Travel Happenings

Friday, November 18, 2016

Airbnb launches Trips to global travellers

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Airbnb has unveiled the most significant development in its eight year history as it moves beyond accommodation with the launch of Trips.

Bringing together where you stay, what you do and the people you meet all in one place, Trips is a people-powered platform designed to make travel both easy and magical.

The service launches with three key areas – Experiences, Places and Homes, with Flights and Services to be added in the future.

Trips will make travel magical again by immersing travellers in communities around the world.

Get unprecedented access to local passions and interests, like violin making in Paris or marathon running in Kenya; discover the hidden gems that only locals know about via personal recommendations; and socialise with other travellers and locals at exciting events.

Add that to three million bookable homes, and Airbnb becomes the one place to go for a truly different kind of travel experience.

"Until now, Airbnb has been about homes," said Brian Chesky, Airbnb chief executive.

"Today, Airbnb is launching Trips, bringing together where you stay, what you do, and the people you meet all in one place.

"We want to make travel magical again by putting people back at the heart of every trip."

Experiences

Experiences are handcrafted activities designed and led by local experts – be it a single activity like a Samurai Swordplay workshop or an immersive multi-day experience like learning about and driving classic cars in Malibu.

Experiences offer unprecedented access and deep insights into communities and places that you wouldn't otherwise come across, such as Truffle Hunting in Tuscany or the grime music scene in London.

Trips launches with around 500 Experiences in 12 cities worldwide, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Detroit, Havana, London, Paris, Florence, Nairobi, Cape Town, Tokyo and Seoul. From today, budding hosts in those and a further 39 cities worldwide can request to list their Experience.

Trips brings places to life through the people that live there, reflecting the recommendations of hundreds of thousands of Airbnb hosts, neighbourhood insiders and local influencers and is an alternative to aggregated tourist lists that funnel people to the same places.

With Insider Guidebooks, Airbnb has identified cultural experts and neighbourhood insiders to recommend the hidden gems within their city.

New service Blackbird to launch scheduled flights on small planes

Blackbird, a charter service that will sell regularly scheduled flights out of private terminals, is planning to launch in January.

The San Francisco-based company’s first flight will go from Silicon Valley’s Palo Alto to Truckee, Calif., near Lake Tahoe.

Six more routes within California and to Nevada are slated to launch later in 2017.

Blackbird flights will be booked exclusively on the carrier’s app, which is expected to be available for download at the beginning of January. The company will contract with a variety of charter airlines to operate its flights.

Blackbird’s business model is similar to a handful of other new airlines that are bridging the gap between commercial and private flying. Its flights will go out of private airports and terminals, where there is no TSA screening, allowing passengers to arrive just 15 minutes before takeoff.

The planes will have between five and 19 seats. Initial fares on the Palo Alto-Truckee route will be as low as $ 125 one-way. Flights will run Friday to Sunday to begin. No launch date has been set.

Along with commercial carriers, Blackbird’s California competitors will include the scheduled charter airlines JetSuiteX, which launched early this year, and Surf Air, which has been around since 2013. However, unlike Blackbird, Surf is a membership service.

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***A couple of errors on my part***
– The Manfrotto bag is 30L not 35L.
– The 16-35 lens is Mk I. There is no MK II.
– A tree trunk does not grow out of a tree log.

A new “What is in my bag” video. I get a lot of requests for this video and I thought it was about time I uploaded an updated version. This is a travel edition, therefore it does not contain every bit of photography kit, but hopefully it will be of some use.

My E-Book: http://geni.us/onlocation
My 2017 Calendar: http://amzn.to/2aQJj9T
____________________________________________________________
FAQ: http://www.thomasheaton.co.uk/faq/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ThomasHeatonPhotography
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasheaton
Twitter: https://twitter.com/theatonphoto
Website: http://www.thomasheaton.co.uk
Joe’s Video I mentioned: http://bit.ly/2fT1Fnh
____________________________________________________________

Below is most of the kit seen in this video. These links will take you to Amazon where you can read more. Please be aware that if you choose to purchase any of this kit I may get a commission of 3% from Amazon **Not my reason for doing the video, but feel obliged to let you all know** Peace.

Canon G5X – http://geni.us/CanG5X
Lacie Rugged Hard Drive – http://geni.us/Rugged
LowePro Bag – http://geni.us/ProTactic
Manfrotto Bag – http://geni.us/OffRoad
Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 Tripod (New Version here) – http://geni.us/ManfrottoTripod
Arca Swiss Manfrotto Ball Head – http://geni.us/c9eN
My "L" Bracket – http://geni.us/LBracket
Lee Field Pouch – http://geni.us/LeePouch
Lee Foundation Holder – http://geni.us/wKWK
Lee Polariser – http://geni.us/LeePol
Polariser Adaper Ring – http://geni.us/LeeAdapt
Lee MEDIUM Grads – http://geni.us/MedGrad
Lee Lens Caps – http://geni.us/LensCaps
Plug Bug – http://geni.us/PlugBug
G5X/G7X USB Charger – http://geni.us/G7XUSB
5D USB Charger – http://geni.us/5DUSB
GoPro Hero 4 Silver – http://geni.us/Hero4S
GoPro 3 Way Mount – http://geni.us/Mount
Gorillapod – http://geni.us/Gorilla
Audio Recorder – http://geni.us/AudioRec
Rycote Wind Jammer – http://geni.us/WindJam
Mic – http://geni.us/RodeLav
I also needed an adapter for the Lav Mic – http://geni.us/Adapter
Leatherman Skeletool – http://geni.us/Tool

Video Rating: / 5

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Lufthansa launches Mildred chatbot on Facebook

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The Lufthansa Group has launched a chatbot called Mildred, which searches for the cheapest flights within the next nine months.

Users can narrow their search results to specific dates and booking classes and, when searching for an airfare on the Facebook Messenger app, users can use the full name of their departure and destination airports, the international airport codes or their home city as the starting point.

The chatbot knows the nearest airport from which Lufthansa departs and can then find the cheapest prices for an outbound flight with a return flight seven days later.

The chatbot will usually look for a trip within the next nine months, however, if this is too far in advance, the dates can be narrowed down to a specific weekday, month or public holiday.

If a booking class is specified, such as Economy, Premium Economy or Business, Mildred will take this into account.

Users wishing to buy a ticket are redirected to the LH.com mobile website, where they can book the flights directly on their smartphone.

The avatar is a friendly lady with glasses and pink hair which is tied into a bun.

She can remember the chosen departure airport for 24 hours and answers all other requests from there.

The bot is based on a natural language processing platform, Wit.ai.

This platform, chosen by the internal team of developers, understands English as well as German and also recognises place names and dates.
Mildred's beta version is available now.

The team of developers has come up with and tested many different possible request wordings but in practice many more word combinations are used.

"The production depth of Mildred is already significant, but it is important for us to launch a beta version to give her the chance to learn. In the digital world, the speed and mind-set of start-ups counts, which involves quickly testing a new version and integrating feedback from the target group," said Torsten Wingenter, head of digital innovation at Lufthansa.

Mildred will initially understand German and English, and other languages will follow.

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THIS IS MY FAVOURITE COUNTRY I HAVE EVER TRAVELED! You simply must put the Philippines on your bucket list. The most beautiful landscapes and the most incredible people.

All Philippines Vlogs in the order they occured:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLztt-vtzUoNzB9jlF-a89ckwOltUGGYbX

This is just the beginning.
Subscribe!

Instagram LostLeBlanc
SnapChat LostLeBlanc
Twitter LostLeBlanc
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My Essential Equipment:
GoPro Hero 4 Silver (vlogging camera) http://amzn.to/2a3UqIU
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Video Rating: / 5

Booking.com for Travel Agents test launched

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Booking.com for Travel Agents test launched

Booking.com has announced the initial test pilot of Booking.com for Travel Agents, the first iteration of a new platform designed specifically with the unique needs of travel agents in mind.

The platform features a suite of easy-to-use tools that empower travel industry professionals to seamlessly make and manage accommodation reservations for their clients via Booking.com.

Booking.com for Travel Agents is an extension of the company's existing Affiliate Partner Programme and leverages technology and infrastructure being developed for Booking.com for Business.

Travel Agents who join the platform will be eligible for similar partner benefits as all Booking.com affiliate partners.

"We've seen increasing numbers of travel agents using Booking.com to manage bookings for their customers," said Bryan Batista, senior director of global partnerships at Booking.com.

"We're pleased to now offer professional travel agents a platform and a programme that has been created just for them, with the special features they need to easily book and manage reservations for their clients, as well as the choice, diversity and seamless experience that they've come to love and rely on from Booking.com.

"We're excited to continue innovating the platform, and are committed to adding even more useful features and functionality for them over the coming months."

Not only does the Booking.com for Travel Agents platform enable travel agents to view and manage all customer reservations via one handy dashboard, but it also includes a tab of customisable reports that fully support agents in monitoring individual client bookings, as well as providing them with a convenient breakdown of their earnings over time.

As with all customers who book via Booking.com, travel agents and their clients enjoy full access to Booking.com's diverse inventory of more than one million accommodation options in nearly 96,000 destinations in 227 countries and territories worldwide.

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Amadeus partners with UNWTO for Kenya tourism programme

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Amadeus partners with UNWTO for Kenya tourism programme

Amadeus, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, and the ministry of tourism of Kenya have agreed to work together to help young people and women in underprivileged communities access employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in the travel and tourism industries.

The pilot programme is scheduled for launch in Kenya before the end of 2017.

This initiative is expected to be followed up by the development of similar programmes for other emerging markets around the world.

Najib Balala, Kenya cabinet secretary for tourism, explained: "Tourism is a key backbone to the region's economic growth, with a projected growth of 16 per cent by end of 2016.

"This initiative enables us to empower women and our youth whilst building our local tourism and travel industry."

Amadeus will work with its customers to facilitate travel industry training to local participants.

UNWTO will provide access to UN agencies and other key partners to bring expertise on the ground to support this project.

Taleb Rifai, UNWTO secretary general, said: "Though in most regions women make up the majority of the tourism workforce, they tend to be concentrated in the lowest paid and lowest status jobs and perform a large amount of unpaid work in family tourism businesses.

"We thus need to work together to ensure women can access better jobs in tourism."

Tags: unwto, amadeus, kenya tourist board

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Viceland takes to the skies with British Airways

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Viceland takes to the skies with British Airways

British Airways is the first airline in the world to broadcast shows from the new lifestyle and culture TV network Viceland during their flights.

The partnership with VICE Media follows the successful premiere of its critically acclaimed channel launched earlier this year on SKY for UK audiences and its launch in the US and Canada, and brings its award-winning programming to a truly international audience.

Viceland features series examining every aspect of modern day culture, including music, food, technology, fashion and more, all geared towards young people.

Viceland's specially selected content is now available in the air on British Airways' long-haul flights, through its High Life Entertainment system.

A range of VICELAND programming on British Airways flights includes the VICE Guide To Film, Noisey, hosted by Zach Goldbaum, VICE World of Sports, Dead Set On Life, with Matty Matheson and Huang's World, hosted Eddie Huang, with a wide range of more shows to come.

Troy Warfield, British Airways director of customer experience, said: "We are incredibly proud to partner up with Viceland to offer unique content to British Airways customers.

"Their specially selected content, designed for a millennial audience, adds a fantastic new option through High Life Entertainment for British Airways customers who want to see the world from a fresh and challenging perspective."

Since launching earlier this year, Viceland programs have already won two Emmy nominations.

Led by co-presidents Spike Jonze and Eddy Moretti, Viceland launched in February 2016 in the US and Canada; the cable television network operated by VICE in partnership with A&E Networks in America and with Rogers Media in Canada.

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Image by pablo_marx

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

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Video Rating: / 5

Friday, November 18, 2016

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Thursday, November 17, 2016

Wednesday, November 16, 2016