Below is a sample image of the 4 badges that are available for our members. If you have an accommodation listed on TravelGround.com and you didn’t get your email detailing how to add one to your site, then drop us a mail!

TravelGround.com Membership Badge Samples

Choosing the winners

Since TravelGround opened only 6 months ago we have received almost 250,000 page views (see our blog post about our Traffic Growth in 2009) and thousands of accommodation enquiries, bookings and reviews. To choose the winners we simply calculated which accommodation establishments drew the most attention, potential bussiness and completed business in each region.

So, in truth we didn’t choose the winners – our users did!

The prize

Each winner has received a custom badge made for their website. Below we have a sample of the Award that was designed in-house here at TravelGround.com.

A sample of what each of the awards will look like when displayed in full

And the winners are…

We have 35 winners of TravelGround’s Most Popular Accommodation Awards for 2009. Each award is for a distinct region of South Africa. Click on any of the awards below to see the winner’s page on TravelGround.com.

You can have fun trying to figure out what the winner’s might have in common. You will quickly realise that the winners have extremely varied accommodations – from price ranges to star-gradings to service. Yet the specific prospects of each property drew guests to that page more than any in the surrounding region, and then prompted them to action. If you can figure out the pattern, please let us know!

From humble beginnings…

In March of 2009 we began registering accommodation establishments for our nation-wide South African accommodation website. In early August, less than 6 months later, we opened our brand-new booking service with 380 establishments. During that 1st month we had almost 3,500 pageviews. That traffic resulted in only 10 accommodation leads. Action was required!

To the present…

Today, TravelGround is growing faster than ever. Over the last 6 months we have added an additional 500 accommodation establishments and now list almost 30,000 beds in 900 accommodation establishments across South Africa.

In the month of January we had almost 90,000 page-views which represents an incredible 2500,00% increase in traffic over 6 months, but even more importantly we had over 1000 enquiries for accommodation.

For a more visual representation of our speedy growth, take a look at the graphs below:

In only 6 months our rapidly growing traffic has reached 90,000 pageviews per month, and is still growing fast.

Even after the busy peak season our number of website enquiries has continued to grow. In January, we generated over 1,000 enquiries, and we expect over 1,500 enquiries in February.

We’re excited about our growth thus far, but what really excites us is all the growth that lies ahead!

Inspired by how islands are able to capture the imagination of us landlocked folk we decided to collect an awesome illustrated list of the world’s 5 most interesting islands. So in no particular order, here we go!

Svalbard

Svalbard is an archipelago off the remote Northern coast of Norway, inhabited by a small population of only 2140 people (according to Statistics Norway). It is a place defined by dramatic physical beauty, fascinating facilities and being very cold. Really really cold. The sun simply doesn’t rise for two months of the year (apparently you just see a sort of pre-dawn glow on the horizon at midday!) and the average temperature for Summer is a chilly 5 °C  (41 °F).

Hopen, one of the Svalbard islands. Total permanent population: 4!

As a result of its remoteness and year-round low temperatures one of the islands in the archipelago (Spitsbergen) was selected as the location of a unique and potentially incredibly important project for the entire planet! This is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault – an armored bunker dug deep into the mountains to provide a permanently frozen haven for millions of seeds.

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Food crops around the world face a number of problems from diminishing genetic variability and so by taking a snapshot of all current types of crops we can ensure that it is always possible to at least re-introduce the genetic variants that are currently present. There are already so-called “genebanks” set up in many countries to safely store seeds in order to facilitate this but what was really needed was a secure “global backup” of these vital seeds.

The seed vault entrance. Courtesy of Svalbard Global Seed Vault/Mari Tefre

The Norwegian government kindly paid to built this secure facility in order to ensure that global crop genetic diversity should not be lost in the case of a massive regional catastrophe. The seed vault contains over 100 million seeds and is largely kept cool by its frigid surrounds – but also makes use of clever engineering and a cooling system to ensure that the seeds are always kept frozen. According to wikipedia, part of the vault’s operating costs are paid for by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation!

And if that wasn’t enough, Svalbard even has its own dedicated dual fibre optic cables running under the sea back to Norway. Despite the archipelago being property of one of the most economically developed countries in the world, this bandwidth is in fact not for residents to download movies at extreme speeds. Instead the connectivity is for a remote NASA outpost that supposedly tracks satellites in orbit above the Arctic Circle. We think, however, that this is probably just a cover story for something far more awesome!

If you’re interested in pursuing a degree in Arctic studies then the University Centre in Svalbard would be a good college choice! There are not too many students but the environs are just about unparalleled – UNIS is the northern-most university in the world. If you want to make your college experience seem a little tame read here how students must pass an Arctic Survival course in order to study at UNIS…

According to SkyScanner you can fly from Oslo to Svalbard’s main island for as little as $400 or so. The cost of living on the island is as high as can be expected considering that its literally on the edge of the Arctic – fresh fruit and most other amenities (except fish!) have to be imported.

St. Helena

Saint Helena was first discovered as a completely deserted island by Portuguese explorers in 1502 and is today a lively bustling metropolis of, err, well, 7637 people (according to the CIA World Factbook). It has an interesting history as it was used by the British as a remote prison where particularly troubling enemies could be kept in exile.

Saint Helena, photographed from the International Space Station by NASA.

The two most famous prisoners sent to St. Helena were the Zulu king Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo and none other than Napoleon Bonaparte. Dinuzulu spent 7 years in exile on the island for raising an army against the British in southern Africa while Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena after he demanded political asylum from the British following his army’s defeat at Waterloo. Napoleon ultimately died on the island and although his remains were later returned to France it is possible to visit the Valley of the Willows where he was first buried.

Zulu king Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo

There is no airport on St. Helena and so the only way you can access the island is via ship. The RMS St. Helena travels regularly between Cape Town, South Africa and the island and is the easiest way for tourists to visit this interesting place. If you’re looking for a chance to disconnect from the crazyness of the modern world for a while then a slow trip across the Atlantic on a cargo ship to the remote island of St. Helena is a pretty good choice!

Tristan de Cunha

Tristan de Cunha is another Atlantic island and is part of the same administrative region as St. Helena. This isn’t too intuitive considering that Tristan de Cunha is in fact 2173 Km from St. Helena. Even more crazy is that St. Helena is actually Tristan de Cunha’s nearest neighbor – making this small island the single most isolated spot in the world!

The island was first discovered by the renowned Portuguese explorer Tristão da Cunha – who promptly named the volcanic rock after himself. The 275 people who live on Tristan de Cunha today are mainly farmers or fishermen and have only 8 different surnames. Genealogical records indicate that it is likely that the current occupants of the island descend from only 8 males and 7 females who arrived at various times during the last two centuries. The descendants of these early settlers got television for the first time as recently as 2001 and don’t let any foreigners live permanently on the island!

Tristan de Cunha, as photographed from space by NASA.

35 Km south of Tristan de Cunha proper is a smaller and uninhabited volcanic rock that has been called Inaccessible Island ever since it was discovered by the Dutch in 1652. This island’s name combined with the fact that it is surrounded by massive cliffs pretty much says it all…

Easter Island

Easter Island is almost as remote as Tristan de Cunha and famous for having played host to a fascinating civilization that built the world renowned Moai statues. Called Easter Island after it was discovered on Easter Sunday in 1722, this island is the result of an ancient underwater volcanic eruption.

There is debate as to when exactly people first landed on Easter Island but estimates place the first settlers arriving sometime between 400 to 1200 AD. These intrepid islanders would have had to sail across a truly massive expanse of ocean before chancing upon this tiny island. The nearest of 3 different archipelagos that would have been inhabited at the time is over 2000 Km distant and the other 2 both over 3000 Km away!

The Moai statues were built during a surprisingly short period that seems to have ended quite abruptly. The majority of the statues did not even reach their final locations – instead they are to be found either partly completed in the quarries where the stone was obtained or lying on paths still on the way to the stone platforms they were usually erected on. The statues were also affected by a period of civil war in the 1770’s known as huri mo’ai, during which most of the Moai were toppled over by warring clans.

Easter Island Moai statues

There are a number of unanswered questions surrounding Easter Island – such as how to read Rongorongo, the native writing script which is made up of pictographs. These symbols are a puzzling phenomenon for anthropologists – who, despite numerous attempts, have not yet been able to decode the various pictures that make up the writing. Further questions surround the decline of the society that once produced the Moai. Early records from European ships that visited the island indicated it being quite populous, but years of internal strife, Peruvian slavers raiding the island during the 19th century and the introduction of diseases like smallpox ultimately reduced the remaining population to just a few hundreds. There are a number of theories on the initial causes of the decline of Easter Island’s society – for one point of view consider reading Collapse by Jarred Diamond.

Bazaruto

Bazaruto is part of a small archipelago that lies close to the shore of Mozambique. It’s interesting because its one of the few truly beautiful tropical islands that has not yet been swamped by tourists from all over the world.

The setting sun as seen from Bazaruto

I would tell you more about this incredible place, but I would hate to start creating hype about an unspoiled paradise. If you’re sufficiently interested in visiting this island then I’m sure you will be able to find it…

We are proud to say that over 80% of the accommodation establishments listed on TravelGround.com have Official Star Gradings, and over 95% of our graded establishments have been awarded 3-stars or more. In fact, almost 60% of our graded establishments have been awarded 4-stars or more. Below is a run down of what each Star Grading means to you

• Ungraded: Many ungraded establishments operate at Star Graded standards, however an Official Star Grading awarded by the TGCSA is the best quality assurance available. Basically, an ungraded establishment is more of a gamble.
  

• 1 Star: 1 star marks a plain and simple establishment with few frills. The accommodations are clean and the furnishings are of an acceptable quality, with a towel and soap in the bathroom.
  

  Tsalanang Township: 1-Star B&B

• 2 Star: A 2 star establishment will have furnishings of a good quality and a few more frills than at 1 star level, like an additional hand-towel and an included soap.
  

  41 on Cedar: 2-star bedroom

• 3 Star: 3 star rooms will be slightly bigger and may include extra furniture such as a desk. Along with a bath towel and hand towel, you will receive a wrapped soap or body-wash as well as a shampoo and conditioner. General levels of service in a 3 star establishment are very good.
  

  Sunbird Lodge: 3-star accommodation

• 4 Star: In a 4 star accommodation, general finishes and levels of service are of a superior standard. All rooms must include a work area with a desk. As well as the 3-star amenities, bathrooms here include a face-cloth and body lotion. In a 4 star hotel, there will also be room service available for at least 18 hours of the day.
  

  Hermanus Beach Villa: 4-star accommodation

• 5 Star: These accommodations meet the highest and most stringent of local and international requirements. A 5 star hotel will have 24-hour room service, and most will have health and beauty facilities on the property. In truth, every aspect of the accommodation is simply luxurious.
  

  Michelangelo Towers: 5-star luxury

The examples given above are only guidelines, as the requirements for star-gradings varies according to the type of establishment being assessed (e.g. Hotels have different grading requirements than Self-Catering establishments).

It may also be worth noting that the quality of the breakfast available scales up (from simple to luxurious) along with all the other aspects of the accommodation available.

If you would like to read more about star grading definitions, then visit the TGCSA definitions page.

• Settling in with the Swiss by Anneliese Mostert: 29-year old Anneliese has only been running the Settling in with the Swiss Blog since January this year, but she has already amassed some fantastic anecdotes of her life in Switzerland (and the temptation of encountering Swiss Chocolates at every turn!). Anneliese’s blog is kept lively not only because of experiences that feel so foreign to a South African (like heading up to Engelberg to witness the first snows), but also because each post is regularly peppered with photos of her new life in Switzerland.
  

  South African's enjoying a real Swiss Fondue

• The Canadian Chronicles: Observations of a South African Emigre: Geraldine’s blog is the story of a South African in Canada. There are the usual whimsical stories of day to day life as a South African in a far off land, but this blog can also be slightly more cutting than some of the others in our round-up. This is the kind of sarcasm that only a South African can achieve, and it can be absolutely hilarious!
  • “When you ask me if I’m Australian, it fills me with such joy. Especially if you ask me if I’m British, after I tell you I’m actually South African. It’s ok if you ignore my 4th generation South African roots, I really don’t mind. I mean, I’m practically a British citizen, aren’t I?“
• Greedy Gourmet: Always thinking of the next meal: The Greedy Gourmet Blog isn’t strictly a Travel Blog, but its a fantastically-well written site by a South African woman (Michelle) who married a Brit and now lives in Essex (where she claims there aren’t any decent restaurants!).  Michelle’s recipe’s are an exploration of the palette (or at least they seem to be as I haven’t cooked any of them myself), but the post’s that I’ve enjoyed the most are of her travels to France, including the Schengen Visa issues involved (agh!!).
  

  Michelle's (the Greedy Gourmet's) Creamy Asparagus Soup

• The Tales of Cherry-Blossom by Moyra Makina: Historically Moyra’s Blog is simply the tale of her life told for her friends and family, but it took on an exciting twist when she recently departed from South Africa on a long journey to Bali! Her posts are not fast and furious, but each entry is a substantial update, romantically recounted and covering all aspects of this bubbly personality’s adventures in tropical paradise. Her first encounter with Bali can be found here…
  

  Moyra's tough life of surfing in Bali

• Yours is the Earth by Andrew Barry: Andrew is a Saffer that recently landed himself a job for 2 years in New York City. This blog is brand new, but the first few post have been the perfect mix of story-telling and humorous observations. Being a new blog, this is the perfect place to begin following a Travel Blog… after all, the real fun is not in reading back over someone’s experience of a foreign country (you could buy a book for that), but in being involved in their experiences as they happen. And if the person is a South African then all the better!! If you would like to subscibe to the RSS feed of Andrew’s blog then click here. You won’t be disappointed.
  

  The view of NYC from Andrew's apartment in New Jersey

If you’d like to continue exploring some of South Africa’s best blogs of the year, then the South African Blog Award Winners 2009 is a good place to start (especially since that list includes 2 of our Top 5 Travel Blogs listed above).

TravelGround.com advertising big in the USA

When it comes to advertising, TravelGround.com doesn’t mess around! We’ve now been advertising for approximately 2 months and we’re achieving in the region of 400 highly targeted visitors per day from Google Adwords alone! So here’s to continuous growth of our online marketing!

You may decide to splash out and get a top web-designer to make you a fantastic website. And maybe its the best website in the industry – simple to navigate, easy to make a booking, all with high-quality photographs. You reckon that in no time at all, Google will send customers your way to fill your beds and increase your revenue.

But it doesn’t work out that way… Your website may offer a fantastic user experience, but most of the people who find it are probably directed there from your email signature, or your business card. It seems that your great designer failed to tell you that the accommodation industry may currently be the single most competitive online industry in the world. How can your one, lone establishment compete with the marketing budget and internet expertise of accommodation web-site’s that list hundreds or even thousands of places to stay?

The truth is that it cannot compete, but the truth is also that it shouldn’t want to compete – and I’ll tell you why…

You should concentrate on your core competencies. Your skills in the hospitality industry have probably been honed over years, and you have become an expert in your field. The experience that you offer is competitive and well placed in your market space. The truth is that marketing your establishment on the internet is simply not what you were trained to do – so why not hire the appropriate specialists to manage this for you?

There are many accommodation listing websites out there, and many are experts in their fields. They have committed teams of web-designers, programmers and server managers teamed together with booking agents, internet sales specialists and online marketing teams. But they come in two vastly different flavors: Commission based accommodation listings and Paid accommodation listings.

At this point it may be worth mentioning that I am not exactly unbiased when it comes to choosing between these two listing options. I am a member of a fresh-faced South African accommodation listing company hosted at “TravelGround.com”. We offer local establishment owners a marketing opportunity in exchange for a commission charged on all the reservations that we generate, and there are very specific reasons why, if I was in your shoes, I would always opt for the commission based option.

Commission based sites work hard to bring guests onto our sites. We only make money when we’re making money for you, and we can only make you money by bringing you bookings. Pay per listing sites, however, don’t need to work for customers at all. They have to sell to you, the hotel, b&b, guest house or self catering establishment, and then their job is done. You pay them upfront, often as an annual or once-off fee, and that leaves them totally unmotivated to bring you reservations.

You may think to yourself, “Sure, but at least pay per listing sites are cheaper.” In response to that, I say that you are sorely mistaken. Who in their right mind would offer to bring you business for X amount of money if they knew for a fact that they could make twice that if they charged you commission? No-one. If you are listing with a ‘cheap’ website, then they will not bring you business. They are cheap because they cannot attract customers – its as simple as that.

Do a simple search on Google for terms related to your area of the accommodation industry. Who buys all the advertising space? I can guarantee you that all the spots will be taken by websites such as ours – websites which survive on a commission basis. Advertising is expensive, and we can only afford to advertise because we represent a collection of hundreds of accommodations. We spend money to attract customers, because we need those customers to be guests at your establishments in order to make money. That is the kind of motivation that cannot be purchased with upfront payment – that is the kind of motivation that can only be obtained by dangling a carrot for every guest we bring your way.

When comparing the pricing of prepaid listing sites to commission based websites, it may also be worth considering who takes on the risk and who incurs the costs. When dealing with prepaid sites, the customer pays you directly, and the onus in on you to verify payment and cover all the payment processing costs. Commission based sites, however, contract with online payment specialists who can reduce the number of fraudulent payments suffered, and we absorb the banking and clearance costs. If fact, once processing costs and advertising costs are taken into consideration, our commissions are actually quite modest, and we still have to cover technological costs, staffing costs and all the other costs that any business incurs.

At the end of the day, I find it hard to understand how some establishments choose to avoid commission based online marketing when it is by far the most cost effective and measurable way to increase your enquiries and reservations.

At the end of the day, you should do what you do best – thrill your guests. And let us do what we do best – bring you online business.

]]> http://www.travelground.com/blog/2009/09/05/commission-based-listing-vs-paid-listing-in-the-accommodation-industry/feed/ 1 http://www.travelground.com/blog/2009/08/06/zissutravel-is-moving-to-travelgroundcom/ http://www.travelground.com/blog/2009/08/06/zissutravel-is-moving-to-travelgroundcom/#comments Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:06:25 +0000 TravelGround http://www.zissutravel.com/blog/?p=150

Welcome to TravelGround: your travel playground…

Behind the scenes, ZissuTravel.com has been re-branding… TravelGround.com is the result and the website will be moving across to this new domain today. But not to worry, all your old links to ZissuTravel.com will still function.

We’re open for bookings…

Despite the inevitable delays caused by the necessary re-branding and server upgrades, TravelGround.com has recently opened its much anticipated secure-booking system to guests from across the globe. We have ensured that the system is smooth and intuitive.

TravelGround.com now has almost 500 prime South African establishments listed on the website, and we are continuing to grow. We look forward to keeping focused on each and every establishment on our website, and giving personalised service to every user.

Today is one year to kick-off of the 2010 Fifa World Cup!!!

It’ll all get going at Soccer City, Johannesburg at 4pm on 11 June 2010, and today at 4pm citizen across the country will join President Jacob Zuma and a crowd of soccer lovers at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town to sing the national anthem in unison. Every home and workplace will sing along too the anthem’s broadcast over TV as South Africa counts down to what will likely be the biggest event that the continent has ever hosted!