http://www.travolution.co.ukThe latest information from Travolution6012131215http://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2010/02/24/3284/opinion-ready-to-sell-your-business-dont-do-it-just-yet.htmlCCPWed, 24 Feb 2010 02:00:00 -00:00If selling up is your only option, hold out until the economy recovers, says Andrew Burnhamhttp://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/10/27/2976/comment-travel-republic-court-case.htmlCCPTue, 27 Oct 2009 09:45:00 -00:00Words can be tricky, especially in a legal context. During last week's Travel Republic court case at Stratford Magistrates Court much time was spent in discussion of what was “separate” or “linked” in a holiday purchase - what a “product” or a “component”. http://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/10/09/2932/opinion-tourism-2023-is-welcome-but-change-wont-come.htmlCCPFri, 09 Oct 2009 10:00:00 +01:00The industry-backed sustainability initiative is a great idea, but commitment will come at a price, says Ian Taylorhttp://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/09/10/2854/secure-in-the-knowledge.htmlCCPThu, 10 Sep 2009 10:00:00 +01:00The conviction of three men for plotting to use liquid explosives to blow up aircraft departing London confirmed the necessity of airport security measures in place since August 2006.http://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/09/10/2853/ba-takes-peek-at-bmi.htmlCCPThu, 10 Sep 2009 09:00:00 +01:00Speculation that British Airways is keen on buying BMI from Lufthansa is almost certainly misplaced. For one thing, a merger of the two biggest slot holders at Heathrow would have no chance of regulatory approval. http://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/08/28/2831/comment-holiday-home-rental-defies-recession.htmlCCPFri, 28 Aug 2009 11:00:00 +01:00Holidayhome rentals is one sector that continues to defy the recession, with both supply and demand growing. The rise of the staycation, the credit crunch and the current state of the property market are all contributing factors. http://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/07/23/2735/seven-top-tips-on-how-to-use-discount-codes-to-your-benefit.htmlCCPThu, 23 Jul 2009 11:09:00 +01:00 Discount codes are everywhere, but how can a travel retailer utilise this marketing tool to maximise revenues? Here we outline seven essential tips for travel retailers to get the most out of this popular marketing tool. Type ‘discount codes’ into your search engine and you will be staggered by the sheer volume of sites that appear. Not only that, but the variety of industries that they cover. Gone are the days when discount codes were just the domain of online supermarkets or book stores; today they are used in innovative ways by all manner of retailers, both on and offline.  Affiliates recognised the benefits of this particular marketing method early on and many created websites dedicated to publishing consumer discount codes. Now, all types of affiliates host these digital vouchers in an effort to improve the conversion of the traffic browsing their sites. The travel industry has dramatically changed over the past decade withhttp://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/07/22/2734/airlines-face-dual-threat.htmlCCPWed, 22 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +01:00The downgrading of the official terror threat from ‘severe’ to ‘substantial’ may make no difference to airport security ahead of the biggest holiday getaway so far this summer, but it was about the only good news in the past week. http://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/07/01/2738/let-caa-view-on-government-thinking-be-a-guide.htmlCCPWed, 01 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +01:00Will the saga that is consumer financial protection ever reach a conclusion? Possibly, up to a point, but not soon and not to the satisfaction of many. http://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/06/02/2601/get-your-head-in-the-clouds.htmlCCPTue, 02 Jun 2009 01:34:00 +01:00 There is a quiet revolution taking place in the technology world. Driving this revolution is something called Cloud Computing. Cloud Computing involves organisations hosting data on the web and offers significant cost and efficiency saving benefits for travel operators. But, while the Cloud can be more convenient, it also presents new opportunities and challenges. So, before you jump head first into the Cloud, below are the top five considerations for travel companies: 1 – Cost reduction Travel companies will find it costs less to pay for Cloud services and storage than it does to maintain their own servers. Migrating services to the Cloud will be easier for start-ups, but there are good reasons for ‘traditional’ organisations to use the Cloud, especially for ‘non mission critical’ applications. 2 – Availability To avoid the risk of downtime, travel operators should consider using a hosting chttp://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/06/01/2597/site-seeing-the-innovators.htmlCCPMon, 01 Jun 2009 08:20:00 +01:00 With bookings down and confidence shattered, optimism may seem preposterous at the moment, but I want you to spend a few moments to consider a positive perspective. Perhaps we have been experiencing a Darwinian event? Capitalism’s big kick up the backside could yet bring out the best in us, with transformational new ideas and innovation providing a path to a better future. An optimistic view, certainly, but when times are challenging it often pays to stand back and look at the world through a different lens. Yes, even if you work in the travel industry. Transformation is most definitely required. In this age of the busted business model, we have discovered that our financial system is flawed, banks go bust, car manufacturers go bankrupt and airlines are in trouble. It won’t be long now before we discover who’s backing the wrong business models in other parts of the travel industry. Those with the wrong models, or ineffective websites, are going to fail. http://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/06/01/2590/thoughts-from-the-beach.htmlCCPMon, 01 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +01:00 I have been enjoying a Caribbean break in Antigua, and it never ceases to amaze me how different the Americans’ view of holidays is to the British. You would think the Caribbean to the Americans would be very much like Europe to the British. The British seem obsessed with price-comparison websites, checking 12 to 20 different prices, getting the best deal, moaning if something isn’t right, and generally looking at travel as if trying to flee. The Americans view their holidays more as short breaks, positive experiences in themselves, a chance to meet new people, taste new foods, and see new cultures. I get the sense that the British are escaping from home, work, problems, negative news, credit crunches, and such like! It is hard to remain positive, particularly in the current environment, when the regulatory, banking, credit, margin and competitiveness of our industry can so easily bring you down (as it did for Freedom Travel). We are operating in difficult timehttp://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/06/01/2589/free-thinking-leads-the-way.htmlCCPMon, 01 Jun 2009 06:56:00 +01:00 We are all familiar with the adage “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” but is getting tough good enough? Well, one certainly needs to pull upon all available resources in a crisis, but in the corporate world it’s often other qualities or skills that can make the difference. Since the turn of the century, Spain has been innovating its way to the top in rail travel with the goal to link the entire country with the most advanced high-speed rail system by 2010. However, it’s not just the population of Spain that will benefit but also the Spanish companies that consult on engineering, design and build, infrastructure, signalling and ticketing systems and more, that has allowed Spain to take full advantage of the explosive growth in demand for advanced rail transportation in the international markets. It is a great example of how one country pulled its corporate resources together and turned itself in to a world beater through innovation and collahttp://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/05/29/2586/less-talk-and-more-action-on-sustainability.htmlCCPFri, 29 May 2009 10:52:00 +01:00 The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is not a name on most lips in the UK trade. But on the global stage, behind the scenes, the WTTC lobbies and collates statistics on tourism’s contribution to economies. The Council comprises heads of 100 major firms, including British Airways, Hertz, Amadeus, Sabre and Expedia. Its vice-chairmen include heads of TUI and Emirates; its executive committee figures from Carlson, Travelport, American Express and Marriott. The WTTC summit this month made the point that sustainability should be at the core of industry practice. In February, the WTTC published a report – Leading the Challenge on Climate Change – making the business case for action to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. The report‘s signatories agree: “Climate change poses global social, environmental and economic risks and [we] believe this demands a transformational change in how we manage our businesses.http://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2009/05/27/2578/what-is-real-innovation.htmlCCPWed, 27 May 2009 01:05:00 +01:00 Innovation is a term the online sector and travel in particular is very fond of using – how many innovations has your company achieved this week? Drilling down into the nitty gritty of innovation proved a worthwhile exercise, if only to make us think the next time we lazily insert the term into a lead paragraph. True innovations are rare – in travel in particular what initially seems innovative is often simply a natural response to an evolving market, or a more rigorous application of something already in the market. Expedia Inc and its media model fall into this category. Trying to generate revenues from traffic as well as transactions was an innovation at the time – no-one else was doing it – but it was also a response to a change in consumer behaviour and market conditions. Oh to have been a fly on the wall when Dara Khosrowshahi realised just how many people were coming to his store, having a good look round and then leaving to spend their money some