The company will use reservation- booking partners and is launching the feature through the Travelocity Partner Network. Travelocity will process the transactions and provide customer service.

“This option adds to the existing selection of booking choices available through Kayak today, including booking directly with hotel providers and through online travel agencies,” the company said in a blog post.

“We’re committed to continue offering people choices where to book, but we know some people would prefer to complete their purchases without leaving Kayak.”

Under the agreement, Travelocity Under today’s agreement, Travelocity will make accessible by July 1, 2011, its home page and each initial Web page used for searching flights, hotels,  and vacation packages .

"The Internet is a critical means of access to business, education, information, and entertainment in the twenty-first century, and the blind must have equal access if we are to be equal participants in society,”  said Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,

“By making its popular online travel agency fully accessible to the blind, Travelocity is setting an example that should be followed by the entire online travel industry.”

Travelocity said it will develop a comprehensive accessibility program that will include the development of an accessibility guidelines manual, and the appointment of both an accessibility coordinator and an accessibility committee.

 “We thank the National Federation of the Blind for their assistance and look forward to continuing to work together to ensure that rapid progress is made in making the Travelocity Web site usable by everyone.,” said Nejib Ben-Khedher, Chief Operating Officer of Travelocity.

Traveloctiy Tweaks Hotel Review Tool

The new tool allows travelers to sift through reviews to find information in a wide number of categories that include, families, couples, with young kids, with teens, mature travelers, solo women, group of friends, with disabilities, with pets, other vacationers and business travelers.

Travelocity’s new hotel reviews include a screening process for all reviews based on traveler’s interests and needs. User’s create a customized profile and give feedback on what is important to them when they travel. For example people with young kids can provide comments on hotels that are child friendly.

"With this launch, we have taken user-generated content to another level," said Noreen Henry, vice president of hotels and packaging for Travelocity. "Travelers do not have to scour the Web anymore for credible, relevant opinions – our new hotel reviews meet those needs."

 Travelocity has also added to the review tool 16 categories on amenities and services that allows user to leave comments on local cuisine, events and activities.

"Paired with Travelocity’s vast global hotel content, our revamped hotel traveler reviews allow travelers to find the right hotel for their needs and gather insight from travelers just like them," Henry said.

 The study found that Web sites vary in their average daily visitor reach. One example is retail-oriented messages such as cash-back promotions are more effective when placed on Web sites that have high average daily audience reach and accrue their maximum reach quickly, while branding campaigns do not need that type of speed.

When measured during a span of four weeks, the ESPN and Travelocity Web sites had a reach of 32 percent and 33 percent, respectively, among people who will buy a midsize premium crossover utility vehicle. The ESPN Web site obtains its reach in a shorter amount of time. ESPN brings close to one-third of its total monthly audience in just one day, on average, while the Travelocity site has a daily reach averaging 4 percent.

"Online advertisers who consider average daily audience reach when targeting new-vehicle buyers can quickly determine which Web sites are most efficient for reaching their intended audience and how rapidly their advertising message will be served," said Steve Witten, executive director of marketing/media research at J.D. Power and Associates.

"Optimizing media buys and advertising spot placements in this manner can help advertisers achieve their specific marketing objectives."

The study also found that about 88 percent of new car buyers use the Internet. On average new-vehicle buyers spend 11 hours per week online.

"Since new-vehicle buyers spend substantial amounts of time online, the Internet is a great way to provide branding messages to consumers," said Witten.

"The Internet is especially effective in helping advertisers find ‘in-market’ consumers — those who are actively shopping for a new car or truck — so marketers often overlook the fact that that online advertising is also a particularly effective branding tool."

With 40 percent of Mexican Internet users having made an online purchase, 46 percent were travel related. The new Travelocity site has a range of product offerings, including flights, hotels, car rentals, vacation packages and special deals.

"The number of Internet users in Mexico is increasing quickly, and we have already seen a large number of people from Mexico making purchases on the Travelocity site in the United States," said Bryan Estep, vice president of Travelocity Mexico.

"It was a logical step to create a site specifically designed for consumers in Mexico, and is in keeping with our broader global expansion efforts."

The site is currently in Spanish and English, but it will be fully in Spanish in 2008. Customer service will be provided by Spanish-speaking agents using a local toll-free number.

Compared to European online travel growth, U.S. online travel has hit a plateau.

Jake Fuller of Thomas Weisel Partners said over all reservations at Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline would reach $33 billion in 2007, an increase of 7 percent from 2006.

Fuller added that about 30 percent of domestic travel reservations are made online and that it could grow as high as 50 percent. Online travel accounts for a about a fifth of sales in Europe, and 12 percent in Asia.

Michelle Peluso of Travelocity said the European market can be more profitable than the domestic market because travelers in Europe usually make reservations for both hotel rooms and airline tickets. Wholesale pricing allows travel agencies to package both reservations types together, with a markup for the customer and a profit for the agency.

Travelocity: 96% Of ROI From Branded SEM

Travelocity’s numbers focus on the real ROI of search marketing, and build a convincing case for branded keywords against non-branded keywords, which converted into a booking just 4 percent of the time.

While the numbers are convincing, Glueck has not addressed in sufficient detail the idea that non-branded keywords are used mostly in the research phase of the search experience.

The ROI on that presence during research may not be directly measurable, as Glueck would like, but it stands to reason that it is important to have your brand present wherever it matters.

But for good measure, we’ll consider Glueck’s stats, as presented at the IAB’s Performance Marketing Forum:

• 2% of paid-search conversions originated from a searcher clicking on a non-branded term and then a branded term later
• According to 360i, branded keywords account for just 5% of search marketers’ total spend, but account for 80% of profits from paid search
• 65% of Travelocity paid-search visitors arrived via one ad from one keyword
• 27% of Travelocity paid-search visitors clicked ads multiple times via the same keyword repeatedly
• 8% used a variety of keywords
• Geo-targeting works: local flight information offered in ads converted 6 to 7 times better than ad banners

Glueck told AdAge, which has more stats, that it was a "profound mistake by all of us to think we’ve figured out how to measure ROI on search. We’re in stage one." 

The survey, conducted by morefocus, highlights the fact that more people talk to their family or friends about vacation planning rather than consulting traditional avenues such as travel agencies.

Orbitz, Travelocity and Priceline are examples of sites that have seen exponential growth in recent years by providing comprehensive travel services to their customers.

Click for Full Size Image

“As in a number of other industries, people are using the Internet to take control of things they used to have to rely on other people for,” said Dr. Regan Carey, research director at morefocus.

“Now, you can book your own hotel, plane ticket, rental car – all without leaving your home, and you probably save money, too.”

He concluded, “It’s a trend that will only continue to grow.”

The survey also offered some additional figures:

I wonder if the same 52% of people have ever been frisked by a disgruntled airport security officer, perhaps then they would be a little bothered by all the new heightened security practices that airport are enforcing these days.

Or perhaps they don’t mind the long lines and pat downs because they are saving money on airfare by purchasing their tickets online.

Lower airfare is the bread and butter of online travel agencies.

Advertising, however, leaves something to be desired. Anyone remember William Shatner touting Priceline with his vocal rendition of “Two Tickets to Paradise”?

If you don’t, consider yourself fortunate.

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The Nielsen/NetRatings consultancy reported 7.4 million people age 55 or older made a purchase online in the last six months, up from roughly 2.6 million a year ago. And as that market grows, another may be shrinking: the number of adults who made purchases dropped from 112 million to 107.4 million.

Howard Byck, vice president of business development for AARP Services, also had some impressive figures. He reported that 40 percent of the U.S. population is 50 or older, but that this group holds 75 percent of the country’s financial assets. “In many ways marketers have taken the 50-plus market for granted,” Byck said. “The reality is that you can’t do that anymore.”

The AARP is expanding its online presence, and is helping members do the same. Travelocity executive Philip Charles-Pierre said his company’s effort to reach out to the AARP was “extraordinarily successful.” After creating a site called the AARP Passport, sales rose 300 percent from the same period a year ago.

Some sites have discovered that an older demographic requests more customer service. But most feel the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. “Once they get beyond the technological barrier and get into the groove, they tend to be some of our most passionate members,” said David A. Joseph, vice president of corporate communications and strategy for Audible.

One other concern is that marketing attempts not make seniors feel old. The AARP Passport program found success by portraying people “who are above 50, 70, 80 doing things they may not have had the chance, or the money, to do when they were younger,” said Charles-Pierre.

Baby boomers and seniors are proving to be a valuable and largely untapped market for online sales. Companies would do well to draw attract their business.

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Alerts are sent to subscribers through an RSS reader like MY Yahoo!, My MSN, NewsGator, or Pluck. Subscribers create personalized RSS feeds by choosing from a list of preferred destinations or by choosing Travelocity’s recommended destinations trip type.

“We view this application and launch as a significant consumer benefit and major component of our CRM strategy,” said Laura Johnston, Vice President CRM/Loyalty for Travelocity. “Based on beta testing, customers are responding in an extremely positive manner.”