TripSay blog

I visited the Travel Distribution Summit organised by Eye for travel on the 19th and 20th of May. The summit was, again, an interesting show although this year I didn’t make it to any of the presentations. Instead I spent my whole time in the expo hall meeting with people. Some people said that it was a bit quieter than last year but I couldn’t really tell. To me it seemed pretty busy still and there were lots of good people to meet.

The funniest meeting was with Michael Burnham from Tripmedia. Although we didn’t know each other previously he spotted my badge and came to talk as he’d heard of our company before. We ended up chatting for quite a while and at some point ended up talking about how old we are as we don’t really get twitter. The funniest part was that he guessed that I’m much younger than I actually am and once I told him the truth he said that it must be my Dolph Lundgren like looks that made him guess wrong. I found that hilarious as some of the guys in the office have mentioned the same thing. It must be the blond hair…

I like the TDS concept where there’s an expo hall, some free presentations and the paid seminar. As I spent my time in the expo hall I saw that many interesting companies had a stand on the expo floor. This year, a promiment number of companies were offering mobile solutions for travel companies. Let’s see if mobile finally starts getting some traction as the consultants keep telling us in these seminars. Quite a lot of companies were offering web2.0 features to third parties (pretty much as we do with the widgets and the api). Good to see that there are others, who believe in the same model as we do! All in all it was nice to see that despite of the economy there still are companies coming up with new ideas and technologies.

The TDS is a good event and definitely worth going to. There were even some free drinks at the end of the show’s first day making it even better. You can’t go wrong with free drinks. Thanks for the guys at CarTrawler for serving me the drinks whenever I ran out!

We also had a get-together with a small bunch of travel startups on one of the evenings. It was good to meet others trying to do something new in travel with scarce resources. The whole thing was organised by the nice guys at Tourdust. I hope that we’ll have more such meetings in the future! It’s great to share experiences with other entrepreneurs in the same business. Looking forward to our future meetings!

You can plan a quiet family getaway to a cottage on a lake or plan a trip to El Salvador to throw fireballs at the annual balls of fire festival. Such is the beauty of travel, you can always discover a new experience. Checking out weird and wild festivals is one way to guarantee you have stories to tell when you get home. Here are a few festivals that have a couple of things in common; they are very popular and they lack common sense.

Visit Gloucestershire, England for the Cheese Rolling Festival on May 25^th. This annual event kicks off the wacky festival season. Contestants run down a very steep slope chasing a wheel-shaped Double Gloucester cheese. Most lose there footing at the top and roll down the hill head over heels risking injury for the first prize of a big roll of cheese.

July 1-14^th celebrate the 4^th of July (maybe for the last time) at the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. You might want to be a spectator at this event, 15 people have died and hundreds have been injured running with the bulls since it started in 1924.

In July Berlin is home to the Wasserschlacht Battle. Locals hurl eggs, food and water bombs at each other. The festival has been running for 11 years. It can get dangerous as people get carried away and rioting often ensues.

At the Balls of Fire Festival on August 31^st in Nejapa, El Salvador the locals honor a 1917 volcanic eruption by throwing fireballs (balls of cloth soaked in fuel) at each other in mini battles.

Sept 4^th and 5^th head to Prairie Du Sac, Wisconsin, for the 39^th annual Cow Chip Throw. Cow chip (AKA dried cow dung) throwing has grown to become the most anticipated event in town.

When Moms think about Mothers Day they look forward to the old standbys – flowers, chocolates and brunch or dinner with their kids. While these are all special and heartfelt let’s face it Moms deserve even more. So we thought we would plant the seed and list some of the favorite dream travel destinations for Moms, just a subtle hint for Mothers Day gift ideas for next year.

Here are some of the top travel destination and activity ideas for Moms who deserve nothing but the best, courtesy of Shermans Travel:

• Art Viewing in Florence, Italy
• Shopping in New York
• Spa and Spirituality in Sedona, Arizona
• Theatre in London
• Wine sipping in Sonoma, California
• Yoga in Costa Rica
• And of course we can’t forget a girls getaway to Las Vegas!

Remember not to ask Mom what happened on the getaway when she returns… what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

I was in the Travolution Summit in London last week. An interesting day full of interesting presentations. Also the weather in London was fantastic - no, really!

The most interesting session was about user experience where both Google and Frommer’s had done a lot of interesting research. The Frommer’s study pointed out that the weakest link online today are recommendations both on the destination itself and the activities/things to do in the destinations before choosing where to go. According to Frommer’s that’s what consumers want but feel are not getting from travel agents or the web today. This is great news for us as recommendations are exactly what we are doing – trying to help our members to get new ideas and tips on the places they find or might find interesting answering the questions “Should I go there? If so what are the most interesting places for me to see?”.

There a lot of coverage from the event on the Travolution site. See especially the Frommer’s study. Interesting stuff.

I participated the panel discussion regarding innovations in online travel. The session focused on HomeAway that has been hugely successful in a relatively short period of time. The discussion was over too soon and I would have loved to hear more about how they made it and what we other startups can learn from their experiences. There’s only so much time in a conference like this, unfortunately.

Thanks for the Travolution guys for inviting me over! I look forward to the next time.

How would you like to have six weeks of vacation each year? Well unless you get hit with six weeks of unpaid furlough days the chances of getting more than a few weeks off in the U.S. are slim to none.

The Danes are the lucky ones who lead the pack of generous paid vacation recipients. According to a ‘Hewitt Associates’ study Denmark workers average 31 days vacation, followed closely by Austria and Finland at 30 days. Americans, Canadians and Japanese average 10 vacation days a year. Mexicans are at the bottom of the list with only 6 days a year to enjoy the beautiful beaches in their country.

Remarkably 20 percent of Americans don’t use all of their vacation days, so either Americans love their jobs or they just aren’t as well versed at relaxing and enjoying long stretches away from the office as Europeans.

This leads us to the big European May 1st holiday or “May Day” that many Americans know little about. While the Americans head to work on May 1st the party has been going all night in many European countries. One tradition surrounding May Day is Walpurgis Night (Walpurgisnacht) is a holiday celebrated on April 30th or May 1st across Central and Northern Europe.

Historically Walpurgisnacht comes from various pagan spring customs. Bonfires were built to keep away bad spirits. This is followed by the return of light and the sun as celebrated during May Day. May 1st is also a big day for the European labor movement in many countries and it’s a great excuse for a party.

The bottom line is the May 1st holiday is “just another day AWAY from the office”. For Americans the expression is “just another day AT the office”. Fair, huh?

“Happy 1st of May!” or “Hauskaa Wappua, Glada Vappen!“, as we say in Finland.

The grass is slowly getting greener now that the snow has finally melted and more people are enjoying the nicer weather outside just in time for “Earth Day”. TripSay wanted to pass along a few “Green” EcoTravel ideas to commemorate this day.

One of our favorite destinations is Vancouver, B.C. and their Provincial, regional and municipal parks. All you’ll need is your hiking boots for the countless walking and hiking trails near the city. The best time of the year to hike on these trails is in the summer, when all snow and mud is completely gone. Of course, if you’re not planning on traveling to Vancouver this year there are plenty of other options for hikers.

Earth Day is a great excuse for a golfer to get out to the course…as long as you leave the carts parked at the Pro Shop. Those looking to book Golf trips have endless possibilities around the world. The Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, Augusta National in Georgia, New Jersey’s Pine Valley and Cypress Point in Pebble Peach, California are just a few of the top courses to see. You can play some of these courses by booking many months in advance, the others you’ll need to know someone to get on the grounds. Join our Golf Group to discuss the best golf destinations.

If you’re looking to travel to the U.S. for your green theme, look no further than the “Greenest City in America,” Portland, Oregon. A main attraction in Portland is the Oregon Convention Center, which you won’t need a car to visit with its eco-friendly light rail connection. The OCC was specifically designed with large windows to reduce the need for electricity and also features a water-friendly system to protect the Pacific salmon habitat.

Leave your car in the garage, turn off all your lights and electronics and celebrate Earth Day by walking, biking, hiking, and enjoying the great outdoors, not only on April 22nd, but throughout the year. If you have any suggestions on EcoTravel, lets us know and share your thoughts here.

As we head into Easter weekend TripSay wanted to pass along a few suggestions if you’re looking at taking a religious themed vacation in the near future. Those celebrating Easter this weekend have many options for spiritual getaways in all parts of the world.

The most popular destination for Catholics is the Vatican City in Rome. Each year 18 million people visit the Holy See to pay a visit to the Pope’s residence, and if they’re lucky, see ‘his Holiness’ in person during his weekly blessing in St. Peter’s Square.

The Vatican City also offers many attractions for tourist such as St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museum and guided tours of the Sistine Chapel.

If you’re headed to Paris, France this year, you might want to stop and take a look at the beautiful Notre-Dame Cathedral. 13 million people visit this historical landmark each year, which was built in 1250.

Jerusalem, Israel is another popular destination not only for Christians, but those of Jewish and Muslim faiths as well. Because it is visited by so many faiths, it is considered by many as the holiest city in the world.

If Israel is a little far for some travelers, Orlando, Florida is the home of a new religious based theme park called Holy Land. This unique park brings visitors back in time 2000 years to the land of the Bible with interactive shows and exact replicas of landmarks such as the Garden Tomb where the body of Jesus Christ was buried.

These are just a few examples of the many religious destinations around the world. Happy Easter everyone!

Furlough is the latest catchphrase to make headlines as the global economy countinues to fade. Companies everywhere are telling employees to take Furlough days, AKA “unpaid vacation days“, if they want to keep their jobs.

Being told you won’t get paid can be pretty depressing if you focus on the “unpaid” part, but more people are learning to enjoy the good part of the furlough definition – “Vacation Days”.

Every cloud has a silver lining… empty sayings aside: this is a real usage tip we got from one of TripSay members. When you want to enjoy a trip on the cheap you can get advice from the frugal travel experts in the TripSay budget travel group Student-budget Lodging. Choose travel on your furlough days instead of fretting about lost wages.

TripSay helps likeminded people share travel advice including tips on great value and budget travel. Some other quick tips from TripSay.com on economic travel so you can enjoy a vacation (or Furcation) during your furlough days:

• Take a vacation close to home and check out sites within driving distance. You can find amazing places nearby, as the members of Breathtaking Places group do. Type in your hometown or a nearby city in the search box of TripSay.com and discover great tips on hidden gems in your own backyard.
• Plan to visit a place you have always wanted to see, but never had the time. Furlough days offer a rare opportunity to get away. Check out that destination on TripSay and read tips from likeminded travelers. Many of the comments include the best and worst of each location so you will be sure to spend your hard earned money on only the best attractions!
• Offer your home as a barter accommodation to a fellow furlougher in a city you would like to visit. Trade your house with someone for a week and stay for free.

Just a few ideas to help shift the focus of your furlough days from “unpaid” to “vacation”.

TripSay.com has a lot more Canadian members this month thanks to a TV segment that aired across the country. While visiting Canada to check out the mountains, hotels and restaurants at the site of next year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler (you can see my post on the trip here: High Expectations for Vancouver 2010), I stopped in at CTV (Canadian Television) national headquarters for a quick interview on the syndicated tech show CTV Webmania.

Webmania is the longest running technology segment in Canada. The tech segment is aired in all of Canada’s top media markets including Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal so this was a great opportunity for us to spread the word and encourage Canadians to join and contribute to TripSay. The Canadian people were very fun and they share the same passion for travel that we do. In fact many of the travel industry people I met in Vancouver were on their way to Berlin for the big ITB event that TripSay also attended.

In addition to Webmania, I met also Jee Yun Lee who is the host of another interesting tech show, Homepage on City Pulse 24. The live interview is embedded below.

To my new Canadian friends; Good luck hosting the Winter Olympics next year and I’ll see you on TripSay.

What a night at the Grand One gala! The place was packed with celebrating new media professionals who cheered to every winner and speaker. There were quite a few categories, spanning from B2B services to online advertisement. We saw some great performances when the gala went on and the winners climbing up to the stage were getting into the party mode.

It was a good night out. And it got even better when TripSay was awarded three honorable mentions! The categories were The Best Infodesign; The Best Startup; and The Best B2C Service. We went on stage three times to receive our award and each time with a totally improvised “Thank you” speech. Our thanks go to all TripSay members for your valuable feedback!

The Grand One jury stated that TripSay “is daringly heading to the international markets”, “has strong design skills”, “is a great Finnish mash-up service, that has got great attention internationally”, etc. Great!

Much of TripSay’s UI design is made by Valve Internet Agency. Big thanks to our friends at Valve!

More photos from the gala by MTV3 here.