Author: <span>Peter Gietl</span>

Tech

The Heart of the City

It’s clear that Cleveland has transformed in the last decade, in ways that have fundamentally changed the city. Before reading this section, you may have thought of the city as another in a long line of rust belt cities, whose better days are behind them. However, once you abandon some of these preconceived notions you begin to see that Cleveland is not only surviving but also thriving. Especially in the medical field, the city is producing an environment that is second to none in terms of advancements and innovations. Read more “The Heart of the City” →

VR

3 Trends To Watch For In VR Gaming

The arrival of virtual reality headsets in 2016 has defined much of the year in gaming. Toward the beginning of the year we previewed the rise of these powerful and fascinating new tools for entertainment, warning you all that the headsets were coming. Now, several months later, they’re here in all their glory. From Google Cardboard to the PlayStation VR, there’s a large and dynamic range of equipment that can allow you to hop right out of this world and into a virtual one. Read more “3 Trends To Watch For In VR Gaming” →

Travel

10 Reasons You Should Know Your DMO

Do you work with your local destination marketing organization (DMO)? If the answer to that question is no or ‘what is a DMO’, you are missing out on one of the most valuable resources to grow your business.DMO is an organization, typically affiliated with a local government, whose mission is to attract leisure and business travelers and promote the destination. This can be a visitors bureau or a tourism board and they work to help local businesses reach these potential customers.  

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Travel

How One Private Museum Grew Its Visitor Count 400%

Hachez, a German chocolate company, wanted to start to a museum called CHOCOVERSUM in Hamburg dedicated to their products. They figured it would be pretty easy. Everyone loves chocolate, and the company knew their product so it would be as simple as opening the doors and people showing up, right? As any attraction can tell you, just because you build it doesn’t mean they will come. Unfortunately, in 2011 after one year in operation, fewer than 50,000 people per year were visiting the CHOCOVERSUM.

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Travel

Booking’s Big Plans

The world’s biggest accommodation site has set its sights on our sector. In this interview, VP of Experiences Ram Papatla discusses Booking.com’s plans for tours, activities, and attractions. While it’s still early days for the brand in tours and activities, their incredible size in hotels and accommodations around the world means they are one company we should all watch.

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Travel

Two Online Ticketing Platforms Land Funding

The sector of online booking for attractions and events is heating up. This week saw two companies that provide online booking and distribution raise significant investment. Tiqets, a Netherlands-based online ticketing reseller for attractions, raised $23 million in funding. This brings their total investment of outside capital since their launch to $45 million. Earlier in the week London-based Festicket, a portal and booking platform focused on music festivals, secured $10.5 million in series D funding.

Read more “Two Online Ticketing Platforms Land Funding” →
Travel

Five Big Predictions for Tours, Activities & Attractions

2018 has been a wild year for the in-destination industry. We’ve seen mergers, acquisitions, new startups, and companies fold, along with large amounts of money being raised, particularly in the booking tech space. As we spend time with our families during the holidays, it’s worth taking stock of these changes. More importantly, it’s also the time to look towards the future. In this video, one of online travel’s first visionaries Erik Blachford, a venture investor and the former CEO of Expedia, shares his take on the future of our amazing industry. If you think you’ve heard all the predictions, a few of these might surprise you.

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Travel

Redefining Branding in an Online World

GetYourGuide is reshaping the dynamic between operators and online travel agencies (OTAs) with its new branded tour experiences, called Originals. In this engaging talk Tao Tao, Co-founder & COO at GetYourGuide explains the role of branding in tours and activities and the launch of their branded tours initiative and raises key questions about branding that every operator must try to answer for themselves.

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Travel

Expedia on the Benefits of Tech Neutrality

One of the biggest debates in our industry this year has been over the acquisitions of reservation tech companies Bokun and FareHarbor by online travel agencies (OTAs) TripAdvisor and Booking.com, respectively. But for other OTAs, could there be an advantage to sitting out of the acquisition frenzy? Expedia Local Expert Vice President Jen O’Twomney thinks so. Speaking at Arival in Las Vegas with Arival COO and co-founder Bruce Rosard, she noted that as consolidation has transformed the industry, Expedia has been positioned as a truly independent voice.  In this wide-ranging interview, O’Twomney touches on a variety of issues related to Expedia and the future of the industry in general.

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Travel

Using Humor to Sell Stuff

Humor can be one of the great tools to help sell your products to consumers. DJ O’Neil, CEO and creative director of Hub Strategy, has made a career out helping companies sell their products by making people laugh. He’s the brains behind advertising campaigns for SlingBox, Dropcam, the Oakland A’s, as well as big brands in tourism, such as Viator and the National Aquarium.

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Travel

How Much Is Your Experience Worth?

Pricing can be one of the most difficult decisions a company can make. There are many issues to consider: your costs, competitors, seasonality, discounting, and what your customers would be willing to pay, among many others. There’s no silver bullet to find the perfect price point, but if you are adaptable and committed to providing great service, customers will usually be willing to pay that price.

Read more “How Much Is Your Experience Worth?” →

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