-
The guidebook industry is suffering, but it’s not dead yet
DigitalIt’s a tale told in gory detail by the numbers. UK sales of international guidebooks have fallen 45% in eight years. Guides covering where to eat or stay have fared worse, down over 60%, says analyst Stephen Mesquita, citing Nielsen BookScan data. Bowker data suggests something even more depressing: only 20% of current buyers are [...]
-
Turns out Google didn’t sell social followers back to Arthur Frommer
DigitalA small mystery emerged this evening and got solved quickly as well: turns out when Google sold back the Frommer’s brand name to founder Arthur Frommer, the social accounts and its followers weren’t part of that deal. This was discovered this evening when some Twitter users found out that the @FrommersTravel handle, with all its 295K [...]
-
Arthur Frommer gets his brand name back from Google
DigitalArthur Frommer has regained the right to publish the guidebooks and run the travel website that bears his name. The guidebook founder confirmed the return of the name to the Associated Press’ travel editor Beth Harpaz in a phone call late Wednesday night. No price for the naming rights was disclosed. A Google spokesperson acknowledged the arrangement [...]
-
What Twitter thinks about Google killing Frommer’s print travel guidebooks
DigitalIt’s been a transformative week in the world of travel guidebooks. First Lonely Planet is sold to a reclusive U.S. billionaire and now Google ceases production and publication of Frommer’s print travel guidebooks. The news came as a shock to travelers and the tech world alike, which learned that Google was killing another product, Reader, [...]
-
Google quietly pulls plug on Frommer’s print travel guidebooks
Digital» Get your daily dose of Skift: subscribe to our newsletter, RSS, Twitter or Facebook. Google has ceased production and publication of printed guidebooks bearing the Frommer’s brand name, Skift has learned. The last two Frommer’s books to roll off the presses were guides in the all-color Day-by-Day series devoted to Napa and Sonoma and Banff and the [...]
-
UPDATED: Lonely Planet and the rapid decline of the printed guidebook
Digital[Updated to reflect sale of Lonely Planet] The announced sale of Lonely Planet today for $121 million less than BBC Worldwide paid for it only two short years caps off eight months of drama surrounding the guidebook industry and its leading players. In August, Google announced the purchase of Frommer’s from Wiley publishing for a price [...]
-
Google CEO tweaks Apple and raves about its own maps and travel assets
DigitalGoogle co-founder and CEO Larry Page stuck it to Apple a bit during a financial conference call today, characterizing Google Maps as “the most accurate and comprehensive” mapping product in the world, and he predicted that maps will be “a great source of revenue” in the long term. With all of the embarassment that Apple [...]
-
Wiley confirms Google paid $22 million for Frommer’s — even less than previously believed
DigitalJohn Wiley & Sons confirmed that Google paid $22 million in cash last summer for Wiley’s travel publishling business, including Frommer’s, Unofficial Guides, and WhatsonWhen. The transaction, which was effective August 31, 2012, is a tad less than the $23 million to $25 million that had been rumored in the days following the announcement. Of [...]
-
Google begins adding Frommer’s reviews to Google Plus — minus the Frommer’s credit
DigitalGoogle closed its deal with Wiley to purchase Frommer’s three months ago. At the time, it was not clear how the search giant would integrate the brand into its offerings. The retention of guidebook editors and its custom-content team, and layoffs of the digital staff pointed toward a continuation of a guide product of some [...]
-
What mergers and sales have done to your favorite travel guidebook
DigitalWhen Penguin and Random House announced on October 29 that they would merge, a chill went through the guidebook industry. The two global giants are the last of the big six publishing houses — soon to be a big four — to operate travel series: Penguin has Dorling Kindersley’s Eyewitness series and Rough Guides, Random [...]
