"Book hotel in Amsterdam next week" on Bing

"Book hotel in amsterdam next week" on Google

I don’t know whether I am too demanding here, but none of the searches are presenting my anything in particular for next week. No special deals, no availability information – really nothing in particular. I could have just left it out and just searched for “hotels in amsterdam”. Even more interesting is that none of the Ads even recognize that I want to go next week and thus promote special deals. I mean really, for all the money hotel websites pay their online marketing agencies, someone could have at least thought about targeted ads concerning dates and times.

Furthermore I thought it was quite interesting how very different hotel companies pop up on either Google or Bing as first results, which once again demonstrates the power of the search engine to specifically promote sites optimized to their standards. It’s quite funny how Bing ignores Booking.com, which is by far the No.1 hotel platform in Europe by now.

• Studie der FH Worms zur Zukunft von Reisebüros im Internet
• Beauty24: Ansätze zu Kooperationen mit E-travel webseiten
• Ideacamp: Neue Ideen zu Websites mit touristischen Inhalten
• Blog vs. Destinationsportal: Welchen Mehrwert bringen Blogger für Destinationsportale im Vergleich zu Werbung in Standardmedien
• Travel Mobile: Worin liegen die Chancen und Hemmschwellen für Touristiker im mobilen Internet

Zusätzlich habe ich selber eine Session zum “Long Tail of Travel” gehalten, welche auf sehr gute Ressonanz gestossen ist. An dieser Stelle ein grosses Danke an alle Teilnehmer. Ein interessanter Trend dieses Tourismuscamps ist in jedem Fall, dass die grossen Destinationsportale verstärkt auf die “neuen” Webmedien aufmerksam geworden sind und Kooperationen mit Content Providern suchen.

Interessante, neuere Projekte kurz vorgestellt:

• Tripwolf: Web 2.0 Online Reiseführer mit einer hälfte User generated Content und einer Hälfte profesionellen Einträgen aus Reiseführern des Verlagshauses Mair DuMont, welches auch als strategischer Investor tätig ist. Das junge Team arbeitet in Budapest, Wien und San Francisco.
• TripsByTips: Analog zu Tripwolf, TripAdvisor und Co können User Bewertungen zu Hotels, Sehenswürdigkeiten und anderen Reiseinhalten verfassen. Das Start-Up ist von Burda Digital Ventures finanziert. Gründer und CEO Uwe Frehrs hat im touristischen Bereich bereits das Luxussegment Hotel Portal Escapio gegründet.
• Travel Mobile: Hierzu gab es noch keine konkrete Firma, aber mehrere Teilnehmer des Tourismuscamps haben die Absicht geäussert in nächster Zeit in diesem Bereich aktiv zu werden. Ein Business Modell ist es Reiseführer mobil mit Bezug auf die Geo Koordinaten verfügbar zu machen.

Mehr Details folgen morgen. Jetzt muss ich zur DLD nach München abfahren, bin schon gespannt auf das Internet-Event des Jahres ;-)

An diesem Wochenende werde ich am Tourismus BarCamp in Eichstädt teilnehmen, das dieses Jahr zum zweiten Jahr in der “nördlichsten Stadt Italiens” stattfinden wird (habe gehört das sagt man, da es so viele barocke Bauten in mediterranen Farben geben soll ;-). Das Tourismuscamp wurde initiiert und vorbereitet von der Autorität des deutschen Tourismusbloggings, Tourismus Zukunft. Ein kurzer Blick auf die Teilnehmerliste lässt auch schon einiges erhoffen, da sich sehr viele Jungunternehmer und Tourismus Pioniere angemeldet haben. Besonders freue ich mich auf die Teams von TripWolf, Travel IQ, Swodoo und die Tourismus Portal Betreiber (z.B. Tirol, Südtirol etc.). Das Programm startet am Samstag und endet erst am späten Sonntag Nachmittag, wobei eine Session nicht länger als 45 Minuten dauert. Ich habe schon einmal das Thema “Long-Tail” vorgeschlagen, welches recht viele Stimmen erhalten hat und daher wahrscheinlich in einer Session behandelt wird. Die Ergebnisse werde ich dann im Live-Blog aus Ingolstadt mitteilen. 

I talked to Anthony today and we had a great discussion on how travel behavior might develop over the next few years. Personally I am convinced that travel will become much more personal than in the last decades of mass tourism and all-inclusive hotels. Start-Ups like EnTrip can benefit from this trend and create services that allow customers to share their travel experiences with their friends in a better way. In the following, I will write about some of the opportunities and the obstacles to overcome that I see, when looking at EnTrip.

Opportunities:

• EnTrip has a unique interface, which is definitely a USP from a technological point of view
• As Travel is getting personal, the big players in the field will look for innovative Web 2.0 solutions that allows customers to share information and open new sales channels for their products
• EnTrip is based in India, a very vibrant environment for a start-up and a great place to learn (and last, but not least cost efficient)
• EnTrip could be integrated as a white-label solution

Obstacles to overcome:

• Monetization: It is not figured out yet, how the revenue stream can be generated. EnTrip will have to come up with a viable model that bridges the gap between the interface and the revenue stream.
• Usability: Although the map is the unique feature of EnTrip, at GetYourGuide we have made the experience that many users have a hard time using Google Maps efficiently. A critical question will be how EnTrip can improve their feature so that less people get confused or lost.

In any case, we are looking forward hearing about EnTrip and could well imagine to collaborate closely in the future.

Following I will discuss some of my thoughts about the concept.

The Pros

1. Current trends (see for instance Allensbach research) propose that in the near future user reviews on the Internet will be far more valuable compared to traditional reviews in print media or on TV. Why bother consulting your local pharmacist and skimming through dozens of healthcare brochures, if you can simply ask the community? Searching for a specific doctor or expert, evaluating a treatment, or simply acquiring information on how to prevent disease are fantastic features.
2. Furthermore the concept can be monetized. For instance there could be charges, if you are a doctor or pharmacy and want to have a premium account on the platform. You could even go as far as giving “chat consultations” on the platform or receiving SMS notifications on doctor appointments or treatments (e.g.: drug intake). Also, there is room for a possible cooperation with an online pharmacy or you could even enable your clients to sell items on their profiles.

The Obsctacles to overcome

1. The most feasible clients (>60 years old) are mostly not as acquainted with the Internet or the Web 2.0. At GetYourGuide we have made similar experiences, as many guides and tour operators fall into the same category. However, we believe that this problem is only a question of time…
2. Are people really ready to share medical information online? Although Google also launched a service, where users can upload medical records, the US should not be taken for Germany when it comes to data security. A critical question will be on how Imedo will be able to convince the rather Internet averse doctors and pharmacists to join their service. There will have to be thorough incentive programs and definitely the site should concentrate on building rigorous quality & privacy ensuring mechanisms.

Although there is still a good way to go for imedo, I am looking forward to see how their services develop and what the key functions will proove to be.