A new online video released by VITV explains the role OTAs (online travel agencies) play in the travel planning process. It reveals that travelers more often use online travel agencies for research and comparison than booking. It also explains how your conversion rate will improve the better you merchandise your B&B on OTAs. Take a look and leave a comment letting us know what you think!

We are excited to announce that we are officially live with Travelocity as our newest distribution partner for the BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations Program.  Participating properties will automatically be included on Travelocity.com and their affiliate sites including Yahoo Travel, AOL Travel, American Express Travel, Lastminute.com (Europe), and Zuji (Asia-Pacific).

We have begun the process of getting properties live on Travelocity and will continually add properties each week until we have loaded all of our participating properties.  Please be certain that you have rates and availability loaded for our Online Reservations Program as this is a requirement for your property to be loaded.  The more availability you have loaded, the faster you may appear on Travelocity.  If your property does not have rates and inventory loaded, or if you have very limited rates and inventory loaded, you will not be loaded onto Travelocity until we have that information updated in our system.  To ensure your property has the necessary inventory loaded to be activated on Travelocity, and to ensure you’re maximizing your potential for reservations through this program, please call us at 1-800-462-2632 ext 4.  We’ll be happy to assist you with this.

We’re excited about the additional exposure and reservations this relationship is sure to bring to all our members.  Please note - If you are already participating with Travelocity through a direct relationship, you will continue to work with them directly rather than through BedandBreakfast.com.

Thank you for your continued partnership. 

Expedia Inks Deal with Nokia
Expedia Affiliate Network (EAN) and mobile phone giant Nokia recently announced a new collaboration in which Expedia’s hotels will be integrated into Nokia’s Ovi Maps technology, reported HotelMarketing.com.
All Expedia properties, including property details, availability, pricing and review scores will be viewable on Nokia’s Ovi Maps.  Phase One includes a call-to-book functionality directly from Ovi Maps to Expedia call centers around the world.
As the program grows, a click-to-book functionality is planned making all properties available to book directly online from their handsets.
Henrik Kjellberg, president, EAN Worldwide, comments: “This is a landmark partnership for EAN, representing a move into the mobile space. Our technology makes it easy for partners to offer travel across different consumer interfaces whether it be desktop or mobile and we are pleased to be an enabler for Nokia’s innovative Ovi Maps mobile service.”
Robert Rogers, senior product manager for Social Location, Nokia, comments: “Travel and mobile services go hand in hand. The hotel booking service we have developed with Expedia Affiliate Network complements the growing ecosystem of services Nokia already offers its users. The fact that the service will be available on both the mobile device and the desktop computer means interaction can be had with the user at various points of the travel lifecycle, not just at the time of booking.”

http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/expedia_nokia_partner_on_hotel_booking_functionality/

Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research recently conducted an experiment with JHM Hotels and Expedia.com to study what, if any, effect being visible on large online travel agent sites (OTAs) have on hotel bookings. The study was conducted by Chris Anderson Ph.D., an assistant professor at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration who used four hotels (chain and independent) and listed each for a period of time on Expedia.com, then removed them completely from the site. The properties reported they experienced excess bookings through other distribution channels when they were on Expedia vs. when they were not.

Often referred to as the “billboard effect,” the experiment determined that visibility on large sites like Expedia and hotels.com leads to a boost in reservations through the property’s own distribution systems, e.g. property website or contact directly with the property. “The study found that when the hotels were listed on Expedia, they saw an increase in reservations from their own distribution channels (that is, not through Expedia).”

Anderson concludes that “the theory behind this phenomenon is that the would-be guest gains information about the hotel from its OTA listing, but then books the room through a channel controlled by the hotel or its chain family.” The study went on to estimate that being seen on the site generated up to a 26% increase in total bookings.

The study summarized that “the benefits of being displayed on an online travel website like Expedia.com should not only be measured by the revenues gained by the specific distribution channel, but also the marketing and direct sales benefits the hotel receives through the billboard effect.”

Click here to view the entire report.

EyeForTravel reports that an online survey initiated by UK's Thomson and First Choice has indicated that an "overwhelming 80% of respondents" expect to take a holiday in 2010; similar numbers said the recession will not lead them to change their holiday plans.

About half the people surveyed plan to spend the same amount of money as they did this year; 24% plan to spend more. Of those people who said the recession had changed their holiday plans this year, about 6% said they had considered package holidays this year so as to offer extra security in case an airline collapsed. But that figure more than doubles to 13% for 2010.

46% said they would use the recession to book five-star hotels at three- or four-star prices. Travelers may be traveling farther next year as well – more than 23% said they look to buy a longer flight for the same price as one nearer to home. The proportion of people saying they would consider booking all-inclusive holidays jumps from 10% to 16% for next year.

One downside for UK travelers in 2010 is the Air Passenger Duty tax increases planned by the British government which will come in two stages - from November 2009. These will increase the tax on long haul flights – typically 12 hours or more - from £40 to £80.