* Broadband-it's a fat pipe future *
The Eye For Travel conference felt like (and in all reality was) a
travel conference first that was addressing Internet topics. Most
people heralded from travel-industry backgrounds, and the conference
was entirely focused on travel Web sites, developments in enhanced
services online, e-commerce, m-commerce and CRM issues. I attended a
"Broadband-it's a fat pipe future" panel and heard comments from
Hotelview Corporation's GM David Chestler, ClipsPlanet.com's co-
founder Markus Strobel, Airtreks.com's Director of Content and
Communications Lorin David Kalisky and iPIX's Sales Director Greg
Ganoff. The conversation touched upon the usual topics, but from an
outsider perspective, which again, was curious for me.
* Content for Wireless *
Toby Pratt, Delta Airlines' e-commerce specialist, spoke on Content
for Wireless. As you most likely know, wireless devices have
developed considerably from laptops to PDA phones, and he provided
lots of graphs to show the growth of devices and usage. He claimed
that content will remain device driven, and companies should allow
customers to preview the info before giving them the option to
download it.
* A break -- the Exhibition "hall" *
I heard all I needed to and took a little break by perusing the
exhibition hall. The "hall" was simply two banquet rooms, with about
20 booths each. Much different from my usual experience of multiple
football fields of booths, tchotchkes and demos. This time I ambled
and spoke to a few people and was done in about an hour! Internet
Wire was there, and VIPdesk.com, which offers concierge services
online, offered free shoe-shines to attendees near their booth.
QIXO.com showcased their powerful search engine, which pulls data
from multiple travel and airline sites to get the best ticket
information at up to 70% in savings. SuiteStar installs a slim
client-side type unit, free of charge, in mid-to-expensive range
hotels with free in-room Internet service to guests. Travelago
offers streaming video, culled from official country and state
bureaus of tourism, to Web sites as a means of enhancing travel
packages. Objectspace offers B2B services for collaboration,
communication and integration with trading partners. Triplehop's
TripMatcher offers a private label application for Web sites for
personalized travel agent services. Similar to Amazon's suggestions
of what readers of a certain book also like or recommend, this
service recommends specific, unique travel options based on user
profiles and searches. Wcities.com offers local content on over 200
cities to interested sites that feature local travel content.
Catering to the higher-tax bracket traveler, BidJetCharter.com and
LegFind.com offer consumer and B2B charter travel auction services,
respectively. Consumers can announce a trip they're interested in
taking and watch the charter services bid for their business.
