posted by Charles H. Russo on Oct 20
Expanding on its ongoing promise of being the customer’s champion, Travelocity has launched FareWatcher Plus, a free, personalized service that automatically tracks the best round-trip airfares to selected destinations and sends e-mail alerts to subscribers when prices change.
“Airline prices change by the second, and we understand how difficult it can be to find the trip you want at the price you want,” said Jeffrey Glueck, chief marketing officer Travelocity. “It’s impossible for travelers to dedicate time every day to search for the right price on airfare. With FareWatcher Plus we are making it easier for them to find the trip they want at the price they want. For example, in the Dallas to Boston market this year, we have tracked fare drops of more than $40 on 28 different days – the most we’ve seen in 2007.”
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Oct 20
Southwest Airlines Vacations now offers one-night packages to several destinations, including Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa Bay, San Diego, Seattle, New Orleans and Los Angeles, with plans to introduce one-night packages in all Southwest Airlines Vacations destinations by the end of this year.
Customers who will benefit from these great new package offerings are:
• Customers looking to fly in the day before a cruise and stay one night, or stay one night after their cruise returns to port
• Customers looking for a quick getaway
• Customers wanting to meet with friends and family in destination
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Oct 18
Editor’s Note: Umm..yes, we know this isn’t in Argentina. But it’s close to the Lake District.
Remember those days at summer camp where you stepped onto campus and the biggest problem was trying to decide what activity to do first? That is exactly the sensation I got when I first arrived at Aguas Calientes in Puyehue Chile. Right across the border in the lake district of Patagonia this community has been formed for the travelers looking for a way to get into nature, experience a fun and friendly atmosphere with an endless number of activities, and of course relax in the soothing hot springs.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Oct 18
We know its bad manners to brag (tall poppy syndrome and all that) but we can’t help but share this good news. Last week while we were chomping turkey in Beantown, The Times online published their list of the 50 Best Travel Websites of 2007 and iTravel iShop is on the list. The Times says the list was “a recognition of sites that have shown real innovation during 2007 and which have launched or improved their offerings to become truly worthy of being added to a favourites list.” The list puts us in good company with websites we love, like Gridskipper, TripAdvisor and Coolhunter, and the list included plenty of sites we haven’t heard of, but are eager to check out. So thank you to The Times, and we’re off to do some celebrating now.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Oct 16
Buenos Aires is the romantic, Tango capital of the world famous for its steaks, wine, and virile soccer players. For most of this millenium, it’s been on sale at a ridiculously low price - considering it’s the Paris of Latin America - with an exchange rate at three pesos to the dollar. That has meant a tourist could enjoy a steak dinner for under $10 or buy a bottle of wine at a grocery store for $0.75 - one that might cost
posted by Charles H. Russo on Oct 15
Anyone knows that dealing with real-estate agents for rentals can be a headache, and even more so when attempting to short-term rent an apartment in a foreign city. Most intelligent, well-organized people will settle their accommodations well in advance of arriving in a foreign city. However, since I am neither intelligent nor well-organized, I left the task of finding an apartment in Buenos Aires until I had already landed in the beautiful city. The upside of this is that you get to research good spots to live before settling into an area. The downside is that you are in limbo land for a few days, which is not something that time-sensitive travellers are willing to risk.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Oct 15
Wanderlite Packable Daypack - Not a bad idea.
Any savy traveler knows that a daypack is worth its weight in gold. The problem is, most of them are bulky and take up precious luggage real estate. True, you could check your luggage at the gate and carry on a daypack. But who wants to carry around backpack in the airport if they dont have to? Thanks to the clever minds at Barefoot Enterprise, now you can pack a daypack in your suitcase, briefcase, or even your pocket.
The Wanderliet Packable Daypack is just what it sounds like. This suckers packs up into a 3 x 3 x5 area. Thats roughly that size of a soda can. That leaves you hands free in the airport, plenty of extra space in your luggage, and still lets you bring your daypack.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Oct 14
The Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland (CVB) announced today that it is changing its marketing moniker and adopting a more energetic icon-based logo. Positively Cleveland is designed to fit in with the region’s Cleveland Plus branding initiative, by shortening the organization’s name and expressing more of the city’s vitality and spirit.
“We are a marketing organization that sells the city to business and leisure travelers,” explains Dennis Roche, President of Positively Cleveland. “Our messaging is upbeat and it shares what is unique, genuine and authentic about our city . . . what makes Cleveland stand out from other destinations.”
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Oct 14
Yesterday, Leisure Group Travel attended the annual Spotlight on Chicago, which brings media and tourism professionals together with 91 members of the Chicago arts community at the beautiful Chicago Cultural Center. For those who been in the Chicago Cultural Center, you know how stunning the building is – quotes from classic literature line the marble walls and even the stained glass dome ceilings. All manors of arts projects are held here throughout the year, whether for education or public enjoyment.
Every year in the fall, this show brings together a broad representation of the city’s best cultural venues, highlighted by a presentation by one of the exhibitors. This year, it was Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, which performed two Latin group routines. One very refreshing detail – the dancers did not look like they had just jumped off the gymnastics mat to come to the performance. The women had real hips and weren’t four and a half feet tall, and it looked like they were having fun rather than taking themselves too seriously.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Oct 14
ReviewAnalyst to Provide Hotels Simple Monitoring of Online Reviews
New Tool from Standing Dog Interactive Launches with 100 Properties
DALLAS (October 10, 2007) – Standing Dog Interactive has launched ReviewAnalyst, an online dashboard for tracking consumer-generated hotel reviews, videos and images on popular travel and social sites. A simple and affordable platform, offered for $99 a month, ReviewAnalyst has already signed up over 100 properties from Omni Hotels, Rydges Hotels & Resorts and Ocean Properties Limited.
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