I’m taking a break from what have become regular posts about travel blogs and travel blogging to answer a question that I am addressing at a hotel industry conference this afternoon: How does a travel company effectively reach a mainstream media outlet with a story idea?
July 2006
My business trips are vacations. I travel to far-flung destinations to find out what my competition is up to. My itinerary reads like an Abercrombie & Kent catalog: safaris one week, wilderness lodges the next.
Northwest Airlines’ Coach Choice program, which lets you pay $15 for an exit-row seat in economy class, has been roundly criticized as a money grab by the bankrupt airline. But no one has ever accused the carrier of taking the money and giving its passengers nothing in return. Until now.
I can hardly believe it, but the statistics don’t lie. Thanks to my search engine optimization makeover, I’m ranked in the top 10 on Google for the search term “travel blogger” and in the top 20 for the term “travel blog.” On Yahoo, I’m at number 6.
If you’re a nudist, you’ll want to act fast on this travel tip. The first nudist cruise to the north, which takes place next July on Holland America’s Amsterdam, is reportedly filling up fast. The Inside Passage cruise is said to be 70 percent booked.
I’ve never considered myself an expert on travel blogging. But I suppose my recent work experience contradicts that. I write stories about travel blogging, I’m invited to speak on the topic … and now, I’m being interviewed on travel and blogs.
Should travel bloggers play by the same rules as reporters for a mainstream news organization? I’ve wondered about that for the better part of the last week, both for professional and personal reasons.
First the professional: I’m researching a story about business travel blogs and have been interviewing the most influential bloggers. They’re a terrific group of people. But few of them are journalists in the traditional sense of the word.
WhenI travel, I’m always on the lookout for undiscovered musical talent. But often the talent — and I use that term loosely — is also on the lookout for me.
Just a week after taking some basic search engine optimization measures, I have some dramatic results to share. To recap: Last week, I told you about my collaboration with search engine optimization guru Sally Falkow. Over the weekend, Sally sent me a list of simple recommendations, which I immediately implemented.
Russ Cumings’s credit card is rejected six times when he tries to book tickets on Expedia. So he clicks over to Priceline and makes the purchase. Later, he finds out that Expedia actually bought the tickets, and — surprise! — they’re nonrefundable. Now what?
What happens to the taxes and fees on a nonrefundable airline ticket that isn’t used? Here’s one possible answer: The airline keeps all of the money. In fact, some airline passengers and their attorneys have alleged that the nation’s carriers illegally pocket millions of dollars — and perhaps even more.
The travel industry doesn’t have much of a sense of humor. I mean, when is the last time you saw a TV ad about a place that made you laugh? Just today, actually. And it’s the first time in a long time.
Do company executives have the right to keep their e-mail addresses secret? If you’re talking about a defense contractor — or if the “company” is the C.I.A. — then the answer might be “yes.” But if you’re in the customer service business, your e-mail address should be a matter of public record. Unless, of course, you’re Expedia.
Here’s a travel tip you can take with you this summer: don’t buy travel insurance from the first person to offer it to you. You might be signing up for something totally useless. That’s the conclusion of a new British study of travel insurance policies purchased through travel agencies.
It was supposed to be one of those once-in-a-lifetime shuttle launches. Independence Day. One of the last shuttle flights. We were all standing on our driveway, waiting to get a good look. Instead, this is what we saw.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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