Price is right for RSS feeds

Really Simple Syndication feeds look set to be the next online marketing medium for the travel industry. Speakers and delegates at last week’s Toward Europe Online Marketing seminar urged travel companies to use RSS feeds – a method of producing live links to a website – to distribute travel deals. RSS feeds can appear in…

Really Simple Syndication feeds look set to be the next online marketing medium for the travel industry.


Speakers and delegates at last week’s Toward Europe Online Marketing seminar urged travel companies to use RSS feeds – a method of producing live links to a website – to distribute travel deals. RSS feeds can appear in the form of an e-mail or a website which has links to a variety of other sites.


Google currently runs an RSS service that allows users to choose the subject they are interested in and receive stories on it from a number of websites, which are delivered straight into their e-mail inbox or RSS reader.


Cheapflights.co.uk chairman Hugo Burge revealed the travel deals publisher is set to launch an RSS feed e-mail which will be distributed to its database of customers.


The feed will include travel deals alongside editorial features, such as news on airlines, airports and any travel-related issues.


“RSS feeds are generally used for news or information but could work for prices and deals,” Burge said.


Digital media agency Tamar commercial director Neil McCarthy agreed. “They are a new fashion. People will read them when they want to as opposed to feeling they are an intrusion,” he said.


British Airways Holidays e-business development manager Ben Moss said he could see “a real application for them with travel prices.” However, Hotels.com marketing director Patrik Oqvist disagreed, arguing there may be a question mark over how many travel offers consumers would want on a feed