As the cruise industry popped the corks at the annual Cruise Shipping Miami conference and celebrated CLIA’s 35th anniversary and a bright future, Royal Caribbean International Chairman and CEO Richard D. Fain had his own reasons for a celebration – having exercised a fat lot of share options and then sold them. Royal Caribbean Int'l HQ in Miami, Fla. According to an SEC filing, Fain...
Hyatt Hotels Corp. has launched a new series of video ads on the Funny or Die website to push its meetings business. The ads show all kinds of things going horribly wrong at meetings, and end with the premise that these things do not happen at Hyatt properties. Hyatt Meetings Video ad 'Ultra Lounge' on Funny or Die The first video, titled ‘Ultra-Lounge’ begins with a meeting...
UpTake, officially launched its Travel Gems blog program today. The world’s largest travel and hotel review metasearch site, is now featuring relevant excerpts from blogs from across the web alongside its 20 million travelers’ reviews and 775,000 places to stay. The new program, “Travel Gems from Bloggers”, is the first of its kind, leveraging pingback technology to find, match and deliver...
The FAA Reauthorization bill just got more complicated with the introduction of an amendment which would force airlines and travel agents to disclose all fees charged by airlines for checked bags, food and seating assignments before passengers purchase tickets. Southwest "no fees zone" at airport On the face of it, this amendment is meant to help make consumers aware of the fees they’ll...
The North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) will be holding its 8th Annual Conference at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, NV from May 11-14, 2010. NATJA Conference The NATJA conference offers a good opportunity for journalists, editors, broadcasters, and travel industry professionals to meet face-to-face and build bridges with important contacts. You’ll also be able to attend...
British Airways cabin crew are all set to go on strike from March 20 to 22, 2010 and then again from March 27 to 30. The strike is not only going to cause massive travel disruptions, but also impact events well beyond BA’s normal sphere of influence. Waterside, British Airways HQ The fight is over BA’s proposed plans to axe 1,700 jobs, impose a two-year wage freeze and introduce a second...
Earlier this year in January, Norwegian Air Shuttle, the fourth-largest low cost carrier in Europe, decided to offer a 1 kroner ($0.19) promotion for a newly-opened route between Copenhagen and Karup. The promo would have been a success too, had not a competitor decided to step in and buy the tickets. Norwegian According to a Norwegian Air Shuttle spokesperson, their competitor Cimber Sterling’s employees...
Back in December 2009, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) put out a forecast predicting 2010 airline losses of $5.6 billion. Three months down the line, IATA now forecasts a more modest 2010 loss of $2.8 billion. They also lowered the 2009 loss estimate to $9.4 billion from the previously forecast $11.0 billion loss. Giovanni Bisignani, IATA Speaking at a press conference in Geneva,...
Great one day event in Berlin. Here’s one man’s take on the best and worst of the latest PhoCusWright Most honest - David Roche, head of hotels.com (globally) and Venere. (I’m paraphrasing him liberally): “we have a match for Priceline in the U.S. with Hotwire, but Booking.com is on fire and we don’t have a match for them globally” {my two cents is that TripAdvisor is the bulldozer Expedia...
PhoCusWright’s travel technology trade show TRAVDEX™ kicks off May 5-7, 2010 at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta, GA. TRAVDEX TRAVDEX has been in the works since early last year, and the timing for the show seems to be just about right now, with the industry emerging from a downturn and searching for the right technology to aid expansion and cash in on rising demand and new channels. Philip...