President's Message
When OSSN began in 1990, our offices boasted the latest cutting-edge technology: Electric typewriters, a couple of computers that used 5 1/4" floppy disks, and one of those "newfangled" facsimile machines!

The Truth About .Travel
By Gary M. Fee, OSSN President

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How can you make the most of a .travel name?

First, you must understand how exclusive .travel Web sites will be. Any consumer around the world can go to any Web-linked computer and (with a credit card in hand) purchase any .com, .org., .net, or similar Web name in a matter of minutes. You pick the name, you pay the fees, and presto! You've reserved a Web address.

That's not the case with .travel. No one who does not belong to one of the 18 participating travel associations (like OSSN) can reserve a .travel Web address. When a member in good standing does submit an application for .travel, human beings like OSSN's staff literally check every application directly. (Most Web registrars like Network Solutions use computers for this task.) Applicants must prove that they have a legal basis for requesting the name (e.g., they must show that they sell trips to Australia, or that they've designed the Web site to do so, before they will be granted a name like www.australiatraveldeals.travel).

It's your job to let your clients know how exclusive you are! On your .travel site, and in your other marketing materials, you must tell your customers that you satisfied a rigorous set of requirements to qualify for a .travel address. Draft a press release when your site becomes live, and let local media know that your business qualified to launch a .travel site on the Internet.

Also, you should take advantage of your listing in the .travel Directory, an advanced marketing utility that matches new prospects to travel sellers like you. (Your listing in the Directory comes as part of your .travel registration fee, by the way.) Unlike Google, Yahoo!, and other online search engines, the .travel Directory will not sell any ads or placements or keywords to anybody. Your .travel site will compete on the same level playing field as any other travel agency (or airline or cruise line or resort company or tour operator, for that matter).

What if you prefer your .com Web address, but you're worried about a competitor snapping your Web site name with a .travel ending? In every case, applicants like your competitors must demonstrate that they have a real claim to the .travel name -- so, if your current Web name is www.smithstravel.com, a competitor would have to change his or her last name to "Smith" to show a legitimate claim. (On the other hand, if your current site is something like www.savebigoncruises.com, you might want to reserve www.savebigoncruises.travel and just point that Web name back to your existing .com site.)

Finally, keep in mind that -- once the current 12-month .travel registration campaign ends in late 2006 -- the folks behind the .travel registry will launch a global marketing program to teach consumers the value of .travel names. You should do the same in your local community. Make sure that everyone from newspaper reporters and radio news directors to nonprofit groups and your current clients know how special your .travel name really is.

The bottom line? Your .travel name sets you apart from millions of other Web sites -- but that doesn't matter unless you market that difference to your existing customers and every new prospect!