Douglas Quinby
Leisure Travel Analyst, PhoCusWright
Douglas Quinby, Leisure Travel Analyst, PhoCusWright
Mr. Quinby, a market research and media relations consultant for the travel technology industry, has 10 years of professional experience spanning journalism, research, marketing and public relations in North America and Asia . In addition to providing research and analysis, public relations and editorial services to leading travel technology companies and travel industry publications worldwide, Mr. Quinby has served as director of marketing and communications for Atinera and as packaged travel and technology editor for Leisure Travel News . Mr. Quinby's articles have appeared in Travel Weekly, ASTA Agency Management, Leisure Group Travel and Travel Counselor magazines. He also conceived and oversaw Travel Technology News , a supplement to Leisure Travel News devoted to technology and the Internet in the leisure travel industry
Douglas Quinby: Travel Technology Is Changing. What About You?
For the travel and technology industries, the last couple of years have not been easy. But amid all of these changes and challenges, there have also been notable triumphs and discernable trends. ResExpo, the leading travel reservations technology conference and tradeshow, will assemble the industry's leading luminaries and rising stars in Dallas, Texas, on March 30-31 to tackle the latest technologies and delve deep into travel's top issues for 2004 and beyond.
Douglas Quinby: Revolving Door IPOs Orbitz, Travelocity to debut again?
Orbitz has been private barely six months. The ink is still wet on a deal to pull Travelocity and its parent, Sabre Holdings, off the New York Stock Exchange.
Still, the drumbeat already has started for the online travel bookers to stage return-trip IPOs.
In a Proust-like episode of financial deja-vu, analysts and industry insiders say the private equity owners of the e-bookers soon will beat a path back to the public markets.
"What we're hearing in the industry, people are definitely talking about it," says Douglas Quinby, travel analyst for research firm PhoCusWright based in Sherman, Connecticut.
Douglas Quinby: Can he do it again?
In 2001, Alex Zoghlin changed the way you buy airline tickets
Alex Zoghlin's long-running grudge match with former employer Orbitz Inc. is about to come to a head. Mr. Zoghlin's G2 SwitchWorks Corp. and Orbitz are contenders for $5 billion in airline ticket processing contracts that come up for grabs this year.
It's a moment of truth for G2, the Internet company Mr. Zoghlin founded in April 2004 with backing from seven U.S. airlines and two private equity firms. "2006 is what we spent the last two years working for," says Mr. Zoghlin.
Douglas Quinby: Service is Essential on the Internet
It hardly needs to be repeated here that travel agencies who aren't on the Web are missing out, but there days it's simply not enough to have a Web site. Mary Jean Tully, CTC, chairman and CEO of Toronto-based The Cruise Professionals, who committees to making an e-success of her enterprise, relaxed that "e" doesn't just stand for "electronic" -it also stands for "effort."
Douglas Quinby: US Airways' legacy systems blamed for March glitch
Reliable, yet inflexible legacy systems were partly to blame for the glitch in US Airways Group's self-serve kiosk system that led to long lines and delayed flights earlier this month, according to an e-mail sent to the airline's frequent fliers by a company executive.
These days, expediting your vacation begins online. As the market leader in online travel services (ahead of rivals Orbitz, Priceline, and Travelocity), Expedia's travel-planning tools allow users to book airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, vacation packages, and cruises online. Expedia's destination guides feature travel-related content, news, and maps. Its portfolio of brands includes Hotels.com, discount travel Web site Hotwire, travel search engine TripAdvisor, Chinese travel service company eLong (52% stake), and luxury travel segment Classic Vacations, among others. Chairman Barry Diller controls 58% of the company.
Douglas Quinby: Tools for Agents by Douglas Quinby, Travel Weekly
One new service aimed exclusively at the trade is TripAddiction.com, an online FIT planning tool that lets agents assemble complex FITs. The service, founded by two experienced marketers in the cruise industry Virginia Saunders and Molly Ottersen, is aimed squarely at simplifying the FIT planning process for travel agents -- and making it more profitable.