Dennis Schaal Blog: What They're Saying

OK, my marketing budget is ($43) -- the parenthesis depicts negative numbers -- and while everyone else is doing something worthwhile (as opposed to blogging) on this 91-degree day in the New York area, I thought I would share what some travel industry executives, luminaries and lowlifes (just kidding) are saying about the Dennis Schaal Blog.

Henry Harteveldt, Forrester Research, principal analyst, travel, on Twitter April 25 about the post, Mr. Sandman: Orbitz and Expedia Play Gotcha on Fees: "RT @denschaal: Mr. Sandman: Orbitz & Expedia Play Gotcha on Fees http://bit.ly/12clI5 This is goooood. #travel #hotel"

TommyDavid , director of CheapHotelsGroup.com, on Twitter April 25: "enjoying @denschaal on Orbitz, Expedia price wars: http://bit.ly/12clI5"

Wendy Perrin, Conde Nast Traveler's consumer news editor, included me in her April 17 Concierge.com post, "What You're Missing if You're Not on Twitter,", thanks to a recommendation from WeJustGotBack.

Susan Black, a founder of TravelCom and owner of social-media consulting firm Susan Black Associates, on Twitter April 22: "Recommended @denschaal to @MrTweet 'his travel industry tweets are timely and provocative, and his blog is compelling.' http://cli.gs/jEWhpm"

WeJustGotBack, a family trip-planning site, on Twitter April 20: "I think @rickseaney and @denschaal each impart a valuable insider view of the industry. They know their stuff, so there's no hype."

Hugo Burge, vice chairman of CheapFlights, on my post, The Future of Metasearch and Flight Shopping, on Twitter April 20: "@denschaal - nice piece - enjoying your blogging. Sorry to miss out & look forward to grabbing a beer. Will let you know when I'm in town."

Martin Collings, an airline sales specialist for the Amadeus IT Group, on his Shearwater Blog April 3: "I only came across Dennis Schaal’s blog recently, but it is currently sitting near the top of my RSS feeds. In a recent post [Will Airline Fees Pinch Business Travelers?] he references a New York Times article titled "Some Elite Customers May Start to Feel Ordinary." I’ve lifted a couple of interesting quotes from the article."

Sam Shank, the founder of TravelPost and the current CEO of DealBase.com, on the DealBase Blog March 26: "With new flight metasearch engines from TripAdvisor and Travelzoo, and some great discussions about travel metasearch on UpTake and Dennis Schaal’s blog, there’s a consensus emerging that future of travel metasearch is providing a user experience that simplifies a la carte pricing (baggage fees, drink fees, etc)."

Jeff Pecor, Yapta.com PR director, on the Yapta Blog March 19: "The series of consumer friendly announcements from the online travel agencies has made Dennis Schaal, Travel Weekly's Technology Editor, say "Yapta-Yapta-Doo!" He also offers some great insight on "the likelihood" of receiving a reimbursement from these price guarantee programs. (Finally, somebody recognizes the slim odds behind what appears to be a pure marketing play.)"

Shamelessly yours,

Dennis Schaal

Airline Merchandising: Trouble Getting Into the Spirit (Airlines)

Some analysts, according to The New York Times point to Spirit Airlines as the go-to, nouveau airline-business model.

But, as model airplanes go, this one gets me unglued.

Spirit reportedly was the first airline to make consumers pay for checked bags, the carrier charges for advance-seat assignments, and even collects (credit cards only) for snacks.

Largely because of this new push and an alleged lack of transparency about some of the moves, the airline's rating on Yelp.com, while far short of a scientific poll, falls short of two stars.

Undoubtedly, the fee frenzy will accelerate among U.S. airlines. Major U.S. carriers seem to have found their footing with capacity reductions and merchandising tactics.

Some estimates peg the revenue haul from ancillary services at around $5 billion per year.

All of that bundling, unbundling and re-bundling of products will be at a fever pitch as airlines create new fare brands and seek to turn almost every ancillary service into a new fee opportunity.

However, in the midst of the current economic nightmare, I believe there will be business opportunities for airlines that opt to go against the grain and endeavor to add to the travel experience instead of merely subtracting from it.

The merchandising thrust for many U.S. airlines is too loaded with new fees for things that consumers previously got for free. Give me some airlines whose missions are not centered around gouging travelers.

If airlines are going to ratchet up their merchandising, then at least provide services that make the trip more pleasant instead of charging for services that previously came with the price of a ticket.

I like some of Sam Shank's ideas in a post on his Dealbase blog, when he cites ways airlines might gain incremental revenue by providing things like discounts for lounge access. Hotels, too, Shank says, can get into the merchandising act with easy-to-book room upgrades or late checkouts that would be available on hotels' websites and through metasearch solutions.

The U.S. needs a healthy airline industry that's making money. But, that won't happen in the long term if carriers further alienate their passengers with less service for more money.,

TripAdvisor vs. Kayak: Paid Reviews Don't Float My Boat

When I wanted to book a London hotel last year, the first thing I did was go to TripAdvsor.com to check out a few properties. So, I value user-generated hotel reviews, even though I know some are fakes.
And, lately, hotel review sites have come in for some new criticisms. For example, Anita Dunham-Potter writes on Tripso that the Royal Champions, a group of frequent cruisers who are prolific in their cruise reviews, actually was organized and wooed by Royal Caribbean. And, Edward Hasbrouk's The Practical Nomad blog takes on the Champions' cruise-line champions, Royal Caribbean, as well.
Meanwhile, Arthur Frommer's blog discusses a report that claims a Scottish tourism board is coaching hotels on how to submit favorable reviews to TripAdvisor.
So, against this backdrop, I just read recommendations by Sam Shank, the founder of TravelPost.com and current CEO of DealBase.com, on how Kayak, which owns TravelPost, might unseat TripAdvisor as the dominant player in the hotel-review sphere. Well, Shank seems like a smart guy with a lot of good ideas, but one recommendation seemed fairly shocking and off-base, given the credibility beating that hotel-review sites are taking these days.
In the Up Take Travel Industry News blog and in further detail on his own DealBase blog, Shank suggests that Kayak start giving TravelPost's frequent hotel-reviewers a revenue share of ads that appear on their review pages. Other review sites, like HubPages, already pay "royalties" to reviewers, he notes.
Well, I think paying hotel guests for reviews is a royally bad idea. You've heard of pay to play? Well, this borders on play to stay.
Hotel reviews should be genuine, heart-felt or rant-inspired and devoid of commercialism. I want the reviewer's honest assessment of whether the room smelled of smoke or the reception-desk folks had their snoots in the air.
After all, in his posts, Shank criticizes TripAdvisor as being too commercial, cluttering up the works with too many ads, and being saddled with conflicts of interest because TripAdvisor is owned by Expedia.
Would there be any conflicts if TravelPost reviewers started churning out reviews just to keep the ad dollars rolling in?
If I wanted to read a professional hotel-reviewer's angle on the latest W Hotel in Miami or any other property, I'd read Travel + Leisure.
Kayak and its TravelPost unit, which are aggregating hotel reviews from around the Web, appear well on their way to making the hotel-review arena much more interesting.
But, paying for citizens' reviews just ain't the way to go.