PhoCusWright to Showcase Hottest Travel 2.0 & Mobile Innovations

The PhoCusWright Conference, for the first time in its history, will be featuring a special summit dedicated to spotlighting the hottest innovations is mobile and web travel technology. The inaugural Travel Innovation Summit will feature 24 handpicked companies from around the World who want to demo their innovations to some of the most influential leaders in the travel & tourism industry. In their own words: Early-stage, emerging and established companies are invited to apply based purely on their innovative accomplishments, regardless of organizational size, age, sector or location. PhoCusWright’s... Read more »

Rezgo.com Moves to Round 3 of New Ventures BC Competition

I am very happy report that Rezgo.com has moved into the third round of the New Ventures BC Competition. My colleague Phil Caines has been spearheading the effort and has been submitting all the necessary information to the judging committee since the competition started back in April of this year. According to the email notice that was sent out by New Ventures BC: The New Ventures BC Top 30 Companies The jury has read, discussed, and deliberated over the record 149 entries submitted to Round 2 of the New Ventures BC Competition this year. Congratulations to the 30 companies advancing... Read more »

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 »

Engaging SME Suppliers May Not Be About Technology

I had an interesting discussion with the President of the Finnish Chapter of IFITT and a PHD student from the Basque region of Spain about engaging small travel suppliers, primarily tour and activity providers, in the use of new technologies to help manage and distribute products. I was saddened but still encouraged to hear that both were facing the same challenges in their respective countries that I have been facing here in Canada and more specifically in B.C.. In my ongoing efforts to promote Rezgo.com as a tour operator software solution to small tour and activity operators, I have encountered... 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 »