust of the management.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Apart from the fact that it is slowly falling into the Adriatic Sea, Venice has a dwindling population problem to contend with as well.
In 1500 it had around 200,000 living on its stilts, but it has been slowly shedding residents ever since - down to 100,000 in 1970, 78,000 in 1990 and just over 60,000 in March this year.
A pressure group. Venissia.com, was formed recently to campaign for protecting the Venetian way of life and attract more people to move to the city, is using the a rather downbeat but unique way of demonstrating the problem.
The shop window, close to the Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal, has a direct feed to the official population figure, allowing residents and tourists alike to witness in real time the decline in the number of residents in the famous city.
Incidentally, the blame for the decline is being put squarely on tourism industry. There is a huge surplus of hotels and not enough residential accommodation. In fact, a recent law was proposed to allow hoteliers development access to any other building within their area.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
Hat-tip: Guardian Travel
Technorati tags: venice italy venissimo
Make of this what you will:
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
June 12, 2008
Watch out all internet fraudsters out there, the Welsh police have appointed the UK's first e-sergeant.
Read the full story here but come September the e-sergeant will be joined by four e-detectives.
The e-police force's remit is to tackle internet crime which cost Welsh businesses a whopping £294m last year!
Going forward, it will be interesting to see if UK travel gets its own e-plod!
Linda Fox, lead reporter, Travolution
June 05, 2008
Our latest column in Travel Weekly:
Outsiders often accuse dot-coms of operating in some kind of la-la land. So here are some interesting figures.
Microsoft has offered £24.2 billion for Yahoo!; Google paid a reported £840 million for YouTube; Kayak paid £90 million for rival travel search company Sidestep; and microblogging system Twitter, is valued at £47 million.
In the case of YouTube, many believe the deal was actually a sound investment. In fact, listen to anyone from Google and they admit online video is growing quicker than search, its core business.
While all this is going on, Stella Travel Services is rumoured to be lining up a bid for Advantage Travel Centres, a deal that would see the consortium trouser between £6 million and £8 million. Stella denies the rumours.
Now, it would be unfair to compare a global search company to a group representing bricks-and- mortar travel agencies in the UK. However, the frighteningly simple Twitter is valued as high as it is because it has large numbers of people using the service.
Kayak boss Steve Hafner admitted at a Travolution conference that his company bought Sidestep for the web traffic.
As recently suggested on the Travolution Blog, people see more value investing in something with scale.
And web traffic is where the growth is for the keen prospectors, simply because it can be monetised quickly through both advertising and the sheer amount of volume running through a business. Now there is no moral to the story here.
The reality is investors are prepared to pay more if a business is online-based and, as they say in the US, “has the numbers”.
Kevin May, editor, Travolution
What is the Travolution Blog?
More content from the Travolution team, including random commentary, interesting stuff we've seen elsewhere and our usual sideways look at the travel industry.