High finance for HomeAway says a lot about travelers

by Tom Johansmeyer on

As the travel industry claws its way back from the depths of the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent consumer credit hangover, bright spots are already beginning to emerge. And unsurprisingly, it’s the non-traditional sort that seems to be leading the charge. After all, stung by layoffs, pay cuts and other personal austerity measures, we’ve had to find ways to spend less while still traveling. So, it’s no surprise that HomeAway got popular … and that investors are rewarding it.

What does all your HomeAway use mean?

Well, for starters, it translates to $216 million raised in one day. HomeAway went public yesterday, and its shares shot up 49 percent to just over $40 each. Now, the vacation rental company is worth $3.2 billion. Trading at 19 times 2010 revenues, HomeAway’s valuation is more generous than that of Priceline (8.1X 2010 revenue) and Expedia (2.3X 2010 revenue).

So, what’s all this financial stuff have to do with us, the traveling public? To me, it signals behavior. For HomeAway to be valued so richly, investors must see a lot of potential. Look for more people to look at the vacation rental alternative to hotel rooms and other traditional lodging options.

Five Tips for Successful Last-Minute Hotel Booking

by Paul Brady on

One of the best things about a road trip are the last-minute detours, whether that’s stumbling across an antique car club meeting in Western Massachusetts or deciding to speed to Boston to see a million people cheer for a hockey team. Even along my planned route, I don’t even have a place to stay for the night when I pull into a city, hotel or otherwise. Sound crazy? With new internet tools and some winning strategies, a last-minute hotel stay is not only possible-it can be an unexpected money saver.

Here are my five tips to successfully booking at the last minute, to keep your plans flexible and keep your travel budget in check.

Load your smartphone: Web-booking tools are great for last-minute shopping, but you can never be sure you’ll find wifi when you crack open your laptop. Instead, download booking apps that are always on. I’ve been using Hotels.com for its broad selection of properties and its buy 10 nights, get one free loyalty program, but others are available. HotelTonight is an interesting option that announces deep discounts on three hotels per city per night. In only a few cities so far, it’s one to watch.

Shop smart: Local boutiques and quirky properties are fantastic, but when I’m booking at the last minute, I prefer to shop by chain. Brands like La Quinta and Quality Inn may be inexpensive, but they have a consistency guaranteed by the flag flown out front, meaning I’m sure I’ll find free internet, free parking and free breakfast when I arrive. You can’t always say the same for one-off hotels that may otherwise be perfectly nice.

Look for deals: Because a hotel can’t sell a room for yesterday, they’ll often offer a discount if they still have a vacancy for the evening. On Hotels.com, I’ve seen offers of 15, 20 and even 25 percent for the night-of. Don’t be shy about taking advantage of the hotel’s predicament! Hard bargainers can even try calling the hotel directly to negotiate, but remember that properties still have bills to pay and have a limit to how low they’ll go.

Check the reviews: Of course a booking site or app will tell you a property is a winner: They’re selling you the room. Even at the last minute, I like to pull up a few second opinions. Hotel reviews are Tripadvisor’s bread and butter, but other sites, like Yelp, have marginally more intelligent comments. Google’s “place pages” for hotels-the info that pops up on your smartphone when you search for a specific property-aggregate web commentary, making for easy comparison shopping. One thing to remember: photos, unlike anonymous commenters, usually tell the truth. I didn’t book the Holiday Inn Express in Cleveland, pictured above, until I’d seen some convincing photos.

Be patient: Even with from-your-phone booking, it can take time for a reservation to arrive at a hotel. In Providence, Rhode Island, I walked into the Biltmore hotel just five minutes after booking a room. When I learned my reservation had yet to appear, I said “No problem” and got some work done in the lobby. A few minutes later, my room was ready-and a front desk employee had upgraded me to a suite for understanding. All the more reason to keep booking last-minute.

Travel robot stays behind while you fly, takes care of business

by Chris Owen on

At the same time an important client was due to arrive at his office, Trevor Blackwell was stuck at an airport in Canada with an expired passport. That led Blackwell and his team to build a research robot that could be used remotely to interact with a client. They’ve continued to experiment with robotic telepresence for the past two and a half years and began shipping the robots in April.

“I really wanted to greet him and be part of the meeting in a bigger way than I could be on speakerphone,” Blackwell tells Entreprenur.

The answer, described as “Skype on a Segway only more geeked-out” was Blackwell’s “personal avatar”. The $15,000, 35-pound, two-wheeled, self-balancing travel robot has two-way audio and video so users can interact remotely with co-workers or customers.

Called “QB” (because the first model was QA), the personal avatar has a microphone, speakers, a 5-megapixel camera and a GPS-size video screen on its head, which is attached to its mobile bottom with an adjustable pole. QB connects to the Internet through Wi-Fi.All users need is a web browser to log in to the bot on Anybots.com and they’re able to control the robot’s movements with the arrow buttons on the keyboard. Thanks to the simplicity of the system, QB can be used from anywhere, even a laptop at an airport.

“Be part of the action at work from home or anywhere” says Anybots on its website. “All you need is a web browser to interact with the whole office, lab, factory, or warehouse. QB glides around smoothly and quietly, giving you total access and presence.”

Test drives are available Monday through Friday from 5 AM to 6 PM Pacific.


Flickr photo by peyri

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“A Connecticut Hog Dog Tour” documentary airs July 2, kicks off National Hot Dog Month

by Laurel Miller on

There’s a month for everything in America, it seems, even if it’s cancer. But as a nation, we can really get behind hot dogs. We love hot dogs; we’re obsessed with them. That’s why the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (for reals) has declared July National Hot Dog Month. Who knew?

Such obsession with pre-formed meat products can only lead to one thing: a search for the ultimate weiner. Filmmaker Mark Kotlinski took on the challenge and discovered that Connecticut is a veritable hot dog paradise. In his film, “A Connecticut Hot Dog Tour,” Kotlinski documents his road trip to some of Connecticut’s most interesting–and delicious–hot dog stands.

Whether steamed, grilled, or deep-fried, Connecticut’s got ‘dogs for days. Highlighting the history, house specialties, and local hot dog lore, “A Connecticut Hot Dog Tour” is Kotlinski’s tribute to an American favorite. In the film, he visits renown Connecticut hot dogs stands including:

Rawley’s Drive-In (Fairfield), for their famous bacon dog with “The Works”; Weiners on Water (East Haddam), a hot dog boat on the Connecticut River featuring chili cheese dogs with a view; Bobby’s Place (Old Lyme), located on the beach, for their monster dog; Capitol Lunch (New Britain) for a hot dog with the works and their famous meat sauce, and Top Dog Hot Dog (Portland), a hot dog-shaped trailer located on Route 66, to sample their spicy Cajun Dog.

Inspired by Kotlinski’s findings and in time for National Hot Dog Month, Connecticut will debut it’s very own, official Hot Dog Trail that maps out these hot dog hot spots (the state is already home to a Wine Trail, Ice Cream Trail, and Beer Trail…and hey–why is there no pizza trail leading to Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven?). For Trails and tourism info, click here.

“A Connecticut Hot Dog Tour” will air on July 2, 8 p.m. ET/PT on the Documentary Channel (DOC).

[Photo credit: Flickr user Scout]

Naming My Traveling the American Road Ride

by Paul Brady on

After more than 1,000 wonderful suggestions, I’m finally ready to take the major step of naming my car. After all, I’ve already logged more than 2,500 miles on the beast after starting this epic road trip. If not now, when?

There were a number of strong entries. Marylin Thomas had a good suggestion: “If I had a Ford Explorer I probably would name him after one of the famous explorers but it would have to be an American one.” It’s a great, thoughtful idea, but a little short on specifics: An American explorer like Meriwether Lewis or someone who explored America like Columbus?

It remains an open question…

Maxine had a sci-fi inspired name, going with TARDIS, a name from Dr. Who, translated to my road trip: Traveling the American Road, Driving in Style. But that might be a little lengthy for a nickname-not to mention way too nerdy for mass consumption.

A different Marilyn suggested I take a cue from my tag numbers, saying “I have named my cars using their license plate letters. HZL368 was named Hazel. WZZ3508 has been named Dorothy, after the Wizard of Oz.” The downside is that my plates don’t create an inspired name, as I only have one letter among a sea of numbers.

At least one commenter went with a pun: “Since this is the Traveling the American Road car, how about Jack Car-ouac.” I like it, but it’s not quite there.

I’m going with Andy‘s idea, which comes with a similar literary reference: “I think you should name it ‘Charley,’ after the 1960 memoir ‘Travels with Charley,’ by John Steinbeck, who traveled America with his French poodle Charley.” For coming up with the winner, Andy wins a free HP VEER PHONE (valued at $99.99), as promised in our original announcement of the naming contest. Nicely done, Andy!

It’s more than just the poetry of the entry I like. A friend of mine bought me a copy of the book before I left to start this trip-and he picked up his own copy too. When I finally get home, still a long while from now, we’ll talk about the book we both plan to read while I’m traveling. But for now, it’s a connection to home I’m carrying with me, a reminder that no matter which floor I’m sleeping on, this trip, like all trips, will eventually come to an end.