David on March 3rd, 2010

Dear hotel chains,
 
While I completely understand your right to brand your hotels – after all, your guests will often choose to stay with you because they know what the brand name usually offers – you are starting to take the piss.
 
Let me explain something about names. My name is David Whitley. It is not David [...]

Continue reading about When hotel branding gets silly: An open letter

David on February 10th, 2010

Millionaire’s giveaway
A fascinating story has been doing the rounds today about an Austrian millionaire who plans to give away his entire £3m fortune and live like a pauper.
Karl Radeber seems to have decided that money makes him unhappy, and whilst I’ll not be agreeing with that any time soon, one quote attributed to him [...]

Continue reading about The Eternal Awkwardness of Luxury Travel

Tenerife visit
I’ve just got back from Tenerife (in summary: amazing volcano, not so lovely coastal overdevelopment), and whilst there I was staying in the five star Hotel La Plantacion Del Sur.
 
Good, but…
The hotel was, on the whole, very. Great food, wonderful sea views, excellent array of pools. But you don’t care about any of that [...]

Continue reading about When hotels start showing off too much: A 23 light saga.

Going solo
When I was travelling down the Australian coast last year, I did so as a normal human being rather than a pampered travel journalist. One of the things that struck me was how difficult it can be to do anything when you’re on your own.
 
How many?
The classic example was in Mission Beach. I [...]

Continue reading about Solo travellers: Why tour companies are missing out on customers

David on January 15th, 2010

On the tourist trail
Apologies for this blog being quiet of late – I am currently in the middle of a fairly exhausting jaunt through South Africa.
As part of this trip, I have been doing a lot of tours, and as a result, have come to a conclusion or two about how tour operators and tourism [...]

Continue reading about How tour operators should deal with journalists

David on January 2nd, 2010

Why I don’t make resolutions
I’m not a big believer in New Year’s resolutions. This is largely because I’m a foul-mouthed, fat, alcoholic with pathetic will-power, but partly because I think icy, dark January is the worst time of year to be making wholesome pledges.
 
2010 intentions
I have some vague intentions for the year – focus more [...]

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I’m sure many travel writers have encountered a situation where they have been offered a ‘media rate’ by hotels, airlines and tour operators. And I’m sure many of us have struggled to know how to word the most appropriate response.
Well never fear – just alter the details on this template letter to suit your individual [...]

Continue reading about Template letter for travel writers offered a ‘media rate’ by hotels, airlines & tour operators

David on November 27th, 2009

Flight price advertisements
I don’t know about you, but if I see a flight advertised for a certain price, I want to be able to book a flight for that price. And the sooner the travel industry gets to grips with this the better.
 
Flight availability
One of my major bugbears when trying to book a flight is [...]

Continue reading about Lead-in fares and false advertising

David on November 17th, 2009

Amazon innovation
It’s an innovation that has, largely, slipped under the radar. But it could have a big impact on how the travel industry deals with social media. I’ve a feeling that Amazon may have just changed the game.
 
Amazon affiliate program
For those who haven’t a clue what I’m talking about, forgive me: you might not have [...]

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David on November 17th, 2009

The internet: killing travel journalism?
A while back, I weighed in with my thoughts on how the internet is supposedly killing travel journalism. At the bottom, I made a small point which I didn’t think too much of at the time, but I am increasingly coming to think may be important.
 
Travel companies as publishers
Here it is [...]

Continue reading about The emerging new market place for travel journalists