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March
19, 2002
Ibart
Offering Online Hotel Booking System
Ibart,
a Chicago-based online barter platform, looks to help the beleaguered
travel industry move its excess inventory. Its online barter booking
travel application was designed specifically for hotels and resorts,
and was launched on March 6 during the Comdex show in Chicago.
Reportedly, the
Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association has already offered Ibart 4.0
to all 1,200 of its members. In April the company will launch a program
designed specifically to help Las Vegas fill 1 million empty rooms in
2002.
Our
Challenging World
According
to Brent Scowcroft, a former Air Force general who has advised presidents
for 30 years and served as national-security adviser to Gerald Ford
and the first George Bush, the world is growing more fractured...not
less. And economics and technology are exacerbating tensions in some
respects.
"For 20 or
30 countries, globalization offers the promise of greater integration
and greater prosperity. However, for the rest," he contends, "it
means the approach of a world that is just beyond their belief. And
they don't even know how to cope with it."
The answer is for
the U.S., and the more fortunate others, to become actively engaged
in helping the world develop in an increasingly healthy way. It's a
monumental challenge given that about 1.2 billion people around the
world live on less than $1 a day, including more than 200 million in
China.
BexB
of Italy Moves Forward
Corporate
barter in Europe continues to grow as evidenced by Business eXchange
Business of Italy, founded in the spring of 2001. It has published a
list of the company's shareholders, as well as the built an integrated
platform for the management of corporate barter in Europe.
The company was
funded, including pre-startup funds, at close to one million Euros.
For more information see their web site at www.bexb.it.
IRTA
Makes Enticing Offer For New Members
Michael
Mercier, IRTA membership chairman, is making an unusual offer to the
commercial barter industry. According to Mercier, IRTA's membership
was hurt badly by the September 11th attack...just one week before their
annual Barter Congress (convention).
"We have an
incredible membership opportunity for first-time IRTA members--$250
cash and 100 Universal Currency," Mercier announced. For further
information call: 1-888-LetsTrade.
- A Texas-based
strategic marketing firm, VisionEdge Marketing of Austin, reports
that many companies will fail to achieve their sales objectives for
the first six months of 2002. Not because of a soft economy, but because
they did not plan adequately to deal with lengthening sales cycles
and sales lead pipelines.
VisionEdge also
stated that companies appear to be hoping for miracles in 2002,
in that 52% of the companies surveyed are attempting to achieve
higher revenue goals with the same or less marketing budget than
last year.
Of equal concern
is how companies are planning to generate sales leads. The two most
frequently mentioned methods were cold calling by field sales forces
and trade shows--both of which are costly and time consuming.
The focus after
the middle of last year was on reducing expenses, which meant slashing
marketing budgets and headcount as well as closing deals already
in the pipeline. So, for many companies, the marketing engine is
getting cold, and restarting up the engines will require time that
many companies haven't factored into their forecasts.
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A group of law
professors are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to
adopt tougher rules requiring corporate lawyers to expose clients
involved in financial frauds. Current ethics rules give lawyers
discretion when it comes to notifying boards about frauds as long
as they act in the company's overall best interests.
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The end of commissions
to travel agents by the airlines will mean upwards of $3 billion
in annual savings for the U.S. airline industry, which paid more
than $3.5 billion in commissions last year.
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The fear of
terrorism has taken an enormous bite out of tourism in the Big Apple...five
million fewer visitors went to NYC in 2001 than in 2000! And the
city isn't expecting much of an increase from that level for this
year, especially among international travelers.
There is a big
push underway to bring both the Super Bowl to New York in 2007 and
the political conventions in 2004. In the meantime, barter accommodations/availabilities,
heretofore nearly impossible in NYC, are available.
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Central bankers
of the world's major economies are more optimistic about the prospects
for a global recovery, but are cautious about the strength and sustainability
of a rebound.
The Bush administration
is proposing that as much as 50% of future World Bank assistance
to the world's poorest countries be in the form of grants that won't
have to be repaid....as loading these underdeveloped countries down
with debt creates additional problems.
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Now, more than
ever, promoting barter will pay off. Trade exchange owners looking
for a proven way to motivate their client base and stimulate
more trading activity can obtain a copy of the 16-year-old, proven,
informational marketing tool: The Competitive Edge newsletter.
The Competitive
Edge is designed to be mailed to clients and prospects because research
among the exchange owners shows that only a third of their members
receive e-mail. Now available in PDF (Acrobat) format.
E-mail
bmeyer@barternews.com for a sample copy and details. (Be sure
to include your complete mailing address and phone number in your
e-mail.)
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