Best online agent for Vanuatu?
BEWARE of Imitators, the world wide web is full of them!
In 2004 my wife and I set out to build the first true online travel service to Vanuatu in the world, from the country, Vanuatu.
We knew the task was a big one, hence we searched for (a) help on the internet technology side, (b) one who would also have the most experience in local travel, (c) they had also to be the most ethical company to work with. The choice was easy, we did not need to go any further after we found World Hotels
After many months of collaboration with the fantastic whl travel organization, our website was launched in 2005 and has been recognized as the only true online booking site for the destination for many years now. There are many reasons for this, not withstanding our immediate service 365 days a year by a real person IN the country that passes on real knowledge (not advertising dribble), and is here to takes care of its clients when they are in the country.
For the past few years the amount of imitators trying to pass themselves as us has flourished. You only have to Google “Vanuatu Hotels” and find how many sites now use deviations of our name with the hope of tricking viewers to think they are dealing with the real Vanuatu Hotels. The adding of a dot, a hyphen, or a letter is easy to do, some even copy our logos and our site colours. Many will copy our guides or personal hotel descriptions to redo a new mash with software for this purpose, many will simply take our images, or images we provide for free to the nation’s Tourism Office, ever trying to appear as authorities on the country when the high majority have never been here, or have any interests in providing a great holiday experience to their clients, the reason is that they are for the most part data bases claiming their “expertise of Vanuatu”, but have no humans involved. The web is a wonderful place for these sites to inhabit.
We are regularly contacted by some of the biggest online players and Overseas Tour Operators (OTOs) and be paid to respond to their customers enquiries in their name, in order to legitimize their advertising claims of “Vanuatu Holiday Specialists” and so forth….we decline their offers.
I guess copying is a form of compliment, but in business it is plain cheap opportunism based on greed, void of care for the consumer, resulting in creating distrust of online operators.
The ones doing the right thing by their clients are few and far between.
Unlike our imitators, we operate in total transparency, here are some disclosures: http://www.thetravelword.com/category/countries/vanuatu/
& : http://www.thetravelword.com/2011/03/30/whos-who-in-vanuatu-an-interview-with-a-local-travel-expert/
As we have built our service around what our clients needs we ask them to tell us what they think: http://www.vanuatu-hotels.vu/mpo_feedback
Our Facebook page is open to all: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=522850291 My personal LinkedIn is for all to see: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=63510458&trk=tab_pro
Our images of Vanuatu are for all interested in our beautifull country: http://picasaweb.google.com/vanuatutravel
From Port Vila,
Vanuatu.
John Nicholls.
Owner of Vanuatu Hotels
