A importância de ter um site mais próximo da realidade

What features and functions do travelers truly value in websites that promote the sale of travel services? The answers may surprise you. According to a new study, three of the five most desirable website features relate to the price/value of travel services.

According to the MMGY Global 2013 Portrait of American Travelers, three of the five most desirable website features relate to the price/value of travel services: “The ability to check the lowest available fares/rates” (83 percent), “a lowest price/rate guarantee”(80 percent), and “the ability to compare the fares/rates of multiple suppliers” (73 percent). Visual portrayals of the product/experience also make the top five: “Photos of the hotel and resort facilities” (78 percent). Convenience is also cited as a very desirable attribute: “Having an easy-to-use booking feature” (74 percent).

Other visual content attributes cluster in the second tier of preference, cited by roughly seven out of ten travelers who plan/book online. These include “photos of the area” (73 percent) and “the ability to preview room locations” (68 percent).

The “ability to check last minute air, hotel and car-rental availability” is valued by two thirds (62 percent) of leisure travelers who plan/book online, as is the “ability to download coupons for savings” (58 percent).

User-generated reviews that feature commentary from travelers who have had a personal experience with a specific travel service supplier are valued by just over half (51 percent) of all travelers.

Get the full story at Hotel Management

O novo turista americano

MMGY Global’s 2013 Portrait of American Travelers study takes an in-depth look at the current travel climate, habits, preferences and intentions of affluent American travelers. Sixty percent of travelers use TripAdvisor when choosing a hotel, but YouTube is the second-most popular resource.

Millennials, otherwise known as Generation Y, are the new up-and-coming niche market, Yesawich said. Many of them are eager to try new experiences and, unlike the previous generation, do not want to do the same thing twice. Millennials are increasingly turning to travel professionals for advice rather than OTAs. They have better things to do and they want value, so they will pay for the service.

Meanwhile, the “Traditionalists” - those aged 68 and above - take the longest trips as, being retired, they have the most time. They also spend more on all aspects of travel. Both markets can be valuable for all kinds of travel, but it is vital to know how to approach each one.

A full two-thirds of travelers now have some kind of smartphone, and 31 percent own a smartphone as well as some sort of tablet. Social media is also a growing force in promoting travel, whether it’s a hotel’s channel on YouTube or a traveler’s personal photo album on Facebook. (Nearly half of the survey respondents who use social media are millennials).

Sixty percent of travelers use TripAdvisor when choosing a destination or hotel, but YouTube is the second-most popular resource, and MMGY Global’s Peter Yesawich predicts that it could soon reach parity with the popular travel site. “The culture of users hasn’t migrated,” Yesawich said of the social media platforms. “They still have value to add to the commentary.”

Get the full story at International Meetings Review, andMMGY Global (PDF 676 KB)

As melhores agências de viagens online do mundo

Six major online travel agencies and booking platforms in Asia and Europe will gain direct connections to the world’s leading hotel reservation systems after connecting with SiteMinder’s Room Distribution Exchange (RDX) via SiteMinder’s channel connectivity API, SiteConnect.

The OTAs that have plugged into the RDX channel connectivity platform are:

*Best Hotel Online - a Hong Kong based booking site primarily servicing South East Asia and representing more than 125,000 hotels in 248 countries. Ranked as one of the fastest growing OTAs in Asia, Best Hotel Online also boasts a new and popular iOS application for mobile
bookings – http://www.besthotelonline.com.

* Hotusa – a major Spanish reservations site representing over 2500 properties in 50 countries, with a focus on smaller, independent hotels in continental Europe –http://www.hotusa.com.

* PegiPegi - One of Indonesia’s largest OTAs for both business and holiday purposes – http://www.pegipegi.com.

* ImpulseFlyer – A membership based site representing hand-picked, luxury hotels in the Asia Pacific region –http://www.impulseflyer.com.

* Prestigia – A UK based site representing over 5000 luxury and boutique properties around the world –http://www.prestigia.com.

* Yuktravel – A major Indonesian site selling rooms for hotels worldwide – http://www.yuktravel.com.

SiteMinder Product Manager, Matt O’Kane, said connectivity challenges faced by fast growing OTAs and established wholesalers around the world had seen an increase in the number of booking sites plugging into SiteMinder’s RDX platform. He said the two-way access gives the booking sites a seamless connection to leading, global Property Management Systems (PMS) and Central Reservation Systems (CRS).

“These six new connections will help hotels around the world gain more efficient access to the growing markets that are serviced by each of these booking sites. On the flip side, booking sites will also find that more properties will connect into their platforms due to the simplicity and cost effectiveness provided by the SiteMinder solution” Mr O’Kane said.

Related Link: Siteminder

Irá acabar o room-service?

When the New York Hilton Midtown said it was dispensing with room service starting in August, it caught the attention of frequent travelers. Plenty of hotels, however, are going the opposite way - trying to turn room service into a bigger draw.

The number of hotels offering room service actually increased by 8 percent between 2011 and 2012, says Ned Barker, president of Grill Ventures Consulting Inc and spokesman on the issue for the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

"I don't see room service going away any time in the near future," says David Morgan, vice president of food and beverage for Omni Hotels & Resorts. "We would lose customers if we did not have in-room dining."

Because so many people count on room service (all 47 Omni hotels offer it), Morgan says it makes more sense to try to do it better - such as expanding and improving menus: "People are eating differently. Simply offering a Cobb salad and a chicken club isn't going to do it any longer."

In fact, some hotels are embarking on over-the-top attempts to draw guests to room service. That includes sending mixologists to your room at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago and the Surrey Hotel in Manhattan. At the Surrey it will cost you $60-$104 for various packages that yield four or five drinks.

Get the full story at Reuters

População de atum valioso caiu 96% no norte do Pacífico, diz pesquisa Atum-rabilho corre risco de extinção devido à pesca predatória. Valor elevado dificulta proteção; peixe chega a custar milhões de reais.

A espécies de atum Thunnus orientalis, muito valorizada pelos amantes do sushi, viu sua população cair 96% no norte do Oceano Pacífico desde que passou a ser pescado, aponta um levantamento de um comité internacional destinado ao estudo desse peixe naquela região. As informações são do Pew Environment Group, organização sediada nos EUA.

O relatório aponta que cerca de 90% dos exemplares pescados atualmente consiste em peixes jovens, que ainda não reproduziram. Isso significa que os peixes retirados do mar no Pacífico podem ser a última geração da espécie.

Na semana passada, um atum  foi vendido no Japão por mais de R$ 3,3 milhões, o que reflete sua raridade e a demanda contínua por sua carne, vendida a preços elevados em toda a Ásia e em alguns restaurantes ocidentais.

A espécie é considerada pelos cientistas como um dos habitantes mais bem-sucedidos da natureza no oceano. Ele é o maior dos atuns e está no topo da cadeia alimentar, com alguns poucos predadores naturais. Mas o advento de métodos de pesca industrial e gosto para a espécie entre os ricos adoradores do sushi deixaram o peixe à beira da extinção.

Atum vendido por R$ 3,3 milhões no Japão; valor comercial do peixe dificulta a proteção da espécie.
(Foto: REUTERS)

De acordo com a pesquisa, se as tendências atuais continuarem, a espécie será extinta em breve no Oceano Pacífico e os corpos congelados e mantidos em alguns armazéns asiáticos serão seu último suspiro.

Para Amanda Nickson, diretora da Campanha Global de Conservação do Atum do Pew Environment Group, medidas urgentes precisam ser tomadas para preservar as populações existentes e permitir a recuperação da espécie. "Hoje, a população desse atum do Pacífico é uma pequena fração do que costumava ser e corre perigo de desaparecer", disse ela.

saiba mais

• Polícia ambiental prende suspeito de pesca predatória em Prata, MG
• Leões africanos estão à beira da extinção, aponta relatório

Segundo ela, as principais frotas de pesca do peixe provêm do Japão, México, Coreia do Sul e Estados Unidos. O elevado valor dos poucos peixes restantes é um incentivo adicional aos pescadores para caçar o último da espécie, já que um único exemplar pode tornar rico quem o encontrou.

Por anos, a proteção à espécie e a regulação da pesca desse peixe foi negligenciada. Mas, nos últimos anos ficou claro que ele está em perigo, por conta da pesca predatória e da sua própria biologia - por ser maior do que os demais atuns, a espécie leva mais tempo para chegar à maturidade sexual, o que limita sua capacidade reprodutiva e o torna mais vulnerável à pesca industrial.

"Esta avaliação mostra o quão ruim é a situação para este predador. Por ter um valor mercadológico elevado, ele vem sendo explorado em quase todas as fases do seu ciclo de vida. A pesca continua nas áreas de desova da espécie tornam a atividade predatória”, afirma Nickson.

Veja as várias etapas do corte do atum-rabilho.

Veja as várias etapas do corte do atum-rabilho.

http://www.sabado.pt//Multimedia/FOTOS/Gourmet/Fotogaleria-(45).aspx?id=523574

Os chocolates mais caros do mundo

Os chocolates da Delafee contêm finos grãos de cacau, açúcar, óleo de coco, manteiga de cacau, baunilha e leite. Onde está o luxo? Na cobertura: são 24 quilates de “flocos” comestíveis de ouro, aplicados à mão sobre cada chocolate

http://www.sabado.pt//Multimedia/FOTOS/Gourmet/Fotogaleria-(53).aspx?id=591382