Shares in online accommodation retailer Wotif.com have bounced after reaching a low of $3.32 last week. They are now trading at around $3.80 – an increase of 14% in a week. Update December 16: WTF now above $4.
You are currently browsing Martin Kelly’s articles.
One of Australia's biggest rebranding exercises got underway today with V Australia and Pacific Blue shedding their old names. They are now known as Virgin Australia, the brand under which the airline group's domestic arm has been operating for some time. The rebrand also includes a single, consolidated website. More …
Wego now powering ninemsn Travel search
Sydney, December 7th 2011 – Australia’s travelling consumers now have access to over 150 travel suppliers when planning their next trip on ninemsn Travel, which is being powered for the first time by search platform Wego.
Wego aggregates the best deals, no matter the travel budget, comparing; flights, accommodation, deals and packages from across the global market.
“This partnership is a win for the travel industry as well as consumers”, said Dean Wicks, General Manager Australia & New Zealand for Wego. “All travel suppliers that are partnered with Wego now have a visible platform through the ninemsn portal, while consumers benefit from a greater choice – and price comparisons to ensure that they pay less and hopefully travel a lot more.”
Wego’s metasearch technology collates, presents and tracks travel products and deals from around the world. ninemsn users will have the pick of the broadest possible choice of over 300,000 accommodation options and over 500 airlines, including all Australia’s low cost carriers.
The site is entirely neutral, with only a single innovative search criterion: popularity. Wego technology measures what is popular with Australian users, and displays most frequently searched destinations and accommodation options. Rankings change continuously, making it an excellent tool to see what is current and popular.
The daily deals model, which has been embraced by Australians, is reflected in the new design. The hottest offers from Getaway Lounge, Living Social, and Wego FAST:DEALS to name a few are aggregated for users to check multiple sources without leaving their favourite site. A newsletter option also delivers deals to personal inboxes in a single message.
“Wego’s user-first approach to search means this collaboration with ninemsn is going to take us all on a fantastic journey. The real winners here are the Australian consumer as we continue on our mission to help them save time, pay less and travel more,” Dean a
Travel search engine Wego.com today announced it is now occupying the travel retail slot on one of Australian biggest web portals, Ninemsn. No financial details have been released. Apart from Online Travel Agents ailrines and hotels, Wego.com now also searches daily deals sites like Getaway Lounge and Living Social.
Traditional retailer Harvey World Travel is launching a new website within the next two weeks. According to a report in Travel Today, the main aim of the revamped site is to drive enquiries to HWT branded outlets rather than increase online bookings. Head of Marketing James Brodie expects HWT will get more email than phone queries over the next year.
Sydney Airport has tabled a radical proposal that would enable airlines to operate regional, domestic and international services from the same terminal. At present services are split between separate international and domestic terminals 2km apart. More …
Dunk Island Resort, virtually wiped out by Cyclone Yasi earlier this year, has been sold to Queensland mining mogul Peter Bond. It follows the recent sale of Bedarra Island Resort. Both were handled by CBRE Hotels, which is also currently selling Lindeman Island for Club Med.
Scoot, the Singapore Airlines (SIA) low-cost subsidiary, will launch with daily flights between Singapore and Sydney in mid 2012. The service was announced today by NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell and will be supported by a co-op marketing campaign from Destination NSW, Scoot and Tourism Australia. More …
Investors appear to have lost faith in Wotif with shares in Australia's leading online accommodation company today touching $3.32 – just two cents more than its listing price in July, 2006 …. more than five years ago. The stock peaked at $8.08 in April 2010.
Aggressive and litigious US carrier American Airlines, at the end of a year marked by disputes with Travelport, Sabre and Expedia, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. More …
Daily deals site Spreets says it sold almost 1000 packages worth more than $2m at the Hilton Bora Bora in Tahiti in just a few days. "It was crazy – we think it is the biggest group buying deal ever in Australia," says Spreets CEO and founder Dean McEvoy. More …
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has issued a profit upgrade for the first half year despite bitter industrial action and rising fuel costs he says cost the company $650m. “Since the termination of industrial action by Fair Work Australia we have seen customers return to Qantas. Domestic bookings, including from corporate accounts, have recovered particularly well and are now back to normal. More …
The story of Cairns is the story of Australian tourism, a once sleepy coastal town that becomes a tourism hot spot in the go-go 1980s thanks to its natural wonders and friendly, hard working locals who create fantastic tourism products through innovation and hard work. More …
Virgin Australia's move up the aviation food chain has become (almost) complete with news it is migrating all ticketing, technology and distribution to the SabreSonic Customer Sales and Service System, a shift that will be complete by 2013. More …
Group buying site Our Deal, owned by News Limited and Network Ten, today launched a dedicated travel portal called Our Deal Escape, joining a crowded niche including Getaway Lounge, Living Social Escape, TravelCandy, Wego FastDeals, Scoopon Travel and BiggestTravelDeals. Sam Lindner, ex-Wego.com, is at the helm.
An ill-considered Twitter competition has turned into a PR nightmare for Qantas, currently involved in a bitter labour dispute, after the forum was taken over by angry customers – or could that be union members? Read more here.
Travelport is claiming legal victory over American Airlines after a court in Texas dismissed all but one count of AA's antitrust case against the distribution giant, which owns the Galileo GDS and Orbitz. More …
Roll up, roll up – the circus is in town. Only it’s not the circus as history knows it. I’m talking about the modern version – theme parks, which are playing an increasingly important role in driving global tourism, especially in Asia. More …
TripAdvisor has moved to own the global holiday rental listing space, announcing new partnerships with Interhome (Europe), Stayz (Australia), Toprural (Europe) and AKENA Technologies (Europe). More …
Further bad news on Tiger Airways – its Australian operations lost $20.5m in the 2nd quarter - combined with the launch of no-frills carrier Scoot by part-owner Singapore Airways prompts a subversive thought. Is SQ launching Scoot as insurance for the damaged Tiger? More …
Events
'REAL TIME - Sydney, March 30'
- When: March 30, 2012
- Where: Amora Hotel Jamison
- Program: Real Time
- Bookings: $499 + gst Early Bird
BOOK now to get the Early Bird rate for the No Vacancy accommodation industry conference in Sydney.
Real Time is the theme of No Vacancy 2012, reflecting the fact that we live in a world where everything happens now, or not at all.
In no business is this more obvious than tourism. Booking lead times are now measured in hours not days or weeks.
To succeed requires a new way of doing business, a fresh mentality and a fair amount of nerve.
The program is packed with the information you'll need to thrive in today's just-in-time world with a focus on distribution, marketing, innovation, consumers and technology.
Speakers confirmed so far include the following, and there are a few more on the way...
- Rachel Argaman, CEO, Toga Hospitality
- Dave Audley, Heading of Consulting, Experian Hitwise
- Quentin Briard, GM Australia & NZ, Club Med
- Daniel Bridges, Head of Travel, Trade Me (NZ)
- Julio Bruno, Global Vice President Sales, TripAdvisor
- James Cassidy, HomeAway.com.au
- Robbie Cooke, CEO, Wotif.com
- Will Deague, CEO, Art Series Hotels
- Dean Dransfield, Director, Dransfield Hotels and Resorts
- Bob East, CEO, Mantra Resorts
- Leah Lipman, Area Director Reveneue Management Australasia, IHG
- Simon McGrath, CEO, Accor Australia
- Bryon Merzeo, Analyst, STR Global
- Bernard O’Keefe, Group Online Marketing Manager, Hamilton Island
- Todd Parker, Founder, Parker Travel Collection
- Nikolai Pitchforth, Head of Online Travel, Google
- Brett Pointon, Founder, Oaks Hotels and Resorts
- Anton Stanish, GM, The Stayz Group
- Janet Wilson, Managing Director, Nationwide Hospitality
It'll be a great day. As usual, the focus will be on distribution, marketing, sales, innovation and technology for both hoteliers and Online Travel Agents.
Sponsors:
Returning September 17, 2012
The date has been set for TRAVELtech 2012 - Monday, September 17.
Meanwhile, thanks to everyone who attended TRAVELtech: Best of Enemies in Sydney recently.
It was a fantastic event, lots of fun with a touch of controversy.
Please check out the photographs or use this link to see great 360 degree panorama shots of the conference from Panedia.
TRAVELtech is Australia's original web travel, marketing and distribution event, featuring a compelling program, great speakers and fantastic networking.
No Vacancy Southeast Asia
Bangkok, July 2012
No Vacancy continues to evolve. After the success of No Vacancy Thailand, the 2012 event will expand to encompass Southeast Asia.
It'll still be held in Bangkok and Thailand remains central to No Vacancy's future in the region.
More news by early February. Meanwhile, some images have been posted of No Vacancy Thailand below.
The first Destination Online TNQ half-day conference has just been held in Cairns.
It was great - thanks to everyone who came and helped out.
And a message to anyone thinking about heading to TNQ, do it.
Fantastic place and you'd have to say a little under-rated right now.
SPEAKERS INCLUDED
- Richard Eastes, Director, VroomVroomVroom.com.au
- Brad Gurrie, GM Australia and SE Asia, Travelzoo
- Martin Kelly, Director, TravelTrends.biz
- Bryon Merzeo, Australian Manager, STR Global
- Christopher Northam, Area Operations Manager, Mantra Group
- Bernard O’Keefe, Group Online Marketing Manager, Hamilton Island
- Todd Parker, Managing Director, Parker Travel Collection
- Rush Pathak, Digital Manager, Tourism Tropical North Queensland
- Richard Tribe, Director, Ski.com.au
Sponsored by:
Supported by:
Recent Comments