Travel Weekly Blog

Two of our regular star columnists have just popped in to TW Towers to have their pictures re-taken for our sparkling new magazine.

Simon Calder of the Independent...

... and Maureen Hill of Wessex World Travel.

Read their new columns - and see their stylish new photos, taken by the professional in the pictures, not us - in Travel Weekly from this Friday.

The much talked-about new accommodation-only start-up Youtravel.com, which counts the likes of ex-Libra Holidays sales and marketing boss Paul Riches among its senior management team, launched at the weekend.

At first glance on Saturday morning there appeared to be no obvious technical glitches.

Positives: The site has a relatively simple design, making use on the homepage of handy boxed sections for destinations, bookings, sign-ups, suggestions and special offers.

The hotel search tool is as thorough as the user wants it to be, including options for board, facilities, check-in day, et al.

There is also a search-by-weather option – a nice, user-friendly tool that appears to becoming a rather popular piece of functionality following a similar launch by Wegolo earlier this month.

Negatives: more colour, please! [There are plenty of images of hotels and resorts, but often buried way down amongst the – very comprehensive – stack of details for each product]

Comments elsewhere ahead of Youtravel.com's launch pondered how much pay-per-click advertising would be needed in order to take on the reams of other bed banks, such as Hotels.com, Hotelopia.com, Lowcostbeds.com.

Perhaps Riches will tell us soon?

UPDATE: Check some critical comments left on the Travolution Blog by Nick Gassman (BA.com) and Darren Cronian (Travel-Rants).

Kevin May, Travolution editor

I think we work in a great trade as I know of no other where we have quite as much fun in quite so many exotic locations.

So when we get these trips why is it guaranteed there will always be someone on the trip who will moan incessantly.

It’s too hot (Kenya), it’s too crowded (Beijing), the sea’s rough (cruising), the food’s too foreign (again Beijing), a tour has started too early and is going on too long (bunch of hacks hung-over after a free night’s boozing) or the itinerary has not taken into account the fact I’m pregnant (she was pregnant when she agreed to go on the tour and was clearly expecting to set a new record by having the baby in three months).

What’s wrong with these people?

Did they not expect these things to occur in advance and shouldn’t they have thought about them when they volunteered to go on the trip?

These people do nothing but whinge and moan, not only spoiling the trip for everyone but looking like an ungrateful sod to the very people who have spent an awful lot of time and money putting together the trip in the first place.

Have people got no manners these days? Believe you me, a couple of the overseas jobs I have had to do have been continual hard work from start to finish, but you will never know as I’ve smiled throughout, been enthusiastic, thanked everyone I’ve met and waited till I got back to the office before venting my spleen.

It’s the only way to do it.

Ed Robertson, reporter

The Travel Weekly Blog is now up and running, timed to coincide with the relaunch of our magazine.

From now on you will be able to read more from the Travel Weekly team and also from our hand-picked collection of contributors from across the industry.

Reports from Fam Trips, events and conferences, general gossip and thoughts on the industry, pictures and video - you'll find it here, every day.

We also want you all to contribute by adding your comments to our posts.

Blogging is just another way in which Travel Weekly will connect with the industry.

So, it's out with the old...

...and in with the new.

We hope you enjoy both the new magazine and the blog.

Technorati Profile