The Best of the Rest is my effort to summarize all the travel/miles & points stories that interested me on a daily basis but didn’t have time to write about in length. Culled from over 100 blogs/authors I follow, some are passed along without comment, while I add my analysis to others. This is your shortcut to find out what’s going on in the travel world without having to read dozens of travel blogs to get all the best info.
TripAdvisor
How Marriott’s Partnership With TripAdvisor May Deliver Them Higher Ratings (And Profit)
The Marriott partnership with TripAdvisor is an interesting one. Marriott is the only major top-tier chain to negotiate a direct booking deal with TripAdvisor (Best Western has one as well). What does this mean for the accuracy of TripAdvisor’s rankings? How about the future of companies like Expedia and Orbitz?
Pizza Week In Review For Sunday, June 21, 2015
In case you missed it, here’s the Pizza Week in Review, including posts on Uber in Hong Kong, TripAdvisor hopping into bed with Marriott, the crazy valuations for Uber and Airbnb, American Airlines getting scolded for doing the right thing and more….
Is TripAdvisor Selling Out With Their Marriott Deal?
TripAdvisor has been shifting from a company that just provides objective 3rd party reviews to one that can book your next vacation for you. Now that Marriott and TripAdvisor have a deal for direct bookings, have TripAdvisor’s motives changed? Read more…
TripAdvisor Fined $610,000 For Fake Reviews
Ever wonder if the reviews you’re reading on review sites like TripAdvisor are accurate? You’re not the only one. TripAdvisor was fined $610,000 by the Italian government for fake and misleading reviews: The regulator, the Italian Competition Authority, called on TripAdvisor to stop “publishing misleading information about the sources of its reviews,” and gave the company 90 days to comply with the ruling. I don’t generally use TripAdvisor or other such review sites. If I don’t know someone who’s personally stayed at a property, I’ll generally research it on Milepoint […]
Tools And Tricks: Seat Guru’s New iPhone App
It seems to be my theme this week to review useful travel apps. I stumbled across ExpertFlyer’s iPhone app a couple of days ago and posted my thoughts. Then, this morning, I saw an article on Seat Guru’s new iPhone app. A bit of background on SeatGuru. It was started by someone I consider a good friend, Matt Daimler, who has gone on to found other successful companies. He sold SeatGuru to TripAdvisor back in 2007. For quite some time (IMO) things were status quo. There was integration with TripAdvisor […]
