Online Travel Websites

I read an article in the New York Times online entitled Online Reviews of Hotels and Restaurants Flourish. Am I the only one who thinks the New York Times is a droll, boring newspaper filled with droll, boring stories? They completely ruined a terrific topic.

The main gist of the story is that online travel sites are really starting to take off. Stephen Kaufer’s TripAdvisor was spoken of. I like TripAdvisor, and wrote my first hotel review on it, a few days ago. The information is not quite all-encompassing (I noticed that TripAdvisor did not list all hotels in the Corning, NY, area), but it’s a wonderful resource.

Traditional print travel guides, whether in book or periodical form, are usually written and edited by travel professionals — some of whom regard the growing online travel review sites as interlopers that barged onto their turf like boisterous day-trippers piling out of their Winnebagos and plopping down next to the members of a beach club.

But Mr. Kaufer argued that online sites have advantages over written guides, including the fact that the Internet reviews are often more immediate and tend to be punchier than guidebook listings.

I don’t mind being a boisterous day-tripper piling out of my Winnebago. I’d love a Winnebago to boisterously pile out of.

But the divide between “professional” travelers and us boisterous day-trippers is summed up in one word: m o n e y. The “pros” aren’t better travelers than Ma and Pa Winnebago; they just get paid to travel and write about it. If anything, I appreciate input from Ma and Pa before I’ll take the word of a sponsored, sushi-eating, fancy-hotel living “professional.” Not that all professional travelers are like that. But if they are allowed to create stereotypes, why can’t I?

The divide is a ridiculous one, crafted for sensational broadside news. Isn’t the goal to travel? And don’t Ma and Pa Winnebago travel just as much as professional travelers travel? And can’t they both offer good information and advice? As for me, I think the charm of my blog is that I am a simple woman, traveling simply, offering entertainment and tips about simple trips, all in simple language.

It’s just like that, you know. Hail the Winnebago jet-set crew!