SEO Blog

There’s an interesting note over at Hotel Chatter, whcih picks up on something I missed.

It appears that there are a couple of beta sites which are using Navteq Maps and the corresponding Google - Keyhole satellite imagery to help you locate a hotel. One is at Hotels X which is owned by 3Genius Corp, and the other that I looked at was ReserveMy.com

The sites also have made use of the pushin popup, which means you can click on any of the hotel markers, and get the essential information; price, hotel class, guest rating, and address, along with a link to more information.

Both sites are beta still, so it would be unfair to consider theri designs, layouts, or speed. However, I thought that the use of the Navteq maps with the Google imagery was a very good idea.

Sites like Expedia and Travelocity use maps. They have for a long time. But the addition of the satellite imagery is a nice feature. I wonder how quickly they will react?

I wrote a blog entry a couple of weeks ago, when we just launched this blog. It was titled, tongue firmly in cheek, “Hilton’s Perverted Bedding Initiative”, which someone over at HotelMarketing.com read, and wrote a nice comment on. Must have been a slow day that my opinion made it to the head of a newsletter, but thanks!

Wow, what a traffic spike it generated! I got some random feedback, but surprisingly, I also got some interesting and complimentary emails from a few Hilton employees. Almost every one of them seemed to enjoy the commentary, and wished that their bosses would allow them more marketing freedom - They indicated that the online furor was making them afraid of the elephant in the corner, without realizing that they really are the elephant in the corner!