In the Omni hotel, I’m packing up and getting ready to take the train to the plane. At the final session of Travelcom, I learned some interesting things about how successful companies can do better in recessions. We heard from Kevin Kowalski, a VP at Intercontinental Hotels, owners of the […]
I wrapped up my day of Travelcom at an awards dinner held by Travelzoo, giving out 23 awards in all sorts of travel categories. It was held at the Georgia Aquarium, and that gave me a chance first to see white Beluga whales gliding by, bumping their noses on the […]
Rob Torres is a man who easily wears a smile. As head of Google’s travel advertising sector, he handles the lion’s share of the world’s search marketing funds and yet to him it’s still simply text ads, not algorithms and gobbletigook. We spoke about the business and his background at […]
Herb Kelleher is the beloved chairman of Southwest Airlines. He has as many fans here at Travelcom as his great airline does. He accepted an award named for aviation pioneer Steve Fosset, but gave more credit to his people than he took for himself. His talk was preceded by a […]
Last night I took the MARTA subway/light rail all the way from Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport to my hotel at CNN Center downtown. The total cost was just $2.25. We passed by factories and graffiti-scared warehouses, and nearly everyone on the train was black. I wondered though, why the hosts of […]
I am finally in my hotel at the Omni Hotel, high above CNN’s world headquarters in Atlanta. I walked a few blocks to a party sponsored by Google and quickly fell into a fascinating conversation with an industry big wig. Roger Dow, President of the U.S. Travel Association, chief lobbyist […]
Last night I came home late and plugged in a new gadget that we’re testing out in the GoNOMAD labs. It’s called the Myine Wi-Fi Internet radio, by Ira, and it’s a blast. I have been a big fan of streaming music on sites like Pandora and Last.fm, so I […]
It’s big news in the publishing world when somebody changes their rules and offers to pay money for travel articles. Sadly, content in our arena has become a commodity of plenty, so many outlets like Bootsnall never have paid writers for stories. But today on Matador, a big headline, Paid […]
We drove down to the Flea Market on Rte 5 in Holyoke today. What a depressing scene. The reason it depresses me is that so many of the vendors seem downtrodden, and they look like life has gotten the better of them. We passed by one booth and a guy […]
I sent out emails to my friends the editors at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. I thought that they would want to know about the Podcamp, and either send a reporter or join us. To me, this event and the vibrant group of people who showed up, are the future of […]
I’ve joined a group of local people who want to learn more about using the tools of the web. It couldn’t take place in a more logical place–Holyoke’s Open Square. The high ceilings, polished wood floors and huge space is a perfect venue for this confab. I began by hosting […]
During my day of airport delays on the way home from Alabama, I got a chance to read a NY Times story datelined Lecco, Italy. It was about a new kind of bus called a Piedibus. That’s a fancy way of describing walking to and from school, with the assistance […]