I just saw this “behind the scenes” Travelzoo video, and learned a few new things. I had no clue what a huge operation the weekly “Top 20″ list was. I figured it was just one nerd at a computer publishing all this, not teams in five different offices.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx2gVoEQbAQ
Posted on May 27th, 2009 by lucky
Filed under: Misc., Videos

Whoa .. Jamie and Mary Ann… thumbs up!
Key line that is easily overlooked: “travel providers can pay to be listed in the top 20″ .
Sure, they add that this is no guarantee to be included, but c’mon. If it’s great deal A that comes with 10K$ versus an equivalent great deal B that comes with nada, which is going to make the list?
guy with a computer? It’s a publicly traded company (not sure if that’s mentioned in the video. Too busy to watch right now)
I read their weekly email, but if they have all this staff working, should the deals be better? I mean, their deals are usually respectable, but they’re rarely “wow.” I don’t think I’ve actually ever booked one. A 5-minute search of flyertalk’s mileage run and “hotel deals” section, perhaps with a visit to the airfarewatchdog’s “top 50 airfares,” will invariably yield better savings.