User-generated content: Everybody’s doing it… but who’s sorting it?

March 28, 2006 |

The meteoric rise of social networks and user-generated content has certainly caught the attention of the travel industry's technorati, and online travel agencies and suppliers alike report that they have already started incorporating user-generated content into their Web sites or they plan to.

There was no single catchphrase at PhoCusWright’s TRAVDEX conference in Berlin, Germany, 9-10 March. No one technology garnered the lion’s share of buzz. And that’s only fitting for an event that brought together a diverse group of the world’s leading travel technologists within the halls of the world’s largest travel conference.

In its first year as part of ITB Berlin, TRAVDEX brought together IT professionals from around the world to map out the evolving landscape of Travel 2.0. That terrain is a technologically diverse and rapidly expanding realm rich with opportunity. But as all true technologists know, any revolution worth its weight in widgets is certain to be rife with challenges.

Among the findings of this unique gathering were the following nuances of well-documented travel technology trends:

Search is alive and well… and there’s a good chance it’s still stressing your infrastructure.

Search has long been a sport amongst online travel buyers, and with metasearch now making inroads into the European and Asia Pacific markets, it’s a subject that will continue to drive the industry for the foreseeable future. Notably, as conversion ratios continue to rise and technologies like metasearch become more popular, suppliers are still struggling to scale.

User-generated content: Everybody’s doing it… but who’s sorting it?

The meteoric rise of social networks and user-generated content has certainly caught the attention of the travel industry’s technorati, and online travel agencies, suppliers, portals and metasearch companies alike reported that they have already started incorporating user-generated content into their Web sites or they plan to. With this new flood of content, though, travel companies will need to have a strategy for helping users identify the information that will be most useful to them. When asked how they intend to sort and rank user-generated content, several speakers indicated their strategies are still under development. Let the games begin!

Media is getting richer.

Rich media has the potential to counter commoditization, sell location and dramatically enrich travel planning overall. The technical challenges of making it searchable, accurate and up-to-date remain. Steps are being taken to standardize rich media coding, but as with all standardization efforts, it takes time for standards to become pervasive. And despite a clear vision of the future potential of mobile rich media — there are still a number of infrastructure and content challenges to be addressed — challenges that many argue will take years, not months, to overcome.

Personalization is a priority (What did you say your name was again?)...

Personalization is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, but not yet on the edge of their enterprise. In fact, many are still struggling with traditional customer relationship management (CRM) applications and system integration challenges. However, efforts to create personalized experiences — both online and off — and to develop the capacity to offer personalized rates are under way. Developers working on personalization projects should take care not to lose sight of the actual customers their efforts are aimed at — their desire for interactivity and transparency should be figured into the equation.

GNE v. GDS enters a reality check phase

The GDS new entrant (GNE) — global distribution system (GDS) debate rages on: GNEs insist that they are bringing much-needed technology solutions to the marketplace, and GDSs tout gleaming new platforms and are declaring that what is needed is a business solution, not a technology solution. Impromptu show of hands indicated that TRAVDEX attendees believe that the GNE challenge to the distribution status quo is what has brought about GDS booking fee reductions, not appreciative GDSs passing on operational savings to loyal clients. While the current effect of the GNE advent on distribution economics is clear, it remains to be seen how strong the challenge to GDS distribution technology will ultimately be.