Individual Sessions: Innovative Websites

A quick overview of websites that you should know about:

Seat Guru (http://www.seatguru.com)
Great resource to help you find the best seat for your client.
Comparison of pitch, etc. at www.seatguru.com/charts/intl_economy.php

theAirDB (http://ww.theairdb.com)
Great resource about airlines and destinations, news and updates.
Allows search by country or search by airline

Kayak (http://www.kayak.com)
Great resource for research airfare particularly for agents who don't book air themselves.
"Chart View" lets you look at pricing trends on a timeline.
Somewhat similar to SideStep (http://www.sidestep.com)

Weissmann Reports (http://www.weissman.com)
Select by Country then "Add Destinations" to add in specific cities or areas
To customize: bring it into word, take things out that you don't want, add in your own header
"Agents choice" (button) has some good information
Also "Tools" (button) has some great resources

Star Service (http://www.starserviceonline.com)
Search can be tricky. Don't choose too many options. Start really general and then start adding more criteria to narrow it down. Completely independent reviewer. You can create a report and send directly to your client. Same as Weissmann, you can download and edit before sending.

Vacations-to-Go (http://www.vacationstogo.com)
Great information about cruises. Includes pricing for your information. It shows quickly who is selling where and when and general pricing.
http://www.vacationstogo.com/family_cruises.cfm for a nice grid about family cruises
AffordableTours.com is an alternative for similar info about tours

Maps (http://maps.google.com)
You can get custom walking maps, you can drag the route around, you can show "street level" view. Drag the "little man" around to see the view from where you walk. Can also see satellite view and do a "search nearby" to find restaurants, attractions, etc. You can save maps to send to clients and share them with others.

Virtuoso Life (http://www.virtuosolife.com)
You can view the magazine, bookmark a page, add notes to pages.

Yapta (http://www.yapta.com)
Find and track prices for airline tickets. You can set up alerts so you know when prices change.