Tripatini

the world's smartest travel social network

Kaleel Sakakeeny's Blog (344)

TripAdvisor Plot Thickens: Second Charges Filed

TripAdvisor Plot Thickens: Second Charges Filed

The review giant seems reeling these days with legal and PR woes from all directions.

In the latest plot development, Hotelmarketing.com…

Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on November 10, 2011 at 3:28pm — 7 Comments

Iceland: Life on the Brink

Iceland: Life on the Brink

Icelanders live on the edge.

In 1783 the Laki Volcano in this glacier-covered country erupted in a violent and prolonged paroxysm, killing a fifth of the country's population.…

Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on November 8, 2011 at 8:15am — 6 Comments

Why Is Hotel Web Content so Boring?

Why Is Hotel Web Content so Boring?

There was an interesting round table discussion recently sponsored by visual content management powerhouse, VFM Leonardo .

The basic question the panel was asked to consider was this: Why is hotel web site content so boring, and how can it be… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on November 4, 2011 at 3:33pm — 1 Comment

When (and Why) Do We Share Travel Information?

When (and why) Do We Share Travel Information?

We recently did an article on why social media mavens don’t use their social media accounts to complain about bad service or disappointing travel experiences.

Now,… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on October 31, 2011 at 3:07pm — 3 Comments

TripAdvisor Takes Legal Action Against Fake Reviews: Trouble Ahead?

TripAdvisor Takes Legal Action Against Fake Reviews: Trouble Ahead?

Chris Emmins, reporting for KwikChex, says that the legal action TripAdvisor is now taking against hotels that solicit and post false reviews, is “tearing TripAdvisor apart.”

KwikChex, the dogged, Wikipedia-like… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on October 25, 2011 at 9:29am — 2 Comments

What Do You Do on a Dude Ranch?

What Do You Do on a Dude Ranch?

When 180 horses’ hooves pounded the ground a few feet from me, manes flaring and breaths misting ghost-like, this city boy was transfixed.

It was the 5:30 morning roundup at the C Lazy U Ranch in Granby, Colorado, up in the snow-capped Rocky… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on October 20, 2011 at 12:38pm — 1 Comment

Are Facebook Fans Really Useless?

Are Facebook Fans Really Useless?

Depends.

If a Facebook page is designed to generate revenue, says Hotelmarketing.com, there’s a problem.

The online research and news site says 70 percent of Facebook users do not… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on October 17, 2011 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Discovering Dublin, Ireland With a 1-Minute Video

Discovering Dublin, Ireland w/1-min Video

I skipped down the stairs of our hotel, the Mont Clare, in fairly fashionable Merrion Square on a pharmacy mission.

I turned the corner, passed an antiquated, rather haphazard shop, and stopped.

A white-thatched,… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on October 12, 2011 at 12:47pm — 2 Comments

TripAdvisor “Makes Nice” With Hotels

TripAdvisor “Makes Nice” With Hotels

At least that’s what most observers think.

Or they believe the move is a reaction to Google's increasingly strong forays into the travel space.

The relationship between hoteliers and TripAdvisor has not been a happy one.

Successful hotel managers or innkeepers like Dick… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on October 7, 2011 at 2:21pm — No Comments

Hotel Shampoo, Tubs and Taxes

Hotel Shampoo, Tubs and Taxes

It’s not one of travel’s burning issues: shower wall shampoo and conditioner or those small bottles that travelers can take home if they don’t use them?

Or even if they do.

So it was interesting to read that… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on October 4, 2011 at 3:33pm — No Comments

Social Media Bullies Hold Hotels Hostage

Social Media Bullies Hold Hotels Hostage

There is no doubt that hotels and retail will go to great lengths to avoid negative publicity.

It’s in their DNA.

In many instances, whether or not a guest or customer's complaint is legitimate or warranted, companies, and hotels in particular, will "buy" the guests good will or silence by… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on September 30, 2011 at 2:31pm — 4 Comments

TripAdvisor Hits 50 Million Mark. Last Hurrah?

TripAdvisor Hits 50 Million Mark. Last Hurrah?

The Champagne should have been popping in the Massachusetts offices of TripAdvisor when it was announced that the review giant just became the first stand-alone travel site to top 50 million unique visitors a month.

Using data from… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on September 20, 2011 at 5:36pm — 4 Comments

Government Investigates Fake TripAdvisor Reviews

Government Investigates Fake TripAdvisor Reviews

A few weeks back we reported on the stink being raised by the discovery that hotels were bribing their guests with discounts and free room stays if they wrote positive reviews about a property.

We noted the corrupt or compromised reviews seemed most prevalent in UK, and quoted TripAdvisor's… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on September 17, 2011 at 6:47pm — 2 Comments

Acadian Culture, Alive and Well in New Brunswick, Canada

Acadian Culture, Alive and Well in New Brunswick, Canada

"This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks..."

And so goes the epic, deeply moving poem, Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

It’s… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on September 9, 2011 at 3:29pm — No Comments

New Travel Sites: Less Here Than Meets the Eye?

New Travel Sites: Less Here Than Meets the Eye?

If you looked at afar.com’s web site you’d be impressed. It’s attractive, kinetic and well done.

The company, founded by Greg Sullivan and Joe Diaz, stresses that travel is “experiential,” and that travelers have to “get out of their… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on September 6, 2011 at 3:08pm — 2 Comments

Portugal’s Precious Port Wine Trail

Portugal’s Precious Port Wine Trail

The Port Wine Trail begins in the only place legally authentic Port can begin, in Oporto, Portugal’s second-largest city, and a three and a half hour train ride north from Lisbon.

More importantly, it’s the gateway to the…

Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on August 30, 2011 at 4:19pm — No Comments

The Curse of the Roaming Charge

The Curse of the Roaming Charge

Or, roaming charges can be dangerous to your health.

Heard the latest horror stories about travelers experiencing near-cardiac arrest when they get the bill for roaming charges from their mobile provider?

Michelle Higgins, writing in… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on August 26, 2011 at 1:21pm — 2 Comments

Travelers Don’t Use Social Media to Complain

Travelers Don’t Use Social Media to Complain

Would you ever tell a Facebook friend that your stay at a hotel really “sucked,” or can you see yourself going public on Twitter with a rant about some resort’s horrible customer service or food?

It seems, says… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on August 22, 2011 at 2:10pm — 6 Comments

How Will Google Plus and Panda Affect Travel?

How Will Google + and Panda Affect Travel?

Hotelmarketing.com was pretty blunt in saying that Google +, in conjunction with Panda updates, “could be the biggest shift in search since it took off 13 years… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on August 16, 2011 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Istanbul, The Cross, Crescent and Spires w/Video

Istanbul, The Cross, Crescent and Spires w/Video

Istanbul is twice the size of New York city and is remarkably free of crime – safer, perhaps, than most major American cities.

If… Continue

Added by Kaleel Sakakeeny on August 12, 2011 at 3:55pm — 7 Comments