The travel industry is changing rapidly. It used to be if you were planning a vacation or making a flight reservation, you'd call your travel agent. That all changed with the introduction of the Internet and online travel companies like Expedia and Travelocity. Sure, some of their specials are great, but if you're booking directly with them, you're not always getting the best deal. Think about it. These companies spend millions of dollars on advertising. ... http://www.squidoo.com/timefortravel Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:27:30 -0600 FeedCreator 1.7.2 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:28:10 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/timefortravel The travel industry is changing rapidly. It used to be if you were planning a vacation or making a flight reservation, you'd call your travel agent. That all changed with the introduction of the Internet and online travel companies like Expedia and Travelocity. Sure, some of their specials are great, but if you're booking directly with them, you're not always getting the best deal. Think about it. These companies spend millions of dollars on advertising. And guess who's paying for it? More than 200,000 brick and mortar travel agencies have closed down since the introduction of Expedia, Hotwire, and Priceline. But the truth is, even these online travel giants are losing market share. Why? Because now it's possible for people to purchase travel through their own booking engines. In the past couple of years more than 135,000 people started home-based travel agencies with personalized booking engines, and that number is growing every day. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:28:10 -0600