Travel Innovation Review: Gliider

This is the first in a series of reviews of travel innovations presented at the 2009 PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Summit in Orlando. I will be reviewing those technologies I believe marketers of destinations, resorts and attractions should be watching.

What is Gliider?

Gliider is a Firefox plugin that helps consumer travel planners:

1. find and gather travel info from any site on the internet
2. share that information and collaborate with up to four people
3. gather travel advice from their social network
4. get travel deals specific to the trip plan
5. create a complete pdf of all their travel documents for the trip

How Gliider works

Gliider and emerging technologies like it sit in the vast void between content and commerce. Using simple drag and drop functionality, consumers can collect inspirational travel content, including:

• websites
• web pages
• text
• pictures
• video
• reviews
• ratings
• event calendars
• links

They can collect whatever content they find that can help them envision and plan their trip. They can share the information they gather with the trip decision makers and collectively weigh the pros and cons of each variable.

Gliider matches intention with inventory

Based on the consumer’s content selection, Gliider then serves travel deals from sites like Expedia and Travel Zoo that most closely match their selections.

Why Gliider is innovative

Currently, most travel planning websites start with the price of an airline ticket or hotel room. They completely miss the fact that consumers are looking for inspiration when contemplating a trip.

According to PhoCusWright, the average travel planning consumer completes 9 searches and visits 20 different sites before they book.

Gliider helps them organize the inspiration they seek, and find relevant deals to boot. And it incorporates social networking into the mix.

Why destination, resort & attraction marketers should care

Gliider and other emerging technologies like it feed on inspirational content. Companies like Google, TripAdvisor, Travelocity and Kayak don’t have the capacity to deliver the depth of content that consumers seek. But destinations, resorts and attractions are in the position to deliver it.

To take Gliider for a ride, visit the company's website.