WebProNews

Houston Files Lawsuit Against Online Travel Companies

The city of Houston has filed a lawsuit against online hotel bookers for keeping money the city claims should go towards its occupancy tax."We believe the (online) companies are, essentially, pocketing the money that should go to occupancy tax," Mayor Bill White told the Houston Chronicle. "It's unfair to those who are paying the price where the full taxes are paid."

Farecast Launches Hotels Search

Travel search site Farecast has launched the beta version of its hotels search.

(Some) Hotels Get Special Yahoo Shortcuts

I’ve stayed in a pretty wide range of hotels; none of them seemed dangerous, but some were definitely less pleasant than others.  Now Yahoo Shortcuts is stepping up its effort to help users find the best possible lodgings.

Traveloctiy Tweaks Hotel Review Tool

Travelocity has launched a new hotel review tool that provides users with more relevant results for their own personal tastes and interests.

Hotels Reserve Space In Yahoo Search

Yahoo has enabled some travel assistance within its search results for people looking for hotels at a vacation destination.

Local SEO - Comparing Hotel Sites

I've been doing a few local searches recently to find some examples of well-optimised Abingdon websites, I found a Google search for "Abingdon hotels" brought up an excellent example of both good and bad SEO for various local accommodation websites.

Google Base Changes Vertical Search Results

Google Base has a bunch of search verticals, mini search engines built on data uploaded to Base, and they’ve changed the results format of those search engines. The old:

Google Maps Get Photos, Weekend Trip Advice

For some of us, there's nothing better than a good map…well, there are some things better that decent, modest folks won't mention…which is why we squeal (not me, I don't squeal) with delight as we watch online mapping services get better over time. Maybe that's because maps are reminders that there is much, much more out there than what you've seen…

Starwood Blog Misses the Point

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is the first major hotel company to make the leap into the blogosphere, says the Wall Street Journal, with a blog called TheLobby.com.

A Valentine for Google Click-to-Call

Dear Valentine,