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Talk of the Bay: Reservations about booking rooms online

It's hardly news that consumers overwhelmingly hunt for travel bargains on the Web and most often buy online. But there's a wrinkle to the trend. When it comes to buying a hotel room, fewer people are making their purchases by pointing and clicking.

By Times Staff
Published October 14, 2007

Reservations about booking rooms online

It's hardly news that consumers overwhelmingly hunt for travel bargains on the Web and most often buy online. But there's a wrinkle to the trend. When it comes to buying a hotel room, fewer people are making their purchases by pointing and clicking. A survey of Pinellas County visitors in August found that 97 percent got information for their trip on the Internet and 84 percent bought travel there. But 62 percent booked rooms online, down from 71 percent a year earlier. Consumers are pickier about their hotel room than the airline seat or rental car. They want to hear a real person confirm specifics such as the waterfront view, says Walter Klages of Research Data Services in Tampa, which conducted the survey. His researchers are hearing the same from tourists in other parts of Florida.

Tests ease job of hiring managers

Any hiring manager will tell you that a diploma and a resume are no guarantee a person can do a job. So the state has recently launched a free program called Florida Ready to Work to help businesses take the guesswork out of hiring and to give job seekers a way to prove they're worth employing. To earn the Ready to Work credentials, job seekers must take exams in Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information and Locating Information at a participating technical center, work force center or similar location. The tests were developed by the company that administers the ACT, and each lasts about an hour. The program offers an optional assessment measuring attitude, behavior and customer service skills, as well as online courses to help job seekers build skills. Learn more at www.floridareadytowork.com or by calling toll-free 1-866-429-2334.

Craving Ikea? Time for trip to Broward

If you absolutely, positively cannot wait until the new Ikea opening in Tampa in 2009 or on Nov. 14 in Orlando, here's another option: Ikea opens its doors in Broward County at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The store, near Sawgrass Mills mall in Sunrise, is the Swedish home furnishings company's first outlet in Florida.

Correction

Leslie Intriago graduated 12 years ago. A column on Page 3D Oct. 7 gave a different number of years.

[Last modified October 12, 2007, 21:00:42]