REDMOND, Wash. -- Expedia .com said Web users no longer have to register
and provide personal information just to browse the site for
flights, hotels and car rental options.
Research by Jupiter Communications showed that registration
requirements deter on-line users, and Expedia said that its own
customers indicated that the registration "feels like an
unnecessary barrier."
"When you walk into a department store, clerks don't ask for
your name and password before letting you shop," said Erich
Blachford, vice president of marketing for Expedia.
In other news, Expedia said it is providing the booking services
for the new travel channel on Globalmecca.com, a Web portal tailored to
African-Americans.
Expedia and Globalmecca, which is based in Atlanta, said the
Globalmecca.com travel channel features destinations and events in
the U.S. that have historical and social interest to
African-Americans.
The site will highlight destinations that were significant in
the civil rights movement, for example, and it also will feature
business and social events such as the Black Ski Summit in February
at Copper Mountain, Colo.
Another feature of the site will enable users to post
information about large family reunions, enabling family members to
obtain details regarding the events and to make trip arrangements
from the same site, the two companies said.