Farewell, Inside Interactive Travel.
It’s been fun. I didn’t expect it to last this long. After all, interactive travel is so unpredictable that most of us aren’t sure if our next paycheck will bounce, or if our board of directors will oust us at their next meeting. Three years is an eternity by Internet standards, and I’m thankful for every day.
But the column has run its course. Although the Interactive Travel Report continues, it will no longer feature a biweekly opinion column. I think it’s a sign of the times – probably a positive one.
People don’t need a counterpoint the way they once did. Most readers have been in the business long enough to make up their own minds about the week’s happenings. And in order to do that, they need news. ITR’s new emphasis on ‘just the facts’ will deliver the fodder for the industry’s proverbial cannon.
It’s time to move on. But before I do I’d like to allow myself a few parting shots at the business. Since this is Inside Interactive Travel’s de facto obituary, it’s only fitting that I let you in on its last will and testament.
Here’s what I’d leave to the industry:
To Microsoft: I bequeath Internic, The WWW Consortium, AOL, every major ISP and the rest of the Internet. Might even throw in a CRS or two. Eventually our friends in Redmond, Wash., will own the whole business and the network it runs on, so why pretend that we’re competing with the software behemoth? Oh, the antitrust trial? That’s just for show.
To Delta Air Lines: I leave Priceline.com. The sweetheart deal between the two divulged in Priceline’s recent SEC registration makes it perfectly clear that consumers will be able to name their price on any airline ticket – as long as it’s on the Atlanta carrier. I wouldn’t rule out an outright acquisition of Priceline by Delta someday, but the way some Internet stocks are trading, it might be the other way around after the IPO.
To TheTrip.com: I deed you Biztravel.com. Please, please buy Biztravel.com before it goes out of business. As the founding editor of the New York site, I hate to see my creation dying. I still remember the day I came up with her name and invented her enduring online newsletter ‘Biztravel.com Bulletin’. Despite obscene infusions of venture capital, the site is fading fast. Investors are reportedly panicking, management is being reshuffled. The end is near.
To Reed Elsevier: I send my condolences. Your Reed Travel Group unit had the most promise of becoming an interactive travel powerhouse but you let travel agents and a lethal dose of greed get in the way. You cast Kathy Misunas as the Mikhail Gorbachev of RTG, allowing her to supervise the final breakup of this once-impressive company. Your old-world attitude became your undoing.
To travel agents: I give you the obscurity you’ve been courting. Retailers fought the Internet harder than they battled 800-numbers and commission cuts combined. Then they entered a denial phase. Now anger (witness the expulsion of Preview Travel from the American Society of Travel Agents). Is the next step acceptance? I don’t think so. You’re already well on your way to becoming obscure cruise consultants. You probably deserve it.
To shareholders and investors: I leave you with the patience of Job and the longevity of Methuselah. I don’t think it will take all 969 years to see a reasonable return on your investment, but it’s not gonna happen overnight either. The rumor mill says there’s no more VC out there for interactive travel, which is a shame. The industry’s stock will rise again. I hope.
Finally, to my editors: my sincere gratitude. Tom Woodall, ITR’s publisher, took a chance on hiring me in 1996. He’s put up with my at times confusing prose and my controversial copy long enough, and I’m sure my departure comes as something of a relief. My editor, David Kirby offered all the support and insights a columnist could ever want. Thanks, guys.
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