Jul 10th, 2012 at 2:00PM: While it can be worthwhile booking a tour through a big-name company when traveling, it can get boring seeing a new city in the same old fashion. To do something off beat and interesting, these companies are offering unique tours and activities created and led by locals.
Gidsy
A marketplace for local and unusual experiences, Gidsy was started in 2011 in Berlin by two brothers, Edial and ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
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8 Websites Offering Unique Local Tours Around The World
Jul 10th, 2012 at 2:00PM: While it can be worthwhile booking a tour through a big-name company when traveling, it can get boring seeing a new city in the same old fashion. To do something off beat and interesting, these companies are offering unique tours and activities created and led by locals.
Gidsy
A marketplace for local and unusual experiences, Gidsy was started in 2011 in Berlin by two brothers, Edial and ...Travel Smarter 2012: Use CouchSurfing to ditch your hotel addiction
Mar 16th, 2012 at 9:00AM:
Hotels are so passé.
How many times have you visited an exciting destination only to find you're staying in a generic hotel room completely lacking in local flavor? When I visited Greece last month, I stayed in affordable, centrally located hotels in Athens and Sparta. While they offered good service at a fair price, they could have just as easily been in Los Angeles, London, or ...Pinterest for travelers: 5 practical uses
Feb 20th, 2012 at 12:00PM:
Everyone's jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon, and no wonder. The social media site, where you "pin" inspiring photos of luscious baked goods, bucket-list world landmarks and HDR-enhanced sunsets, provides perfect travel porn. Once you start browsing other peoples' boards, it's almost impossible to stop.
But does Pinterest have any practical uses for travelers? Although it seems mostly ...National Geographic and AllTrails.com partner on map website
Jan 18th, 2012 at 8:00AM: National Geographic Maps and AllTrails.com have announced that they are joining forces to create a new online resource for adventure travelers and outdoor enthusiasts alike. The new venture will provide a wealth of information on hiking trails from across the United States, while mixing in elements of social networking and member generated content.
AllTrails.com already sports an impressive ...Five ways you can screw with travel companies via social media
Aug 4th, 2011 at 9:00AM: The travel industry is interested in what you have to say. Everything. I know this seems crazy. I mean, when was the last time you felt an airline employee was actually listening to you? Well, that sector is among the travel businesses paying close attention to you.
I saw on PRNewser yesterday that travel and hospitality companies are using online monitoring tools to keep track of what you ...Eight interesting facts about North Korea's airline
Aug 3rd, 2011 at 8:00AM:
What do you know about Air Koryo? Probably not much. The state-run airline for North Korea, it's the only realistic way you can fly into the country, unless you have some sort of crazy commando resources at your disposal. Of course, there's a lot you have to do before booking your ticket, and getting a visa can be quite difficult for Americans and other westerners. If you do make it through ...FourSquare is everywhere ... even North Korea
Dec 20th, 2010 at 8:00AM:
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Whether you tweet or not, log into Facebook or skip it, you know that social media is everywhere. You just can't get away from it. There are references on prime-time television, news stories all over the place and special deals at stores large and small. If you think you're ...Five steps to free Mexico and Caribbean travel from Marriott and Renaissance
Nov 29th, 2010 at 1:30PM: Need a little sunshine in your life this holiday season but can't get out on the road? Hey, I get it: we all shell out enough cash this time of year. There are gifts for the kids, unavoidable family travel and those Christmas dinners that get expensive pretty quickly. These costs can sneak up on you, depriving you of a little mental health time out on a beach somewhere.
Well, a travel contest ...Five chilling facts about Cyber Monday Shopping
Nov 23rd, 2010 at 8:00AM: Okay, your goal should be NOT to conform to what you see below. The travel industry, riding something of a recovery this year, is set to come out with some solid sales on Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year. So, as you click among hotel, airline and online travel agency sites, it will pay for you to be aware of the biggest risks you face.
Despite the many risks associated ...NYC marathon runners urged to focus on the race, fight the urge to tweet
Nov 5th, 2010 at 11:30AM: You'd think running 26.2 miles would demand all your attention, right? Apparently, the lure of connectedness is so great that a runners' group is putting the word out to resist temptation. Sean Haubert, who manages social media for the New York Road Runners, which organizes the ING New York City Marathon, told the NY Daily News:
"People need to focus on the race," Haubert said. "There are people ...Airlines not alone in poor customer service studies
Oct 30th, 2010 at 3:00PM:
The Airline Quality Rating report was released last week, exposing the five worst airlines in the United States. It's fun to beat up on the airlines ... as it is to beat up on other companies and industries notorious for poor customer service. So, this made me wonder just how the airlines stack up against everyone else.
Back in August, the American Customer Satisfaction Index rated hundreds of ...Free Montreal travel in three simple steps
Oct 28th, 2010 at 3:30PM: Do you like Montreal? I have to admit, I've been there three times in the past two years, and I just can't get enough of it. The minute I hit the streets of Old Montreal, I find myself craving a hotdog at the St-Denis Pool Hall before dashing over to the art galleries on St-Paul Ouest. Even with winter approaching rapidly, I'm feeling the pull up north.
So, I was pretty excited by a cool ...Travel and social media: five ways to cut through it all
Oct 13th, 2010 at 2:30PM: As I was scanning the headlines this morning, I came across Christopher Elliott's article, "Are travelers overloaded by social media?" It's a fair question. Not only are more and more of us plugging in – Twitter, for example, is adding 1.8 million new users a week – but we're being increasingly being bombarded "communicated to" by hotels and airlines that are eager to get a bigger ...Top five social media destinations
Oct 8th, 2010 at 8:00AM:
Do you live your life in 140 characters are less? Have you almost lost your life several times because you had to get that shot of a crazy cab driver uploaded to Facebook? If this is anything like you, here are five cities you're just going to love.
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NetProspex has ranked the cities ...Traveling women are Facebook addicts
Oct 7th, 2010 at 2:00PM: A new study of female travelers indicates that close to half can't let go of Facebook when they're on the road. Unsurprisingly, Facebook is the social network of choice for women on the go.
Ninety-three percent of women who have had an overnight trip in the past month, according to Women on Their Way, have Facebook accounts, and 68 percent of them use it for travel purposes. What do they like ...Ask your social network - Dining out tip
Aug 7th, 2010 at 12:33PM: If you're on Facebook and/or Twitter, you already have a host of restaurant tips at your disposal: Ask members of your social network what restaurants they recommend in the city you plan to visit.
Those who live in that city will be able to give you a local's perspective, and you will also hear from people who live elsewhere but have visited that city in the past.
Who knows? You might even ...Wanderfly.com travel-planning site launches in beta
Aug 4th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
A new travel-planning website and booking engine is launching this month in beta, and I was excited to give it a test run, having first heard about the site this spring at a EuroCheapo travel happy hour. Wanderfly.com is a "personalized recommendation engine" that takes your interests, budget, and even social network connections to give you inspiration and help you plan your next vacation. ...Top five ways to use social media to look like you're working on vacation
Aug 3rd, 2010 at 8:00AM: We've put some distance between us and the September 2008 financial crisis, but unemployment – and tension the workplace – is still high. There's plenty of anxiety over whether people appear to be working hard enough, because it's safe to assume that the budgets being allocated or raises and bonuses are unlikely to be generous. So, in the quest to appear productive, employees need more ...Business travelers poised to take fun out of social media tools
Jul 22nd, 2010 at 3:00PM: Where are you looking for the latest travel information? Well, if you're a business traveler, especially with a mid-sized company, you're probably turning to social media tools. And, that makes more than a little sense, given the reach of platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (the former of which pierced the 500 million-user mark this week).
According to the latest research by American Express ...Hotels on social media: we're trying!
Jul 15th, 2010 at 1:00PM: For the properties using social media, the effort seems to be paying off. Guests are using tools like Facebook to score discounted rates all over the country. This shouldn't exactly be shocking, but since the travel industry lags other businesses, there's a sort of novelty to the impact of promoting in these emerging online environments.
What's interesting is that the greatest benefit may not ...
