Survey: More travelers are booking online

Survey: More travelers are booking online

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — The percentage of travelers making online airline, rental car and hotel reservations has increased 15 percentage points during the past year, according to a survey by J.D. Powers and Associates.

But bookings for independent travel Web sites have increased by only 1 percentage point since 2007, according to the survey, in its fourth year.

The survey found that overall, 70 percent of travel reservations were booked online in 2008, up from 53 percent in 2007. But only 16 percent were made through independent travel Web sites. Consumers who booked travel using an independent Web site also reported being less satisfied compared with 2007.

Sites run by airlines, rental car companies and hotels often guarantee lowest prices, which makes them attractive for consumers.

Prices contributed to the decrease in customer satisfaction with independent travel Web sites, but so did problems with excessive content, pop-ups and having to download new software in order to book, the survey found.

For a third consecutive year, Hotwire.com ranked highest among independent travel Web sites, followed by Priceline.com.

Neighbors block plans for ‘Villa Trap’ hotel

VIENNA, Austria — The Austrian city of Salzburg has blocked plans to open a hotel in a former home of the von Trapp family immortalized in “The Sound of Music” after protests by neighbors.

The “Villa Trap” had been expected to open this year in a quiet, upscale Salzburg neighborhood.

Area residents had feared tourists would tie up traffic and make a nuisance of themselves.

Hotel organizers say they will appeal the decision by the urban planning committee.

The home once belonged to the von Trapps. The family was made famous in the 1965 movie in which Julie Andrews played a nun-turned-nanny who cared for a widower’s seven children and fell in love with him during World War II.

Web site turns photos into unique postcards

LOS ANGELES — Next time you travel, consider sending your own photos as postcards.

A new Web site called HazelMail.com allows you to upload your pictures and mail them anywhere in the world, with a personalized message, for $1.50.

Company founder Michael Lato named the service for his mom, Hazel, who worked for the phone company and was big on communication with friends and family long before the Internet era. Lato said he discovered that she had saved every postcard he ever sent to her.

“Digital photos are ephemeral, but postcards can stick to a refrigerator door for a lifetime,” he says in explaining the company’s mission on its Web site. “I wanted to create a way for people to take a digital photo and turn it into a lasting keepsake.”

The company uses printers in North America, South America, Asia and Europe to create and postmark the postcards.

Turnaround time is four or five days, depending on local postal service.

The service is available in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, German and Spanish.

St. Louis upgrades its transportation hub

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis residents for years have boarded trains from a no-frills building known locally as the “Am-shack.”

Not anymore. After about two decades of planning and work, state and city officials opened a new, $28 million transportation hub downtown where commuters can catch the bus, light rail and Amtrak trains.

The new Gateway Transportation Center is a building where Amtrak, Greyhound, MetroLink and MetroBus converge. The new facility one block south of the Scottrade Center features 24-hour operations staff, security and food service.

Associated Press