After Google's recent takeover of DoubleClick, the company has opted to retire its ailing Referrals section of Adsense in favor of Performics / the DoubleClick Performics Affiliate Network.


A message from Google:

We're constantly looking for ways to improve AdSense by developing and supporting features which drive the best monetization results for our publishers. Sometimes, this requires retiring existing features so we can focus our efforts on the ones that will be most effective in the long term. For this reason, we will be retiring the AdSense Referrals program during the last week of August. We appreciate your patience during this transition and here are some alternative options to consider:

In January, we wrote about the new hotel school on the block in Nepal, GATE (The Global Academy of Tourism and Hospitality Education). Since then, GATE has made great inroads in the hotel management education sector in the country and established itself as a strong contender where the focus is firmly placed on the students. Here are a few recent photos provided by the school of the campus and facilities for readers.

Long-time Talent Jungle network partner Khem R Lakai interviews Mark Davidson in Nepal. Mark Davidson is a renowned Australian chief wine maker and Managing Director of Tamburlaine, the largest organic grape producing vineyards in Australia which is spread into over 140 hectors. Award winning organic series “Gestalt” ranges are already soaring new height in viticulture through innovative concept as the brand has made genuine commitment to minimizing its environmental impact over the past decade, analyzing each areas of its operations, including the vineyards, winery and waste management systems, to identify where improvements could be made. Revamping from the conventional viticulture to organic growing, Tamburlaine is working towards achieving a zero carbon footprints. 90% of wine produced in his vineyard is sold to the registered members only.

An interview with Swiss Master Baker Chef Willy Graf, who recently spoke to Food & Wine Magazine in Nepal. Mr. Graf has accumulated 11 international gold medals through his finest craftsmanship in bakery and chocolate arts in his near about 5 decades of career and has worked in leading hotels around the world and awarded for the same. Mr. Graf has not only worked together with leading celebrity chefs that includes internationally renowned names such as Anton Mosimann, Henery Haller and Kato Makoto, he has also leaded the most prestigious presidential banquet for John F. Kennedy, the former president of the US. We are glad to share his life long wisdom and tips for successful career.

Humane Touch of the Virtual Reality: By Luis Zapanta.

During my years of teaching English and Latin literatures, one of the favorite books my students loved to discuss is “The Prince” of Machiavelli. They always remember the line, “The end justifies the means.” Even until now, whenever I got a chance to talk to anyone of them, they would always quote Machiavelli.

Machiavelli’s thought is timeless and universal. As one who works on eCommerce, PR, and Marketing, I would say that there is a real bit of reality on Machiavelli’s thought with regards to the aforementioned fields. In the articles I have written earlier, “A Philosopher’s Take on the World of Internet Commerce and Ethics” and “The Challenge of Virtual Relationship”, I have tackled a part of the ethical side of eCommerce. Though, many eCommerce executives still face the challenge brought up in the said articles, there is another challenge to be faced…how should eCommerce be judged? Would really be ‘end justifies the means’ or the other way around?

New “Sheratonresorts.com” Invites Travelers to Customize Their Dream Vacation and Discover Unique Experiences at 62 Luxurious Resorts across Six Continents



Sheraton Hotels & Resorts invites consumers to discover unique local experiences and hidden travel gems with sheratonresorts.com, a new website dedicated exclusively to its global collection of premier resorts around the world. Leisure travelers can explore 62 unique local packages and search the Sheraton brand’s extensive collection according to specific interests. The launch of the new website coincides with Sheraton Hotels’ global initiative to enhance and differentiate the guest experience at each of its 406 hotels across 71 countries.

In keeping with the hospitality industry shift from selling rooms to creating unique experiences, Starwood Hotels & Resorts has re-launched its Luxury Collection website with a great new look and interactive features, rich content, a global cultural calendar and much more.

Four Points by Sheraton Chief Beer Officer Taps New York Cheesemonger and Home Brewer, Dan Suarez for Coveted Summer Internship: June 17, 2008 - Forget the filing and faxing, the Four Points by Sheraton's First Ever Best Brews intern is going to spend his summer tasting and toasting! Four Points by Sheraton Hotels today announced Dan Suarez as the lucky lager who snagged "the" summer dream job - learning about beer and helping Four Points hotels cultivate their Best Brews offerings.

The first Travel Distribution Summit for the Middle East region was held on Tuesday & Wednesday (June 17, 18) at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai. Organized by EyeforTravel, which also runs the popular TDS conference in London and other locations, this first-time event was well organized and a closer reach for most in the Middle East region. The event was moderated by Mona Faraj, previously with Rotana (and now with the new One to One Hotels in Abu Dhabi) and attended by a little over 100 attendees from a wide cross section, including eCommerce managers, eBusiness managers, revenue managers, distribution specialists and other corporate hoteliers.

The focus of the conference was undeniably on the hotel industry, with a token session on the airline industry that included Qatar Airways and Air Arabia. Also present were a sprinkling of OTA representatives and other travel suppliers, including WAYN co-founders Peter Ward and Jerome Touze, who seem quite eager to take on emerging Travel industry social media spend. It was heartening to see that more hoteliers in the corporate office are getting e-savvier about the role and importance of e-commerce and Web 2.0. Not many hoteliers seem sure about just what to do about these trends yet though...and there was very little concrete talk of cutting edge approaches or the sharing of existing best practices (possibly due to fear of competitive leaks in a shaky new environment!?).

A great new comedic spoof called "Hotelier Idol", that aims to further awareness about the Hotel Industry Jobs, Training and Retention crisis. Hotel recruitment is already a hot topic for debate in the industry, with traditional job markets coming into their own, rising living costs and new destinations cropping up. So is finding skill and training fresh hands to cope with demand...the site presents its first 'Season' called 'So you want to be a hotel general manager' with panelists and some rather unique and entertaining candidates. Enjoy! Visit www.hotelieridol.com

“We’ve come a long way, baby” claimed a high-spirited pop idol not so long ago, following up on the claim with an equally upbeat track. And so we have…in the world of Internet Marketing too. From the age of information (think glorified electronic brochure) on the web to the world of snappy online transactions…we’ve now moved into the age of an experiential and social Internet, all great leaps in a relatively short space of time. Hotel eMarketers can lay claim to that cheery phrase too, as far as marketing and distributing hotel rooms on the internet is concerned, in spite of the traditional, people-centric nature of the industry. But despite the eMarketer code to boldly go where no other hotel marketers have gone before, very few venture into the fuzzy world of online marketing beyond rooms.

Major travel and hospitality companies have expressed anger over Search Giant Google's stance on Piggybacking. A worrying issue for most big-brand search advertisers, a recent article on the Wall Street Journal "Google Search Ads Rile Its Big Customers" explains it:

Tensions over piggybacking have been simmering for a couple of years. Companies such as Marriott International Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and Northwest Airlines Corp. say the use of their names and slogans in the text of other companies' search ads confuses potential customers and increases their cost of doing business. They are particularly upset with Google, which is the dominant player in the search business.

A new site that caught our eye :) A place where hoteliers get the chance to review guests...in particular the annoying, unpleasable breed, classified as "hotel guests from hell". The official blurb on the site reads:

A site created to share stories about those guests that can only be labelled “Guests from hell”. This is a site for hoteliers, restaurateurs and those in the service and hospitality industry. It’s about time we had some place WE could review guests, sound off…and just take solace in the fact that we all have bad days where we have to deal with these characters. So log on…read up, chip in or sign up to submit your own stories. Visit: www.hotelguestfromhell.com

From Africa to Asia Ale Aficionados are Voting Around the World for their Favorite Candidate: Primaries and Super delegates are taking a back seat for sud sippers around the globe as the end of voting for the Four Points by Sheraton Best Brews Intern draws to a close. Who will snag "the" summer dream job? Will it be the Ivy League student from Cornell, an Aussie Lad who has sampled more than 1,000 beers, the "black sheep" of a sommelier family or the foodie from the Big Apple. Right now it's anybody's position, with almost 4,000 votes a day, 3 lager lovers are logging are voting every minute to make their voice heard.

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Microsoft Corp. announced today a partnership to implement products and services at the “Link @ Sheraton,” its signature communications hub rolling out in Sheraton lobbies this year. Under the agreement, Sheraton will also co-brand and rename the space “The Link @ Sheraton experienced with Microsoft.” The partnership is one component of a comprehensive effort to enhance and differentiate the guest experience at Sheraton's 408 hotels across 75 countries, currently rolling out globally.