Search Marketing Blog
The Best Travel Websites for 2009: Style, Intelligence, and Couches
Posted by Scott Fish on 03.26.2009
Finding the perfect hotel, hostel, or even couch for the night can be a time consuming project for any traveler. Luckily, The Times Online, one of the largest online newspapers in the UK, has released their list of the Top 100 Travel Websites for 2009. When planning your next trip, these highly rated sites are sure to add convenience, time-savings, and fun to your research and booking process.
As Director of Search Engine Optimization here at EngineWorks, I work closely with our world class resort and hospitality clients to improve their presence within the search engines, and to enhance the user experience on their sites, on a daily basis. Here are a few sites from this list of top 100 travel websites that I perceive can add value to your search for the perfect night’s stay:
i-Escape boasts the most stylish places to stay, offering more than 100 options that are fun and affordable. Hotels are rated based on their high points and low points. In addition, the imagery is enough to make you want to book a hotel today! i-Escape has a robust online community, where members offer advice on local restaurants and events in the area that you choose to stay.
Travel Intelligence offers thousands of hotel reviews that are written by a team of expert travelers and users. Interactive maps and other tools help you find the hottest hotel in any area that you plan to visit.
Mr & Mrs Smith isn’t just the name of a 2005 movie starting Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, it’s also a boutique hotel directory and review Web site offering plenty of options for the seasoned traveler. Drawing from the suave theme of this movie, MrAndMrsSmith.com promises to provide you with hand-picked boutique hotels, ideas for a romantic getaway, and guide you through booking luxury hotels anywhere in the world.
Looking for a bargain? HostelBookers offers a list of cheap and comfortable hostels across Europe. The list is extensive, including guest houses, cheap hotels, and bed & breakfasts. Each destination is rated by customers, and is bookable online. In addition, there is no log-in required and no booking fees – making this Web site very fast and well worth your time!
CouchSurfing shows you how to see the world, one couch at a time! The site’s online community has more than 1 million users, with roughly 24% located in the US. Casey Fenton, one of the company’s founders, stated that “The CouchSurfing Project has been my dream for some time. I’ve always wanted a way to get right to the heart of our culture, to seek out knowledge and to locate the most interesting people and situations this world has to offer. As a means of doing this, I started this project over four years ago.”
It’s important for me to note that at EngineWorks, we’re deeply immersed in the vibrant Travel & Tourism industry, providing interctive hospitality marketing services to numerous world-class hotel and hospitality companies. And, as you can see from this blog post, we also like to find interesting and fun Web sites to help travelers navigate the world. I hope you enjoy these favorite picks from this Top 100 list!
