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Internet, Travel & Tourism

A critical look at PhocusWright’s Travel Innovators

11.17.08 | 10 Comments


I’m not at the conference but they’re always high tech at PhocusWright and the videos are posted on their website. Here are my impressions after the 10 minute demos:

  • Escapia: JABS (Just Another Booking System) – there must be 1,000 of them – this one is targeted for vacation rentals – and has a distribution network.
  • DealBase: Laundry lists of “travel deals” – not impressed at all – a meta search engine concept without a meta search because operators have to enter direct – problem: operators won’t enter deals if they don’t have significant traffic, and without deals they won’t retain traffic.
  • Rezgo: Yes, also JABS. But Stephen and Phill are friends of mine, and I’m a fan of Rezgo because it’s a great product. Great job guys. The barcode check-in is very cool.
  • Fogglight: System to build websites for small operators. Even though it builds a huge website, I doubt there will be a large pick-up.
  • TravelMuse: I was impressed. They would need great content. The bookmark widget and planning tool is smart. If consumers like it, they have potential.
  • TripJane: gimmick – search and book within Facebook
  • Adventurelink: JABS – for adventure travel – also with a distribution network
  • Worldmate: Manage your trip details – It’s like an assistant organizing and alerting you. Cool service, reminds me of TripIt, I think it’s only a matter of time before OLTA’s offer this as part of their service.
  • Vacationroost: JABS – again for vacation rentals – it’s does everything one would expect – and includes a distribution network
  • Your Tour: Complete itinerary building and booking. The technology is definitely impressive. Question is if people really want to use this type of tool to plan and book their trip. I’d like to play around with it
  • Travelbeen: meta search for travel information websites, sort off – it feels incomplete – I’ll stick with Google for now
  • TripIt: awesome – booking aggregation with added context – best thing is that you can take aggregate multiple booking sources automatically – should add the alert features from Worldmate.
  • Nile Guide terrible name – content aggregated with advanced filtering – some interesting features – problem with mass aggregation is accuracy. Vancouver includes some unfortunate recommendations.
  • Wandrian – global train tickets distribution system – definitely needed – booking train online is horrible – they should launch a consumer site
  • Triporati – travel discovery engine – recommendation based on your ‘travel DNA’ – like Pandora in music – lots of potential – needs work because discovery needs to inspire through an emotional connection – another problem is the subjectivity of the destination DNA determined by a single destination expert
  • eKit – keep a trip log – the twist is you can use your cell phone – auto geo-tagging, etc. – with a compatible plan or SIM card – they should take it out of travel and onto Facebook
  • Worklight – creates gadgets/widgets for travel providers – clearspring for travel? – book/check-in/etc – what’s with the ‘book from facebook?’ – is that really the future?
  • Cadabra – dynamic package generator for tour operators (like YourTour) – very flexible -do people want to plan their trip in this detail with one supplier – maybe a meta search version?
  • Tripchill – it’s like WorldMate but seems more robust – travel assistant including mobile – pretty cool
  • Farepool – JABS – for travel agents – sourcing from multiple systems
  • Sabre – Travelocity – JABS – puts the fragmentation of buying air (seat, bags, etc) back into a single price based on consumer option – consumer focused, thank you
  • Clairvoyix – Database marketing and Business Intelligence tools for hotels – nothing innovative but refreshing to see a hotel specific solution
  • TripTelevision – YouTube type video player with some added functionality – some of it pretty slick.
  • Yapta – travel meta search with new features – alert system and award miles
  • Interactive MOBILE @dvertising – JABS – on a mobile – includes a downloadable destination guide – ok it works on a mobile – but is the guide complete? – lot of focus on pushing ads

I have a few more videos to go. So check back.

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  • http://blog.austriatourism.com/ Martin

    But is it really critical. I also posted on my blog (in german) that I got a lots of ideas but nothing really innovative. things I kept in my mind: the travel search engine Travelbeen, Triporati with the huge top content of 1.200 travel experts, tripIt with the intensive focus to attract online networkers but most impressive – TRAVELMUSE. Because it is nearly an exact copy of the idea we have to launch our new website in spring. But I knew, as I met you last year, that we both have the same feeling for good ideas.
    Give your wife a kiss from me and CU at Enter in Amsterdam.
    Martin

  • http://blog.austriatourism.com Martin

    But is it really critical. I also posted on my blog (in german) that I got a lots of ideas but nothing really innovative. things I kept in my mind: the travel search engine Travelbeen, Triporati with the huge top content of 1.200 travel experts, tripIt with the intensive focus to attract online networkers but most impressive – TRAVELMUSE. Because it is nearly an exact copy of the idea we have to launch our new website in spring. But I knew, as I met you last year, that we both have the same feeling for good ideas.
    Give your wife a kiss from me and CU at Enter in Amsterdam.
    Martin

  • http://www.lammertal.info/blog Reinhard

    I´m also not there but Martin keeps me informed. The question is, how destinations will be able to distribute and manage the content within all these plattforms and applications. I still believe that dmo workers are the local experts and they will need to design travel experiences for their visitors more than ever. Certain things might be handed over to “machines” but others will need the human touch. So which skills will be needed in future within a dmo on local/regional/national level?

  • http://www.lammertal.info/blog Reinhard

    I´m also not there but Martin keeps me informed. The question is, how destinations will be able to distribute and manage the content within all these plattforms and applications. I still believe that dmo workers are the local experts and they will need to design travel experiences for their visitors more than ever. Certain things might be handed over to “machines” but others will need the human touch. So which skills will be needed in future within a dmo on local/regional/national level?

  • http://wilhelmus.ca/ Wilhelmus

    Some of the product presented is focused on a single new idea with a website build around it. They should combine all these ideas.
    You make a key point Reinhard. You can automate many things. But to sell a destination, it comes down to providing the right content to the user; and not just product and pricing. It has to inspire, motivate and educate.
    DMO’s are in the business of content development. Our close relationships with our industry operators and communities allow us to gather it efficiently. And it’s not just a matter of scraping a bunch of words and pictures together from a variety of sources.

  • http://wilhelmus.ca Wilhelmus

    Some of the product presented is focused on a single new idea with a website build around it. They should combine all these ideas.
    You make a key point Reinhard. You can automate many things. But to sell a destination, it comes down to providing the right content to the user; and not just product and pricing. It has to inspire, motivate and educate.
    DMO’s are in the business of content development. Our close relationships with our industry operators and communities allow us to gather it efficiently. And it’s not just a matter of scraping a bunch of words and pictures together from a variety of sources.

  • http://tourismtechnology.rezgo.com/ Stephen Joyce

    There were two major themes at the TIS, Vacation rentals and Trip Planners. Rezgo was the only “innovation” targeted specifically at local tour and activity suppliers. Suppliers that specifically impact local economies. Although I agree with you that Rezgo is a booking system, I don’t agree that it is “Just another booking system”. What we launched at PhoCusWright is the RezgoConnect and Rezgo Vendor platforms which power the business relationship building between local tour and activity suppliers and vendors/retailers who sell these products.
    Even though Rezgo is not “sexy” like some of the fancy map enabled trip planning tools, I spoke to many people at the conference who could see the potential to aggregate massive amounts of supplier generated content (including rich text, geotag data, images, pricing and availability). Data, I might add, that can be re-used by DMOs and tourism partners at no cost.
    I am still convinced that the marketing has to start by engaging the people who ultimately deliver the services to travellers because they are the ones who make or break a traveller’s experience. That’s why we developed Rezgo.
    What would you guys bet on it? I’d bet my house, but I’ve already done that.

  • http://tourismtechnology.rezgo.com Stephen Joyce

    There were two major themes at the TIS, Vacation rentals and Trip Planners. Rezgo was the only “innovation” targeted specifically at local tour and activity suppliers. Suppliers that specifically impact local economies. Although I agree with you that Rezgo is a booking system, I don’t agree that it is “Just another booking system”. What we launched at PhoCusWright is the RezgoConnect and Rezgo Vendor platforms which power the business relationship building between local tour and activity suppliers and vendors/retailers who sell these products.
    Even though Rezgo is not “sexy” like some of the fancy map enabled trip planning tools, I spoke to many people at the conference who could see the potential to aggregate massive amounts of supplier generated content (including rich text, geotag data, images, pricing and availability). Data, I might add, that can be re-used by DMOs and tourism partners at no cost.
    I am still convinced that the marketing has to start by engaging the people who ultimately deliver the services to travellers because they are the ones who make or break a traveller’s experience. That’s why we developed Rezgo.
    What would you guys bet on it? I’d bet my house, but I’ve already done that.

  • http://wilhelmus.ca/ Wilhelmus

    About the JABS thing. I received a few emails and now Stephens comment. It’s not meant in a disrespectful way. We use it internally sometimes because we get so many phonecalls from people selling reservation systems (among other things).
    The reservation systems presented on Monday have new features, new business models or target a new sector. I guess it comes down to what your definition of innovation is. Wikipedia: incremental, radical, and revolutionary changes in thinking, products, processes, or organizations. That’s a high bar to meet, at least in my mind.
    I know for a fact how complicated the technology behind travel booking systems can be. And also how competitive the landscape is. The systems presented this week all have their niche and are/can/will be very successful; innovative or not.

  • http://wilhelmus.ca Wilhelmus

    About the JABS thing. I received a few emails and now Stephens comment. It’s not meant in a disrespectful way. We use it internally sometimes because we get so many phonecalls from people selling reservation systems (among other things).
    The reservation systems presented on Monday have new features, new business models or target a new sector. I guess it comes down to what your definition of innovation is. Wikipedia: incremental, radical, and revolutionary changes in thinking, products, processes, or organizations. That’s a high bar to meet, at least in my mind.
    I know for a fact how complicated the technology behind travel booking systems can be. And also how competitive the landscape is. The systems presented this week all have their niche and are/can/will be very successful; innovative or not.


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