So you thought Expedia was just a Web travel site? Well, so did I.
But now I discover, long after the fact of course, that Microsoft's
travel operation is spreading into other fields.
There's a national radio show called Expedia Radio and a
soon-to-be-launched magazine called Expedia Travels. But wait,
that's not all. Coming soon to an airport near you, the Expedia.com
Café.
Actually it's not coming soon to an airport near you unless you
live near San Jose, Calif., the heart of Silicon Valley.
But as Kenneth Smith of webtravelnews.com reports this week, Expedia
has cut a deal with HMSHost to operate airport Internet cafes using
the name Max's Opera Café, a well-known restaurant brand in
Northern California. The plan is to spread the "log on and tank up"
restaurant concept to airports across the country.
While Internet cafés been around for a while now, I hadn't paid
much attention to them until last fall in London when I stopped for
a snack before going to a theater near Victoria Station.
The restaurant shared quarters with an Internet café where
people could rent Web access by the half-hour. At about 6 p.m. on a
weekday evening, people were queued up waiting to pay for the
chance to log on.
Airlines are putting in technology that allows Internet access
and newer cruise ships have had Web-access facilities for a while
now. Add the surging popularity of wireless hand-held connectivity
and no one will be unconnected for long no matter where they
are.
There's no resisting the idea of ever-present connectivity but
somehow combining lunch with Internet access seems a step too far.
It sounds really relaxing to me, the notion of taking a few moments
out from the stress of business to muse about life over a
cappuccino and a croissant while reading e-mail.
But I've got to get with it. The crazy carousel is moving ever
faster and living without the wire is no longer an option.
So here's to Expedia.com cafés wherever they may spring up. I'll
have a bologna on roll, a cup of tea and America Online.