OK, so I am still searching for the ultimate mashup for hotels. One that can assist me from start to finish in selecting a property based on availability, rates, location and star ratings in one user friendly GUI.
I think I may have found a strong contender. Check out MashedHotels. Their claim to fame is to allow you to View, Compare and Book Hotels based on location. I thought their GUI was one of the easiest to use for selecting the parameters I was seeking and the results I received were laid out on google map display of the city. I was able to zoom in and there were great images loaded for some of the available hotels. And, each hover-over also displayed lowest available rates.
I also ran across 71miles, a great site that focused on the shorter trips - within a few hours drive. Currently displaying info on the Bay Area of California and the Washington DC area, this cool new category of travel focused on regionalized content was very well laid out, chock full of great info and easy to use. The founders promise more locales coming soon - I hope so!
Go big or go home!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Foodio54
OK, check this out...ever land in a city - have a few minutes to grab a bite to eat but are not jonesin' for hotel food? Foodio54's mashup looks like a very easy to use mashup. I was hungry for hamburgers - and was happy to report that this great new tool found some of my favorite Dallas burger joints. 22 listings were returned and of there were a few typical chain restaurants in the listing but burger legends - Goff's, Scotty P's, Ball's and K's were also in the returned results.
I see a hotel site in the future for Ohio based mash.
Happy mashing....
J
I see a hotel site in the future for Ohio based mash.
Happy mashing....
J
Monday, August 20, 2007
Word of Mouth - Mashedup...
This weekend's surfing has discovered a few brand new - and cool mash ups....
You may have heard of Word of Mouth Advertising - buzz word of 2006 - and creative idealogy behind the WOMMA association. This old is new marketing focus has inspired the new spokenbuzz mashup. Essentially, you can blog away via audio files and those are tagged with your location or location of topic file....think about it - you want to give a shout out about a new restaurant - create this tag and all users who have tagged this topic can chime in...via cellphone! Talk about instant feedback...
A hotel's marketing team could instantly create the "buzz" by creating campaigns and having its loyal guests comment online....
I was reading how the world's broadband subscriptions are increasing by hundreds of thousands each day and that all of these new eyeballs will help drive the internet to new heights - and that the "experts say" they all have a decent amount of spendable income....more speed means better ability to view rich media...take a look at this site...Trivop claims to be the world's first video guide for hotels...This UK based mash up is counting on all users having the ability to access their rich media...I kinda like the idea. I looked at the Sumner hotel in London by clicking the tag icon on its google map display. Trivop opened a window that launched its video with optional tags to review its tripadvisor reviews etc. Looked like a nice hotel.
Happy surfing...
You may have heard of Word of Mouth Advertising - buzz word of 2006 - and creative idealogy behind the WOMMA association. This old is new marketing focus has inspired the new spokenbuzz mashup. Essentially, you can blog away via audio files and those are tagged with your location or location of topic file....think about it - you want to give a shout out about a new restaurant - create this tag and all users who have tagged this topic can chime in...via cellphone! Talk about instant feedback...
A hotel's marketing team could instantly create the "buzz" by creating campaigns and having its loyal guests comment online....
I was reading how the world's broadband subscriptions are increasing by hundreds of thousands each day and that all of these new eyeballs will help drive the internet to new heights - and that the "experts say" they all have a decent amount of spendable income....more speed means better ability to view rich media...take a look at this site...Trivop claims to be the world's first video guide for hotels...This UK based mash up is counting on all users having the ability to access their rich media...I kinda like the idea. I looked at the Sumner hotel in London by clicking the tag icon on its google map display. Trivop opened a window that launched its video with optional tags to review its tripadvisor reviews etc. Looked like a nice hotel.
Happy surfing...
Thursday, August 16, 2007
GPS' Google Maps Mobile Mash
Have you bought a GPS device yet?
These have exploded onto the retail scene over the last 18-24 months. Seems like everyother car either has a GPS dash app or a plugged in device sucking on its front window. I don't know if I will ever need one - but I sure do want one - must be a gadget thing...all guys love gadgets.
GPSies is a cool new mashup that allows you to access, review and even download tracks that have been previously recorded by a GPS device. You can search for hiking routes, jogging trail, driving directions etc. Pretty neat stuff. I could see a hotel's website having a version of this available for its travellers to download running routes prior to arrival. The Technophiles would love to have a route to run along using that Birthday present/gift that still is not fully utilized...
I downloaded the Mobile version of Google Maps to my blackberry device. I love it. It has come in handy a few times while needing to find out just how far the traffic I was stuck in was and if I had an alternate route to choose from. The only thing is that while I was navigating my vehicle with one hand holding my blackberry - another dude with a blackberry in hand was also cutting into my lane - trying to make that same turn...Keep your eyes on the road - dude!
Why is it that more hotels have not loaded their content on GoogleMaps yet? Its free and its cool....so far, Destination Hotels incorporating Google Maps on their Hotel Websites has proven that they are a leader in this vertical. Watch more and more hotel companies following their lead...
Safe journeys....
These have exploded onto the retail scene over the last 18-24 months. Seems like everyother car either has a GPS dash app or a plugged in device sucking on its front window. I don't know if I will ever need one - but I sure do want one - must be a gadget thing...all guys love gadgets.
GPSies is a cool new mashup that allows you to access, review and even download tracks that have been previously recorded by a GPS device. You can search for hiking routes, jogging trail, driving directions etc. Pretty neat stuff. I could see a hotel's website having a version of this available for its travellers to download running routes prior to arrival. The Technophiles would love to have a route to run along using that Birthday present/gift that still is not fully utilized...
I downloaded the Mobile version of Google Maps to my blackberry device. I love it. It has come in handy a few times while needing to find out just how far the traffic I was stuck in was and if I had an alternate route to choose from. The only thing is that while I was navigating my vehicle with one hand holding my blackberry - another dude with a blackberry in hand was also cutting into my lane - trying to make that same turn...Keep your eyes on the road - dude!
Why is it that more hotels have not loaded their content on GoogleMaps yet? Its free and its cool....so far, Destination Hotels incorporating Google Maps on their Hotel Websites has proven that they are a leader in this vertical. Watch more and more hotel companies following their lead...
Safe journeys....
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Mashups that matter
Have you found yourself reviewing mashups - then thinking - why is this relevent? Or even - What the Heck Is a MashUp and Why Do I Care?
Don't get me wrong - having a website that show me where free WiFi locations are, or even where I can find a parking spot at the airport (Not that I ever am rushing to the airport...) actually do make sense if they have relevent content and people are really using these tools...I really like WeatherBonk and SkiBonk - two mashups that are functional, easy to use and have useful content.
But...
Lately it seems that people are mashing the open APIs available via Google, Yahoo some pretty odd topic/search indexes...Oatmeal Music for iPhone is a cool site with a very eclectic collection of sites to pull from. I wish I had gophernow when I was in college and needed to eat late at night (can we still say munchies?)
Or even LivePlasma -a visually rich application that combines the Amazon API to show the relationship between movies, bands, actors, etc. You can go straight from interacting to making purchases. Is "MashCommerce" a word yet?
I will continue to monitor these mash up conglomerates to find some that really matter - to me of course...
One that has kept me intrigued lately is TravelGoop which mashes Priceline and Hotwire discounted hotel rates on one site. Simply put in the city your are traveling too and press "Search" and rates are returned for that destination - pretty cool - now if they can show me a competitive opaque listing for 5* hotels in the city center for under $90 bucks - I am ready for the weekend.
Stay tuned....
Don't get me wrong - having a website that show me where free WiFi locations are, or even where I can find a parking spot at the airport (Not that I ever am rushing to the airport...) actually do make sense if they have relevent content and people are really using these tools...I really like WeatherBonk and SkiBonk - two mashups that are functional, easy to use and have useful content.
But...
Lately it seems that people are mashing the open APIs available via Google, Yahoo some pretty odd topic/search indexes...Oatmeal Music for iPhone is a cool site with a very eclectic collection of sites to pull from. I wish I had gophernow when I was in college and needed to eat late at night (can we still say munchies?)
Or even LivePlasma -a visually rich application that combines the Amazon API to show the relationship between movies, bands, actors, etc. You can go straight from interacting to making purchases. Is "MashCommerce" a word yet?
I will continue to monitor these mash up conglomerates to find some that really matter - to me of course...
One that has kept me intrigued lately is TravelGoop which mashes Priceline and Hotwire discounted hotel rates on one site. Simply put in the city your are traveling too and press "Search" and rates are returned for that destination - pretty cool - now if they can show me a competitive opaque listing for 5* hotels in the city center for under $90 bucks - I am ready for the weekend.
Stay tuned....
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