The instant gratification traveler
by Amy Lasley
As some of you may know, Ross and I are taking our first vacation since our honeymoon, three years ago. Needless to say we are very excited.
I was nominated as the planner for this trip, and took to the internet immediately to begin researching destinations, booking accommodations and planning activities.
I decided on a driving tour of Nova Scotia. For us it was the perfect destination. We wouldn't have to loose a day on either end of our trip to catch a flight, there'd be no struggling with a foreign language phrase book to buy dinner and best of all its off-season, which equates to no lines, reduced prices, and hosts that are much less stressed out.
Does any of this sound familiar? It did to me. You see, as I was scurrying around online, booking our fantastic adventure, I realized that all of these things are considerations for most tourists who come to Cape Cod at this time of year. I started to analyze my process in booking this trip, and what I learned is quite interesting.
Book NOW!
I know you want me to call toll free and discuss my travel needs. If you can just get me on the phone, then I'll see what a wonderful place yours is and I'll just have to stay with you.
Wrong. I don't want to talk to you, that's what I'm online for in the first place. If I wanted to pick up the phone and chat, I would be using the AAA Guide Book, not the internet, to plan my vacation.
When comparing apples and apples, I almost always chose the company that had online availability and/or live booking of reservations right on their website. We've seen this predisposition turn into reality for several companies. When they've added a live availability and reservation system to their website (DORS is a good one), bookings via the website went up exponentially.
Be helpful
Another highly effective section to have on your website is information about activities in your local area. In my recent experience, sites that offered information about their local area were at least 50% more appealing than those who did not. As someone planning my trip entirely online, I am counting on you to be my AAA Guide Book.
If you own an entertainment business, tell me about restaurants and accommodations you recommend. If you're an accommodations business, tell me about restaurants and activities in your area. Whenever possible, provide links to these other businesses on your site.
This kind of thing is immensely helpful, and will often lead to a warm, gooshy feeling on the part of the travel planner, causing them to feel like they owe you something.
A great example of how effective local information can be is the inn we're staying at our first night on the island. I arrived at the Mountain Gap Inn's website and navigated to their “Nearby Sites” page. This page is excellent, it gave me a good idea of what kinds of activities I could expect to do if I stayed with them. It also lead me to the most exciting thing I had seen in a long time, Ocean Explorations. This company takes small groups out in a zodiac to go whale watching.
I knew this was something we just had to do on our vacation, and I was really thankful to the people at the Mountain Gap Inn for letting me know this possibility existed. I went back to their site, and although their website does not provide the option to book online, at this point I was more than happy to call toll free and book a room anyway.
The lesson in all of this?
Visitors to your website are willing to overcome obstacles (like not having a Book Now feature), but you have to connect with them on a deeper level to get them committed to staying with you. If you can provide both of these things, the ability to book online and information to get them inspired, then you've really got a winning formula.
So, in case you're wondering, here's our final itinerary:
Day 1
Overnight Cruise to Yarmouth, NS from Portland, ME aboard the Scotia Prince
Day 2
Zodiac Whale Watch with Ocean Explorations
Overnight at the Mountain Gap Inn
Day 3
Scenic Drive to Truro, NS
Overnight at Irwin Lake Chalets
Day 4
Scenic Drive to Dingwall, NS
2 Nights at the Markland Coastal Resort
Day 6
Scenic Drive to Kemptville, NS
Overnight at the Trout Point Lodge
Day 7
Yarmouth, NS to Bar Harbor, ME aboard The Cat
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 Tech Tip |
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by Michael
McGrath
I had a chat the other day with
a client about fonts and font sizes on the web. He's an older
fellow, like me, eyes not what they used to be, and wears
glasses as I do, although mine are bifocles now. Anyway, he
was wondering if we could up the font size on his web site
so he could see it better. Here is my reply:
“First, change the screen resolution of the system
you are using. Click the Start menu (lower left) and
open your Control Panel. On the Control Panel, select
Display. On the Display window that opens, click Settings. One
of the controls that you will see in that window is Screen
Resolution. Set it at 800X600, one of the more common
settings among computer land: then, set it at 1024X768.
You'll notice how changing the screen resolution settings
affect the size of the text as it appears on your monitor.
Now, an easier one. At the top of your browser (Internet
Explorer), one of the menu items is View. Click View
and in the drop-down menu you will see an item Text Size,
with five choices ranging from smallest to largest.
These settings will affect how large the text will appear
on your screen, too.
For those of you who want to fit more on your screen, choose
the 1024X768 screen resolution, understanding that the font
size will decrease. Those who want to increase their font
size, stay with the 800X600 screen resolution, and increase
your text size. Oh, and if you wear glasses and spend a lot
of time at your computer, make sure you have your lenses tinted
with an anti-glare application. Your eyes will thank you,
and you won't notice that end of the day headache any more.
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