Will Google harness its awesome search capacity, plus its Youtube, plus social indicators from a person's searches to make travel suggestions and shape travel experiences? And book travel too.



We say, yes. It says "yes," too.



It's widely accepted that travelers are seriously unhappy with online travel agents (OTA's) - the big-box airline…

In a relatively recent article that proved very popular with readers and travel industry pros, New Media Travel asked, "Why Are Hotel Websites so Boring?"



We had our own theories, especially the one that said…

In spite of the reports suggesting social media is the way to connect with and service customers, it just may not be true.



Hotelmarketing.com reports that 62% of customers are looking for more support through social…

by Hardie Karges and Kaleel Sakakeeny

Travelers probably already know that hostels can save  a bunch of bucks in super-expensive Europe.  But they can save a lot of money in Asia, too.  Or Mexico, And  some now…

In essence, travelers will create and share their own travel experience. They, not tourism officials or travel writers, will shape and determine the nature and quality of travel.



Professor Dimitrios Buhalis , Director of the eTourism Lab at Bounemouth University (UK) ,…

Will buying an airline ticket soon be as personalized as buying a suit from a sales person? Probably, as trends go.



It's no surprise that airlines want to personalize their relationships to their customers. If they can figure out how, it would be a huge step toward making the ticket-buying process a lot more individualized, and…

by Kyle McCarthy (Family Travel Forum) and Kaleel Sakakeeny

Forty-four per cent of adults bring children (and grandchildren) along on leisure travels. Taken as a group, they take more trips per year (4.5) than business travelers (3.9), Gen Y (3.9) or Gen X travelers…

Searching for a hotel online is actually more complex than, say, searching for a flight or car rental or even Viagra. A hotel stay is more of an emotional experience than flying somewhere. To go from New York to London, is simply to find the most convenient, and best-priced flight.



Choosing a hotel  is choosing a home away from home. …

It's an axiom among those of us who fly: You never know whom you'll be sitting next to.



Could be a fascinating character from some terrific movie, your next love or, more likely, someone you really, badly want to get away from.



New Media…

What would you guess most determines how we choose a hotel? Price? Location? Recommendation by a friend or someone else?



In a connected social media world, it's surprising to discover that what our friends, and friends of friends recommend, say on Facebook or other sharing platforms, counts for only 6.8 % in determining…

Radio Netherlands:  "There are more than 40 million widows in India - 10 percent of the country's female population. And for the majority of these women, life is what some have described as a "living sati", a reference to the now outlawed practice of widow…

A funny thing happened on the way to the movies.



Forty million international movie-goers opted to travel to a place where a movie they loved was shot.

Travel Daily News (TDN) reports that these travelers made their…

We reported frequently in New Media Travel that hotels notoriously use photos of empty swimming pools, restaurants and rooms in their marketing material for fear of offending…

New England is not an easy place to get to know, especially in its winters when the dark and the cold and the snow hold the land in a formidable grasp, and the people disappear into their homes and cafes for months.



But that can also be the fun part of New England, and especially the iconic state of New Hampshire



Here the spirit of Robert…

Or, Are Facebook and Twitter a Waste of Time for the Travel Marketer?



How surprising is this: In the second half of last year, fewer that 1% of visitors arrived at a hotel or travel booking site, "via a social media link or a link shared by by a friend," reports…

Back in 2004, the movie Cellular featured a character --  a cop --  who was about to retire.  Was he going to spend his newly-found free time hunting, fishing, or traveling the world?



No.  He was going to open a day spa.

That character was way ahead of his time.  Spa treatments for men were popular back in 2004, but today, in 2012,…

From November 9 to 11, 2012, a trio of leading family travel "influencers" ushered in their annual Family Travel Conference, http://www.familytravelconference.com/  a gathering of passionate, talented and savvy family travel bloggers and journalists from around the country. The venue was the huge, but…

You'd think eating was risk-free, or at least faux pas free. It's not



Nor is travel, it seems. New Media Travel's post ''How Not to Travel Like an Ugly American highlights some of the cultural land mines that lie in wait for the unsuspecting traveler, such as…

And, yes,  we told you so.



In a New Media Travel article we discussed the low-to-no threat that cell phones pose to navigation, and why some many other airlines like …

According to a recent article posted on the economist.com, the perfect airline passengers are single European men, in their 30s traveling for pleasure. 

Once he’s got his airline tickets, it seems the…