Posted by Ingrid Riley on August 17th, 2010
There are myriad sites out there already that help to connect travellers—those using the same airlines, for example, or wanting to share a cab—but typically such connections are fleeting, and they aren’t made until the trip is under way. Globetrooper, on the other hand, lets world travellers find like-minded companions to share a jointly planned group trip.
Globetrooper is “a tool for adventurous travellers to create trips and invite people from all over the world to join them,” in the site’s own words. Users of the free site can begin by browsing through the user-created trips already listed there, or they can create their own and invite friends, family and even strangers to join them. Trips listed on the site include ratings for difficulty, culture shock, remoteness and risk; they can also be shared via multiple social media. Source:Springwise.com
Popularity: 19% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on August 17th, 2010
Three months and three million iPads later it looks like Apple has a winner on its hands.Yet very few still seem to really know what to make of it (“I can make a hat, a broach or a pterodactyl”).Can the iPad can be used as a serious business tool or is it just a coffee table accessory targeted at parents/grandparents of tech-savvy individuals?
I think it can be a valuable tool for the business traveler, particularly on short trips.Some, like Steve Rubel, are experimenting with making the iPad their primary computing device, but limitations in current capability and IT departments everywhere conspire against that goal.
I think it’s perfect for the business traveler, especially those of us who have to fly coach and deal with little to no room to open up your laptop on the plane (and I’m not even talking about if the person in front of you leans the seat back a millimeter). Reading an analyst report, reviewing a presentation or reading a book or watching a movie are very pleasurable and natural activities while on the plane. And the 10+ hour battery life is unbeatable.
I recently took a cross-country trip, used the iPad almost the whole time (including playing music over the iPod app in the background) and finished with more than 50% battery remaining. So here’s some advice on how to make the iPad a viable business travel companion: more
Popularity: 19% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on August 10th, 2010
The first day of it’s first ever Blogger’s Meetup which was July 15, 2010, the Jamaica Tourist Board launched it’s official blog IslandbuzzJamaica.com as well. A meaningful and deliberate coincidence. The Blog seems to be another way the JTB is saying to travelers worldwide, is that we’re always open for business, always ready for online conversation.
As it says in the About Us Page ” Island Buzz Jamaica is the Official Blog for Destination Jamaica by the Jamaica Tourist Board. This is one of our key spaces online to share, listen and have great conversations with Jamaicans at home and abroad plus the millions of Jamaica fans worldwide. Welcome, stay connected and come back often.”
Popularity: 19% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on August 10th, 2010
Topguest is a free, members-only service that automatically gives users real rewards program points for their location-based check-ins. There’s no need to download or install anything new; rather, users simply sign up for Topguest and sync their check-in app account(s) to the service. Some programs, such as Delta Skymiles, give users points wherever they check in; others, such as Starwood Preferred Guest, will award points only for check-ins at Starwood hotels, Topguest says. Currently Topguest is in “sneak peek” mode, featuring a partnership with Standard Hotels; rewards include a complimentary week’s stay for any road warrior who checks into four Standard hotels in the course of a single week, and a 25 percent discount for those who check into Standard properties 10 times. Over the summer, however, the New York-based company plans to add additional partners in the travel and hospitality industry, according to a CNET report. More
Popularity: 12% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on August 3rd, 2010
I need a vacation is the number one Facebook Fan Page in the Travel Category. Yeah I know I couldn’t believe it either. Figured it would have been a country or an island, but just as plain as you see it there, the fan page reflects a sentiment almost anyone can relate to. I wonder who owns that page witch its 4.6million fans and what are they going to do with it further.
Popularity: 19% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on August 3rd, 2010
@VisitJamaicaNow, the twitter account from the Jamaica Tourist Board was created to provide a direct pipeline for Jamaica travel deals and promotions around airfare, hotels, attractions and events, as of today it has over 740 followers, or most travel agents and deal hunters in the United States, Jamaica, United Kingdom and Canada.
Popularity: 25% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on August 3rd, 2010
OfferMeaTrip (still in development) aims to provide a service in which consumers dictate what they want from a trip and agents bid for their business. Users of London-based OfferMeaTrip will begin by telling the service what kind of trip they’d like to take and how much they want to spend. The company’s network of approved travel agents will then choose to make offers on a corresponding trip, which are presented in personalized online holiday brochures. The consumer in question then chooses the offer that’s most appealing to them, and OfferMeaTrip helps them connect with the agent for booking and payment confirmation. Using OfferMeaTrip is free for travellers; for agents, it’s currently free as well through a special, pre-launch introductory offer. Source:trendwatching.com
Popularity: 12% [?]
Posted by Ingrid Riley on August 3rd, 2010
Reviews are now more influential than price or brand. Revinate collects every review, news story, blog post, photo, video and social media mention of your hotel. Everything is presented in a single, intuitive dashboard, accessible anytime via your web browser. This social media monitoring and analysis tool is exclusively for hotels.
Popularity: 14% [?]
I’ve been pretty impressed by Jamaica Pegasus’s move on build it’s brand using Twitter ( @jamaicapegasus). The marketing manager there Prudence Simpson, plus Jan D and Cliff B is the small team that handle things. They had their first Tweetup ( a gathering of tweeters for a specific event) in June this year and are staging another this Friday. The first, had a little over 100 Jamaican tweeters in attendance, sponsorship from British Airways, live entertainment and they got ALOT of online publicity out it. People were live tweeting while at the event, posting text and pictures to their respective followers on Twitter, their blogs and also on Facebook. Really, can your television, newspaper or radio ads do that?! I don’t think so. 
