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In the Lounge
helping small businesses in travel & tourism with online technology

spring has sprung

In This Issue

A Word from Andy
Hi All,I’m sending you this month’s newsletter with lots to say (although that’s not very unusual). I’m fresh from South by Southwest (SXSW), a life-changing experience for me, a place where people were sharing ideas and passion for doing great things.

First the Bad News

I flew United Airlines yesterday leaving Austin, and it was one of the worst travel experiences in memory.  Has this really want the airline industry has come to: a cheap commodity?  The details of what happened aren’t important, but what is important is this: don’t ever create an experience so bad your customers’ friends start a rallying cry, online or offline.  Problems will happen, but deal with them promptly and swiftly.

And the Good News

SXSW was so incredible, it’s almost hard to describe.  I learned a lot of lessons, which I’ll be sharing as articles in the coming weeks.  But a few takeaways I wanted to share with you right now:

  • Go and find like-minded people.  NOW. My mistake was focusing my search on people in the same industry or geography.  At SXSW, I found lots of people who are in different industries but who really taught me a lot because we were on the same wavelength.
  • Everyone is scared.  And Excited.  Join the party. I found out that lots of people say that business has been rough but at the same time amazing things are happening. Fear is not an excuse to hide – use it to push you forward.
  • Social media is great, but it isn’t everything.  Hospitality happens in person, and so does building relationships.  The power lies in the combination of social networks as well as good old fashioned talked on the phone or meeting in person.

Onwards and upwards.
Andy
Managing Director, Travel Online Partners

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Have you tried a TOP DIY Guide?
The TOP team is super busy putting together more of our popular DIY guides.  Have you taken advantage of these cost effective learning resources?  We’ve got guides covering hot topics like search engine optimization, online writing, travel marketing advice, and brainstorming great online promotional ideas.

Stay on TOP of the competition and click below on any of the images below to learn more. You can download your copy immediately and start using them today!

DIY SEOWright Right Online

Fun and Effective Ways to Promote How to Nail Marketing in Unfamiliar Territory

Freaking out that you don’t even have time to read one of our guides?  No sweat:  our TOP Travel Business Toolkit will help you prioritize and get things back in control.

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Latest TOP Articles
Did you catch this month’s TOP Radio podcast, Do you need online reservations?  It was a very good discussion with booking tool expert Alex Bainbridge.

We’ve had a few other popular articles this month, including:

Did you know that if you have an RSS reader, you can subscribe to article updates? It’s a great way to get timely updates on articles when they come out.  (If you don’t know what an RSS reader is, click through to the page, where we explain it all.)

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