OT - How do search engines work?

(Gotta insert here that the Alexis in Seattle is one whiz-bang,
top-of-the-line hostelry).

Bob Gardner

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:CC8xb.316648$Fm2.331014@attbi_s04...
Because the first couple of pages of hits are almost entirely hotel
guides
and travel agencies. It makes sense that people who travel to more than
one place will link to a guide or an agency rather than to one
particular
hotel.

Until I got into this biz, I had no idea what a total sham those on-line
hotel listings were. Most people don't realize that hotels must PAY to
be
on those so-called "impartial" hotel guides! Worse, services like
"Orbitz"
and "Travelocity" are nothing but giant scams. They demand 15% of
whatever
a hotel charges for each room! This means that any consumer can always
get
a MUCH better deal simply by calling the actual hotel, and speaking with
their local reservation desk.

The absolute best way to find a hotel on-line is to check the local
convention and/or visitor's bureau website. Almost every city has one, and
virtually every hotel/motel/B&B belongs to it -- so you get a true and
accurate listing of area hotels, not just the ones who decided to pay for
their position.

BTW: I just tried entering "Iowa City Inn" and **BINGO**, there we are! I
guess the Yahoo search engine is only seeing the title at the top of our
webpage, not the meta-tags I so carefully selected... Time to put
"hotel"
in our name, I guess! :-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"