Selling content on the road

Consumer Reports does it. So does The Economist, The Wall Street Journal Interactive, and starting March 9, Microsoft’s Slate magazine.

Charging users for content, as these Web sites do, isn’t popular, nor is it always profitable. But that doesn’t keep others from trying.

Consider San Francisco startup On the Road Inc., which offers specialized destination information for business travelers. The same week that Michael Kinsley’s e-zine switches to a subscription model, On the Road will announce an agreement with Sabre’s proprietary Business Travel Solutions software suite to carry its content.

The deal isn’t just important for the new company but for the industry in general. It will again test the viability of selling destination information on the Internet, which is something practically every travel content developer aspires to. And it promises to challenge the conventional wisdom that there’s no room left in this business for newcomers who aren’t backed by millions of venture capital dollars.

“You don’t quit if the conventional wisdom isn’t with you,” says Malcolm Kaufman, founder and president of On the Road. “If you believe enough in the product that you’re creating, you can make it.”

A look at On The Road’s site suggests that there’s plenty to believe in. Instead of overloading the user with largely irrelevant destination material, the way a travel guide book might, On The Road tailors its content to road warriors’ unique needs, delivering the data quickly and without fanfare.

For example, in its restaurants category, rather than listing every establishment in a given city, the service offers about 40 dining options. It breaks them into helpful sections such as “power breakfast,” “expensive restaurant,” or “good deals.” Then it tells users which places are best for job interviews or client meetings.

Kaufman refers to this kind of focused information as the “second generation” of content development. Think of the established guide books as department stores, he says. “We are a boutique.”

Is the niche approach going to work? It looks as if Kaufman’s company is on the road to recognition with the Sabre BTS deal, which will put his brand in front of thousands of travelers. But it will take months, perhaps even years, before we’ll know if this sort of content is sellable.

Kaufman, who founded a gambling database business called Axcis Information Network, Inc., is betting that the lessons he learned from past ventures will make On The Road successful. At Axcis, he says, he discovered people would pay for targeted information they couldn’t find anywhere else.

On The Road covers ten major business cities in North America, with plans to expand to 50 by the end of 1999. In addition to restaurants, it features information on entertainment, museums, sports, and business services. Also being tested is a weekly e-mail alert that notifies business travelers about events such as gallery openings, lectures, and conventions in their home city.

Individual annual subscriptions are now $50, which includes the weekly e-mail alert. The price is expected to jump to $250 within two years. But Kaufman figures that’s not where the money is.

“The goal is to place On The Road at the disposal of major Internet travel sites,” he says. “We want to bring traffic to their sites, to give their customers a discount from our list price, and then turn around and give the site a piece of the subscription revenue.”

A deal with just one major travel site would cover an entire year’s overhead at On The Road, he adds. With a lean part-time and full-time staff of about 25, and with much of the information-gathering duties being outsourced to freelance writers, the company could soon show significant returns to its private investors. At least that’s the plan.

“Our goal,” says Kaufman, “is to make money by the end of 1998.” In the meantime, On The Road will be wheeling and dealing with airline and hotel sites, credit card companies, and anyone else who might find its content compelling.

As Kaufman sees it, he’s got two things going for him. “No one else out there has this kind of information,” he says.

And he’s not afraid to try something when the odds don’t favor him.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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