Articles tagged “guides”

Integrating the Frommer's brand will pose a bigger challenge to Google than Zagat did. Not only does the brand have a print legacy of over 55 years, but its digital chops have been dulled by layoffs and it will take some time to adjust its print-first strategy.

Although the brand is likely over-estimating the number of users who will come calling with their credit cards and enough cool cachet, it deserves credit for launching a travel product that it expects people to happily pay for.

You have to love it when a cherished travel writer gets blunt, like in this assessment of Scotland: "It's so boring that the Romans decided to block it off with Hadrian's Wall."

If Google only thinks about Frommer's for its point-of-interest content it will be throwing away the most valuable asset the brand has: Its expert voice and trusted curation skills that go beyond mere listings.

With both Frommer's and Zagat in the fold, Google may be able to solve the problem that's plagued travel companies for the last decade: How to effectively bridge travel and local.

Google obviously has clear ideas how it wants to run the brand and the people on staff who they think can do it. But, still, it's a boost for old-media morale when book editors are safe in a merger and an online team is shown the door.

The government’s decision seems like a win-win, keeping solo trekkers safe for about $10 per day and boosting the local economy by providing jobs; however, experienced trekkers may yearn for their once solo adventure.

It’d be great if we could all avoid the overwhelming options for travel guides and rely solely on a tweet for instant recommendations. Unfortunately, most travelers can’t all rely on an active Twitterverse to come to their rescue.

This seems like a win-win for the people who love Wikitravel: They keep all the content they want, keep the link juice, take the experts with them, and join forces with an organization that shares the same values.

Like many of the other social planning travel sites, Stay looks fantastic and works well. But it could better distinguish itself by being the first of its peers to develop its own expert voice for all its guides.