Is it Easy to Make Travel Savings in 2012?
With the economy on a back footing, many European holidaymakers are faced with the grim prospect of backpedaling on plans as they feel unable to afford extravagant hotel stays. But this age of thrift has also seen the rise of a different kind of accommodation, something generally much cheaper – and often more exciting – than the customary nights in clinical hotels.
For many years, it has been possible for the intrepid traveller to find cheaper ways to spend the night in an unfamiliar city. These have ranged from the improbable, for example using the CouchSurfing service, to the downright dangerous, such as looking out for entrepreneurial locals at train stations wielding adverts for spare beds. Although some travellers found success, most were left with few alternatives to seeking a cheap hostel and hoping the night would not be
disastrous.
Now, it is possible to find and book a diverse range of budget (or even luxury) accommodation in cities all over the world through one secure central database. Whether you are looking for contemporary apartments for a short trip to Barcelona, a sofa in Seville or a charming bed and breakfast in Prague, new website Wimdu has made connecting with locals and finding a bargain easier than ever. The website brings peace of mind to thrifty holidaymakers, who know there are records of any bookings made through the service.
Accommodation on Wimdu ranges from hay-stuffed stables (one Sussex woman advertised her donkey’s usual dwelling to weary travellers seeking the authentic Christmas experience), through to spare bedrooms and even entire apartments, some rather luxurious looking!. More typically, accommodation consists of a spare room in the host’s own home, meaning there are plenty of opportunities to glean an inside perspective on the town and learn about the must-do activities that never make it into mainstream tourist guides.
Vietnam Clamp Down On Illegal Logging Is Good News For Home Fashion Industry
News reports from Vietnam detail a clamp down on the sale of illegal timber, a practice that effects wooden furniture manufacturers and retailers across the world, such as Fashion For Home, on a daily basis. In recent months, the country’s media has reported on a number of cases of illegal logging and shipment of the resulting timber, raising public awareness and pressurising the Vietnamese government into action. Vietnam is not the first Asian country to announce a crackdown on illegal timber, with Malaysia also releasing details of their own plans recently.
Forestry industry leader Nguyen Huu Dung told Vietnam News that he believed over 32,000 hectares of woodland in Vietnam is lost each year due to this illegal logging. In a bid to combat the trade, the Vietnamese forest management sector has revealed plans to introduce tougher penalties that it hopes will prevent these opportunistic traders from selling their illegally-sourced timber to foreign customers.
In the last month, Vietnamese authorities have stopped more than fifteen train coaches as they attempted to transport illegally-sourced wood around the country. Deputy director of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, Ha Cong Tuan, reassured reporters that the agency would be making sure that investigations into trafficking rings in Vietnam would be more numerous and more comprehensive in the future. He also detailed plans to train and deploy more staff to regulate and manage the Vietnamese forestry industry during 2012, with the majority of these teams hopefully working at ground level.
This announcement is good for the European furniture industry. The illegal timber trade in Asia often has a knock-on effect on genuine manufacturers and retailers, who make and sell items like these cool sofas on Fashion For Home. Many larger manufacturers already have procedures in place to avoid purchasing tropical woods from dubious sources, many smaller enterprises do not have the time or money to implement such ethical policies.
In similar news, the government of the Central African Republic has recently finalised a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU, which will see the two bodies come together to quash the trade of illegal wood between the two areas. The Timber Trades Journal has also reported that the EU is in talks with the Malaysian government over a similar arrangement as well.
With these VPAs becoming more commonplace, the furniture industry in the UK and Europe should see the amount of illegal-sourced wood hitting the market decrease significantly in the next few years.
FIRA Figures Show Furniture Manufacturing Turnover Increase
Statistics published recently by the Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA) show that during 2010 (the most recent year that figures are available for), UK furniture manufacturing turnover increased by 3.6% to £7bn. FIRA’s newly published statistical digest shows that this growth was despite the number of furniture manufacturers in the UK declining by 3% to 6,205 during this period showing that despite the current uncertain economic climate, there is still demand among consumers for designer furniture from Fashion For Home and other high-end retailers.
The report noted that furniture imports were up by £500 million on the previous year, bringing the total to £4.5bn, while furniture exports are reported to have increased to £849,000. The majority of imports to the UK are coming from China, with figures showing they account for 33 percent of all imported furniture items into the UK. Italy also remains a major supplier of quality furniture to the UK, accounting for 11 percent of all imports. The majority of the UK’s furniture exports during 2010 were to the Irish Republic, accounting for 22 percent of the total, with 10 percent and 9 percent respectively going to the US and Germany.
China’s growth appears to have come at the expense of European furniture manufacturers.
FIRA’s statistical digest is a combination of data from the Office for National Statistics, HM Revenue and Customs and the Communities and Local Government websites. It also includes national economic trends, which include consumer spend, credit and housing. All these things can have an effect on furniture production and sales. Once collated, the figures are separated into relevant sectors which include office and shop furniture, kitchen furniture, mattresses and other items.
“This research gives the UK furniture industry vital information, both to help it survive the difficulties of the economy and grow through innovation and intelligent marketing,” said FIRA chief operating officer Jonny Westbrooke.
Detailing figures from a period when the furniture industry has had to deal with rising fuel and utility costs, plus the increased price of timber due to the government’s Renewables Obligation Woody Biomass Subsidy, the findings of FIRA’s report should provide a welcome boost to furniture manufacturers, wholesalers and retail outlets despite the news that the number of furniture manufacturers in the country has decreased. Whether sales of fashionforhome.co.uk armchairs and other home fashion items have remained as strong or even grown as much in 2011 still remains to be seen, however.
European Weekend Breaks Threatened By Ryanair Bag Charge
Travellers have been left reeling after Ryanair last week announced plans to charge passengers £100 per bag they check in next summer. While consistently offering cheap flight deals, the low cost airline has in the past come under fire for some of the extra costs it expects passengers to pay.
In the announcement, the company explained that the cost of checking in a bag online would not be increasing, but the cost for checking a bag in over the phone or at the airport looks set to rise spectacularly. From October this year to May, known in the industry as the low season, the cost of the first bag you check in will increase from £35 to £60. In high season that fee will rise from £40 to £100. The cost of checking in a second bag during low season will go up from £70 to £105 with prices going up from £80 to £135 during the summer and Christmas of 2012.
Those looking to save money by booking a flight with the company will now have to seriously consider how much luggage they need to take in order to make their weekend breaks in Berlin enjoyable without blowing their entire budget at the airport. A spokesman for Ryanair explained that the price increases have been designed to encourage customers to bring as little luggage as possible, apart from the free 10 kg allowance for carry-on luggage.
This news comes at a time when the government has raised Air Passenger Duty, which in turn has forced many airlines to increase their fees, making the type of short break that rose in popularity with the rise of low cost carriers less attainable for those with a tight budget. People in this situation could be potentially be priced out of last minute trips to a B&B in Paris, unless they choose an alternative form of transport, such as the ferry or Eurostar, although this option is not available to those who live anywhere but the south-east of England.
With travel costs rising and tour operators suffering a downturn in business, booking holidays through private sites such as wimdu are becoming more and more appealing to holidaymakers on a tight budget. With prices that are considerably lower than package deals, consumers are increasingly looking for breaks within the UK or are taking it upon themselves to book holidays abroad and find the most affordable mode of transportation to get them there. With more and more airlines charging for services such as boarding pass printing, this is a trend that looks to continue for some time to come.
Confidence In Thomas Cook Will Be Revealed During New Year Booking Season
While announcing healthy trading figures for the year up to September, Peter Long, the head of Europe’s largest tour operator Tui, took time to express his belief that the next three months are going to be key in determining the confidence customers have in Thomas Cook.
When asked if he thought Thomas Cook’s recent financial troubles would have an effect on how the brand is viewed by the public, Mr Long said: “I think that’s the $50,000 question. In terms of the publicity […] is it short-term damage or is it long-term damage? I think there is no way to measure that. It will become apparent as we go into our peak booking period which is January and February.”
As the first two months of the year constitute the peak time for summer package holiday bookings, bankers and market analysts will be watching over the coming months to see if customer confidence has returned and Thomas Cook receive a strong amount of reservations.
Following the announcement last week that Thomas Cook had, for the second time, asked the banks lending them money to ease the conditions of the loans they currently receive, Long admitted that Tui had seen a slight increase in bookings. However, the company has been criticised this week for an online ad campaign that capitalised on Thomas Cook’s debt problems.
One advert stated: “No worries about your holiday company and no worries about what you’re spending, unlike a certain holiday company we could mention, you don’t need to worry about the way we run our business.”
In response to this, Thomas Cook has filed a complaint with Abta, the travel industry trade body, claiming that by mentioning the company’s financial issues, the advertising campaign breaches a code of conduct. When questioned about this, Long back the decision to run the adverts, claiming that customers were seeking clarification over whether Tui’s Thomson brand was affected by Thomas Cook’s problems.
It is arguable that companies offering private apartment letting, such as Wimdu.co.uk stand to benefit from this period of uncertainty, with those looking for short stay holidays, like weekend trips in Berlin or breaks in Nice apartments, possibly choosing the private route to ease fears of their tour operator being forced to file for bankruptcy when they are away, leaving them stranded.
Until the beginning of March, though, it is going to be a nervy time for Thomas Cook and the holiday industry.
Thai Floods Expected to Effect Price and Supply of Server and Computer Parts to UK
Industry commentators warn that floods which have effected production of computer components in Thailand since July this year will have serious implications for computer manufacturers and parts suppliers in the UK and around the world.
Unseasonably heavy rains that began to fall in July this year have caused widespread flooding in Thailand, resulting in the South East Asian nation’s computer component manufacturers struggling to keep production running and meet global demand. Thailand is one the world’s biggest producers of computer parts, in particular hard disk drives (HDD) and major manufacturers including Toshiba and Western Digital have already announced temporary closure of their Thai factories as a direct result of the damaged caused by the flood waters.
According to market researchers, the Internation Data Corporation (IDC), Thailand accounts for up to 45 per cent of global hard HDD production and industry analysts IHS iSuppli claim that the flooding will cause HDD shipments in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2011 to drop by up to thirty per cent. This, they believe, will have serious ramifications for computer manufacturers around the globe well into 2012.
With prices for Seagate and Western Digital equipment already soaring, companies like PC World expect the price of personal computers to increase by a minimum of fifty pounds as we enter the first quarter of 2012.
But there is positivity amongst the bad news. Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman claims that the industry standard server branch of the company is set to benefit from the crisis in Thailand. While recent years have seen businesses building their own servers, searching the market for the most economic server cabinet and necessary components, Whitman believes that the shortage of components the industry will experience in 2012 will cause businesses to move away from custom builds and return to companies that offer a complete package in order to buy Blade servers and other equipment.
It is likely that the ones to suffer during this period of lower production will be domestic customers, as computer manufacturers seek to keep the coffers full by offering what stocks they do possess to their larger, corporate clients.
However, IHS iSuppli believes the impact of this fall in component stocks ‘is not significant enough to have a measurable effect on overall semiconductor industry revenue growth,’ and IDC is confident that HDD prices will be stabilised by June 2012 and should return to previous recognised levels by the third quarter of the year.
So while the end of 2011 is proving to be a worrying time for computer manufacturers and computer parts UK suppliers, the outlook is not quite as bleak as recent reports tend to suggest. While the knock-on will effect the market for budget laptop and desktop PC brands, the industry as a whole should be able to survive this scare, even if Western Digital has to forego their position as the world’s leading leading provider of HDDs and their components.
RankBuilder 2.0 SEO Software – One Week Trial Now Available
SEO agencies are proving to be a popular choice for both big businesses and smaller companies. No matter how good your website is, if it isn’t exactly what Google wants to see, then the chances are that you won’t rank very highly in their search results.
Picking an Ethical SEO Company
Search Engine Optimisation companies are invaluable if you’re looking to improve your Google rankings and increase your online sales, they can also be incredibly expensive. It can be difficult to spot the ethical SEO agencies from the unethical as well, meaning that you might just end up wasting your money if you do try and invest.
Sadly, unethical agencies are in abundance, meaning that your site could be penalised for not following Google’s rules. Unethical agencies do not take their time to link build and instead focus on fast results that could ultimately damaging to your reputation.
SEO Tools to Make DIY SEO Easier & More Effective
However, thanks to a piece of SEO software developed by internet marketer Alex Goad, there is now another option.
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Can cheaper electricity prices May Boost House Prices
These days’ people are looking out for as many different ways to either save money or make money. The basic facts are that just having a normal job doesn’t really earn you enough money to be able to make a fortune anymore. A lot of people are facing the fact that they may not have enough money from their current job to have a significant retirement fund, so a lot of people do all they can to make a bit of money on the side. There are of course many ways in which you can do this, but one of the most common is to try to make money from your home.
There are some things that you can do for your house which will not only make your home more saleable and potentially worth more money if you come to sell, you will also find that it saves you money while you still live in your home! That’s right; the simple way to make and save money in one foul swoop is to change your energy supplier and to replace your boiler! Obviously it isn’t rocket science, but there are a lot of people out there who just put up with their old fashioned and inefficient boilers in the belief that the cost of a new boiler would outweigh the benefits of having cheaper electricity prices, but this is not so. A lot of people find that they are eligible for reductions in the prices of boilers, which makes it extremely affordable in the long run and in the short run.
Of course, another way for you to save money is to get yourself heating insurance. OK, so this is not going to increase the value of your home, but it is so important in terms of protecting the cost of your heating bills that it just has to be mentioned. If you don’t have this, and your boiler does go bang, you are going to be left with a hefty bill to pay, whereas if this happens when you have insurance, you may find that you get a brand new boiler for absolutely nothing!
It is so important to have a good heating system, no matter what angle you look at things from. If you are doing this to make your home more saleable, then it is important, and if you plan to stay where you are for the rest of your life, then you are going to save money too, so you can’t really lose! Remember that if you think that your boiler needs replacing, you have a great chance of finding boiler grants if you look in the right places. It all depends on your financial position, but you can find out all about these potential grants on the internet. Take your heating system seriously, and you can save significant amounts of money.
Cheap Landline Provider TalkTalk Confident Over Yearly Performance
TalkTalk provide both broadband services and cheap landline offers. Despite the landline company being affordable, this year has been a mixed bag for TalkTalk, having seen them continue to lose market share in the three months to June.
Total revenue for the company was down to £423m from £444m in the same quarter the previous year; however the company has added 35k on-net customers, including 76k broadband and voice.
Dido Harding, the Chief Executive of TalkTalk believes that the growth in customers is down to the company improving the overall customer experience. “Improving our customers’ experience has resulted in lower churn (loss of custom) as we exit the quarter, and this gives us confidence that we will see accelerating on-net customer growth throughout the year” she says.
The group is apparently on track to deliver the results it wants for their yearly performance. Harding said that “we are confident that we will build real momentum and develop growing revenue in the second half.”
Virgin Media lost 36,000 net customers in the last quarter, apparently due to the fact they are encouraging subscribers to take fast, more expensive broadband offerings in an attempt to increase their revenue.
The UK’s largest fixed-line phone company received good news from their latest quarterly review. BT saw their operating profit rising by 2.6%, reportedly thanks to an increase in broadband sales. They’ve recently released a new package that offers free phone line calls for four months. Similarly one of TalkTalk’s cheaper deals offers unlimited evening and weekend calls from your landline. Particularly useful if you are reliant on your mobile phone during the day.
For TalkTalk, only time will tell whether or not their yearly predictions are correct. However, it does seem that thanks to improved customer services and quality of experience, they are looking to fulfil 2011 expectations.
Best TV Packages Unavailable to Wickham Market
For many of us, deciding between the best TV packages around can take a bit of time and effort. However, whether it’s BT vs Sky we’re confused about or whether or not Sky TV packages are better value than Virgin Media packages, the vast majority of us are at least guaranteed scheduled programming. However, residents of Wickham Market have been told by Digital UK that they must either endure a limited service or realign their aerials until the switchover is complete.
The switchover to digital from analogue began last Thursday (21st July) and won’t be completed until November of this year.
The town of Wickham Market is located exactly between Sudbury and Talcolneston, where the two transmitters are found. The switchover has already happened in Sudbury, Tacolneston are still analogue for now.
According to Julian Evans, who lives in the town, “We have had our switch over and from the Sudbury transmitter we get a signal that pixelates and the sound is out of sync. If we switch to the Tacolneston transmitter we can’t get ITV, Channel 4 or Five.”
The wait for these residents who feel like they are very much left out of the 98% of the country who are receiving improved signal since the switch, could be even longer than November. A spokesman has told Mr Evans that “you are not likely to get all channels from Sudbury until June 2012. Even then, signals are expected to be marginal meaning you will get them most of the time but there may be signal dropout from time to time.”
The solution suggested? Mr Evans and the other members of the Wickham Market community must either put up with a scrambled reception or climb up to their aerials and point them towards Tacolneston. Hardly the most practical of answers to what is a highly frustrating problem.