Discount Hotels from 2ClickTravel.com

HotelAuthority.org - a new nationwide travel site

2006-07-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Seems like it has been forever and a day since I have posted on this blog. After feverishly building one destination site after another I decided to take a small break. Not really a vacation, this month long slowdown allowed me to focus on just 2 sites, my chef site (aGreatChef.com) and a new, nationwide travel site. HotelAuthority.org is a bit different than the destination sites in the past as my wholesale partner has made vast improvements to their system and the range of products they offer.

Rental cars - rental cars are now available on all destination sites.
Flights - Flights has been enabled on HotelAuthority.org.
Attraction tickets - are now available outside of the soCal entertainment area.

With these additions, this new site offers a great alternative to the large corporate sites and is independently owned and operated. If you are looking for great deals, wanting to pay less in fees and are sick and tired of large corporations then this site may just be for you.

HotelAuthority.org currently offers hotel reservations in the US and Canada. Mexico is next in line for activation and should be live by the fall. Please check this site out and if you have any comments I would love to hear/read them. Just post it to this entry and I will respond in due course.

HappyTravels,

theGuru

Yahoo Farechase is a scam!!!

2006-05-25T00:45:00.000-07:00

OK...So here is the deal...

Yahoo has the marketing power of millions of dollars behind them, and with MSN gaining ground they are running scared.

I checked out their new service (if you can call it that) and have found the following,

San Diego to Kahului Maui...Aloha flies direct.

Yahoo Farechase - 575.00,

Aloha airlines- 542.00,

I guess what this says it that Yahoo is nothing but a scam site backed by alot of marketing. Search the independent travel sites and you will save $$$, just as this example illustrates.

Happy travels and boycott Yahoo's new scam travel search engine!

theGuru

New Hawaii sites and great hotel deals!

2006-05-04T04:50:00.000-07:00

So I have been working my @!$% off and have not been posting but...things have been getting done. I have rebuilt the sites for Kauai, Maui, Wailea and Hawaii. Along with the new look and feel, there is some new content too.

Please check out these sites if you are planning a trip to Hawaii. I am going back to Oahu for 3 days for some sun, fun and a bit of work, so look for some more photos and great content when I update the Waikiki Beach site soon.

theGuru

MSN beats Google and Yahoo on search.

2006-05-04T04:41:00.000-07:00

Not that I have said this before, but I have been saying that Microsoft's new search engine (they finally built their own) was displaying better and more relevant results that the other, old and tired search engines. Sniff around this blog and you will find the page that I discuss this subject and sorry for the use of some of the language;).

Anyway I have been vindicated as someone else believes this too.

MSN Bests Google & Yahoo in Search Shootout

Interlink, a Cincinnati web marketing research, search engine optimization and consulting firm, recently ran some tests to assess performance of major (and minor) search engines. Surprisingly, MSN took top honors in relevancy.

"MSN bested the top two search providers, along with Ask, AOL, Gigablast and Wisenut, when all five factors were considered: relevancy, freshness of content, failure rate, difficult search results, and non-organic or extra features. Difficult searches were queries such as "car dealer fargo north dakota" and "appliance repair des moines".

Please check this engine out, if you do not already and enjoy watch search was meant to be.

Here is the link to the entire article,

http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060502-164321

theGuru.

Global warming and Hawaii

2006-04-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

So we all know about the effects of global warming...right? Strong storms, melting ice and more freaky weather than you can shake a stick at. So it should not come as any suprise that Hawaii is having its share of wierd weather (which at the time of this writing should be passed). Here are a few things that have happened in Hawaii in the last 60 days...

1. About a month ago a 100 year old dam on Kauai broke, killing a few unlucky folks and flooding a small town.

2. Kauai also (this week) received 92 inches of rain. That's right 92 inches!

3. Storm runoff flooded the city of Honolulu's sewer system, dumping raw sewage (ew) into the Ala Wai canal. The canal runs to the ocean in the middle of Waikiki beach....so the city has posted signs reminding tourists and locals to stay out of the water.

4. Most of the airlines have discounted tickets, both interisland and from the mainland. Who says global warming is bad.

The interisland flight discounts are a sort of fare war, as a new interisland airline has stepped into themix with SouthWest airlines type fares. Go! airlines, part of the Mesa air group is now offering 39 dollar interisland fares....all the time. The flights dont go until June 9th, but you can still get these tickets now and on the cheap. Here is the link to the site,

http://iflygo.com/

Sure beats paying 78 dollars a flight. This has nothing to do with the weather and doesn't effect your trip before June but...some of the hotels are a bit nervous at the moment. Seems that the sun hasnt been out much so the hotels are offering deals, deals, deals.

http://hotels-in-honolulu.com offers great Honolulu hotels, and does offer hotels throughout the islands with discounted, pre-negotiated rates. If you are thinking of heading on over to Hawaii now is the time to go, as everything is now on the cheap.

theGuru

The demise of Yahoo Search

2006-03-29T18:56:00.000-08:00

So Yahoo has claimed that they have updated their index as of yesterday. I think update is a play on words. This was once a great search engine, now it is (much like our gov't and Duke Cunningham) run by special interests and is not offering up even close to the most relevant results that they should.

Well how could this be you ask.

So what Yahoo has turned into is a pay for placement search engine. That means that the boys and girls up in Sunnyvale have sold out the Internet as it was once known. Yahoo is now on a path of turning into a very large affiliate marketing company veiled as a search engine. Follow this link to see the companies offerings,

http://docs.yahoo.com/info/affiliates/

I guess since Google is kicking their ass not only in search and in Technology advancement (and so is MSN!), but in serving up relevant results and offering new/updated sites a chance to be seen that Yahoo had to do something. But this, come on. I believe that Yahoo thinks that we, the Internet public have a "herd mentality" when it comes to search. Do they really think that we will buy the crap that they serve up as results forever? So if you have a shitty site and a pocket full of cash head on over to Yahoo, as they will be glad to take your money.

You would think that just having a great search engine that serves up relevant, organic listing would be enough. Great relevance means more traffic...means more cash in advertising...means more visitors...means more cash in your pocket at the end of the quarter. But not Yahoo, noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. If I wanted to eat a chocolate covered shitcicle I would, but I like 50/50 bars and I am not now, or in the future going to buy into the scheme that Yahoo offers a great search engine. I once did, but no longer.

Thanks guys (and girls) for finally selling out the Internet. I hope that you all, including Duke Cunningham and Jack Abramoff can all play shuffleboard at the Palo Alto country club and have lunch at Blue Chalk. You certainly deserve it. Yahoo will then be an affiliate marketing company and we all will sit around and laugh about what a crappy search engine you were, much like we all laughed at Pets.com and that stupid little puppet.

Hey, speaking of puppets...

theGuru

Some fun with Search

2006-03-25T23:32:00.000-08:00

OK,

So I am leaving to go fishing this am (in 4 hours) and stumbled on this and thought I would share it.

MSN is offering prizes, yes free stuff for those who try out the new engine. If you have read this blog you will know that I like the new results (all the moldy old websites are GONE!!!) so follow this link,

MSN search

Good luck and happy searching. I am off to catch some zzzzzzzzs b4 the fish bite.

theGuru.

Hawaii

2006-03-25T15:39:00.000-08:00

So I have been working on some of the Hawaii sites and found out that Aloha is having another sale on interisland flights. 39 bucks each way isnt too bad to get from the big island to Kauai. But enough about that. I have uploaded some photos in and around Honolulu on the Oahu Hotel Authority's site, OahuHotels.org. They are set up as wallpapers (free) for your noncommerical use. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did making them. Follow this link to check them out, Oahu pictures.

I just finished the "new" Honolulu and Hollywood sites (new look and feel) and have been working 13+ hour days to get them done. Follow these links and leave a message to let me know what you all think! Here are the links, Honolulu hotels & Hollywood hotels. Now its on to the Phoenix, Portland & Anaheim sites before I get into building the sites for Branson and Phily. Then its a redo of the .ws sites and quite possible some time off. Can you believe!

theGuru

San Francisco

2006-03-20T21:47:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wanted to head off to the city by the bay for a couple of days of R&R? Ya know, great dining, hop a boat to Alcatraz, maybe take in the Farmers Market at the Ferry building or rent a car and run up for some wine tastings in Napa. Well I sure have lately and with a little thought I bet you would too.

I had an old site for SF (I lived there for 8 years) and I have just created a new template. It's amazing to me that after 6 years away, writing about a destination could bring back so many memories. Great Italian food in North Beach, the Wharf for dungeness crab and clam chowder, Union Square for shopping and a drink or 2, baseball with the Giants and Chinatown dim sum. Now I am really missing it and my start to plan a trip to see some old friends in April.

If you are looking at visiting San Francisco soon, check out my travel site. I have tied into a great hotel database and with rates that beat the big 3 on hotels and attraction tickets it will be well worth your time. Have a warm bowl of chowder and let me know how your trip went. Here is the link to the site, San Francisco hotels.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy SF!

theGuru.

Search engines and finding the best travel deals.

2006-03-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

Search engines have been on the scene for a bit over 6 years (google came in around 1998) and they help many of us on a daily basis. Finding recipes, people, locations, they seemingly are magical and can find everything. But they do have a dirty little secret...

Did you know that many engines (Yahoo, soon MSN and the big G) all offer a way for a site to be listed above many qualified sites by paying a per click fee? That's what I thought, many do not know this.

Within the travel world there are plenty of people (myself included) who have spent years learning SEO (Search engine optimization) and how to get a great site in front of your eyes. Great content was the way, now it seems that more and more of these engines are looking for a fast buck vs offering you a great quality site. There is a way that you can combat this "sell out" and still find great web sites that are new and offer quality content. That is, believe it or now is by using MSN.

MSN says that they will start offering 25% of their listings on a pay per click basis, but this is not scheduled to go into effect until the summer. With a new algo and a clean, fresh look MSN is your best bet on finding quality new sites. Yahoo is the biggest culprit of selling out and, for the most part (with G) offer old sites, old content and old ideas.

When you find a great site...Bookmark it! Then you can always go back and visit it from within your bookmarks and you do not have to search for a site again. Continuing to visit and purchase goods and services from specific web sites helps keep the little guy in business and helps to foster diversity on the web. Just think if all your travel was bought on one site, there you be not reason for anyone to go out and create good travel content or finding that new, special place that is a must see.

Thanks again for visiting this blog and I hope that you all find one of my travel sites worthy of not only your time, but your business.

Cheers!

Denver hotels and Hotels in Denver.com

2006-03-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

One of the first travel sites I built years back has been updated! I have added the v2 template to this site and will be switching over the other, old sites this week. Wanna take a look see? Follow this link,

Denver hotels

There is also now a small city guide. I will be traveling to Denver when it warms up a bit and will have a great, in-depth city guide then (sometime in the summer).

Thanks again for stopping by and Happy Travels.

Hotels-in-Fresno.com is now live!

2006-03-07T16:58:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

I have just completed a site for Fresno CA, the gateway to Yosemite and Sequoia/Kings Canyon National parks. If you are looking for Fresno hotels just click that link and check out the site. I will be filling in this site with more content on the parks and other attractions in the Sierra foothills soon. As always, I am open to your suggestions for sites/content.

FYI, the Fresno county Blossom trail is coming up. It's a great time to visit and take in the sights and smells of spring. Interested? Click here for more information on the Fresno Blossom trail, and remember to book your hotels through Hotels in Fresno.com, your LOCAL Fresno hotel guide!

Hope this finds you all well and I am looking forward to seeing some of you traveling very soon.

theGuru.

Cheap airfare to Hawaii!

2006-02-19T15:19:00.000-08:00

It seems tht now is the time to get your aloha on. United and Aloha airways are offering great deals on air to the islands.

United travel window is outbound by the end of March and Aloha's is split (end of March and the last 2 weeks in April). For more details check their websites.

Hotels are then a must have. Follow these links for hotels on the major islands.

Hawaii hotels

If you are looking for some photos/information/a great travel site on Kauai, Maui and Oahu just follow the links.

Mahalo;)

Sea-Tac-Hotels.com is now live!

2006-02-14T10:28:00.000-08:00

I have just finished up a site for Seattle and Tacoma, Sea-Tac-Hotels.com. If you are looking for Seattle hotels or Tacoma hotels you might want to check this site out.

Happy travels!

Happy Valentines day!

2006-02-13T23:44:00.000-08:00

HVD! I hope that you all thought about a trip for your V day present. What better way to say I love you than a 3 day trip to Hawaii or a weekend in San Diego?

If you didnt book it then you blew it...cause there is nothing better than travel!

So you like traveler reviews huh...

2006-02-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

So I just got back from a photo trip to Arizona and found this article a bit disturbing...to say the least. Here is the link to the NY Times,

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/business/07guides.html

It is on how hotels basically bribe guests to go to TripAdvisor or IgoUgo and fake reviews of the hotels.

Just when you thought that these were real, and another reason to check out my sites to get real (and honest) information.

Here is the latest hotel/travel site I am working on. San Diego Hotels. This is still a work in progress but most of the site will be up by weeks end.

Another site, Oahu Hotels .org is ranking #6 in MSN as of 7 Feb 2006. Check it out if you are going to Oahu soon.

San Diego in January

2006-01-24T23:36:00.000-08:00

Well, its been one heck of a January here in SD. No rain, plenty of sun and temps in the high 60's. Its hard to believe that there is no one in town right now. Visitors are not around, and with the cheap hotel rates and no rain for quite possibly the next 2 weeks I find it hard to believe that anyone would miss coming down here for some fun in the sun. I am in the process of redesigning 12 web sites, and slated for an early conversion is this one, San Diego hotels. The new template is like this one, Temecula hotels.
If anyone has any input on this new template I would love to hear it. I have also been working on another template for the HotelAuthority.org campaign. This one can be seen at Oahu Hotels or Chicago Hotels.
Well its time to get back to work, another late nite it is turning out to be.

The Guru

Hotel Reservations & Travel deals from 2ClickTravel.com

2006-01-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

Hi there!

We at 2ClickTravel.com have created this blog to keep you up to date on fantastic travel deals that we may & you may not know of, new destination travel site marketing that we may have completed, updates and finally where you, the travelers of the world can find the best rates from an independent company that is NOT park of some big corporation (though we are incorporated ;)).

We will be setting up RSS/XML feeds from all of our exsisting sites that will cover that destination and all destinations that we have current travel sits for. With more sites coming online, 2006 looks like an exciting year for both us here at 2ClickTravel.com and you, as you will get to see first hand some of the best travel destinations and deals anywhere on the net.

We have spent years contracting with hotels around the country to bring you great, discounted hotel reservations and travel deals. While we are not Expedia, Travelocity or Orbitz, we do offer better deals overall...but more about this in another blog.

Thanks again for stopping and Happy Travels.

The Guru