Chris Anderson’s Free & the Booking Engine

I’ve been a huge fan for Chris Anderson for a long time. It seemed to me that the “Long Tail” completely supported my own motivation behind building Rezgo, a web based booking engine that would put inventory and distribution control into the hands of the individual supplier. Now with his latest article in Wired magazine and his upcoming book, I am again inspired by his words. In his article titled “Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business“, Chris explains that because of the decreasing costs of hardware and bandwidth, it is possible to monetize digital businesses... Read more »

Two Years Later, Are Web Booking Engines Delivering ROI

The online travel space in Canada is very different then the U.S. In Canada, for example, vacation packages are readily available for distribution through travel agencies thanks to companies like Softvoyage and Accovia. These packages are supplied by large tour operators like Sunquest, Air Canada Vacations, Contiki, and others who use the Softvoyage or Accovia back office systems to manage their inventory. In the U.S. packages are generally dynamically created during the online booking process by combining scheduled fares and hotels using engines like Expedia’s or Travelocity’s... Read more »

Overcoming the Three Big Tour Operator Challenges

For a long time now, prospective travelers have had the ability to search, find and make their basic flight and hotel reservations on-line. Only recently has it been possible for these same travelers to book their destination products, such as sightseeing tours and attraction tickets on line as well. Despite this trend, however, there is still no primary distribution system; which means that most travelers have to visit many different individual websites in order to purchase their destination products. For a tour operator, one of the most important goals is to sell seats. The challenge is how... Read more »

Comparing Web Booking Engines

It seems that the Internet is full of applications that allow tour operators, independent hotel and motel owners and packaged vacation providers with online booking capabilities. Many of these booking engines are extremely expensive and many are not. Some are hosted and some are stand-a-lone. So how do you choose one that is right for your organization? Here are some important things to keep in mind as you begin your research and compare the products. 1. Compare apples to apples Many booking engines are actually booking portals. This is especially true if you are an Adventure Travel company or... Read more »