Budget Travel Magazine Sees a Digital Rebirth Even in the financially troubled publishing world, Budget Travel stands out among magazines having a bad year. The 15-year-old magazine, which printed its last issue in October 2012, has spent 2013 fighting to survive in bankruptcy court. From Feb. 15 to March 23, its employees were not paid even as they continued to deliver updated travel tips for the Budget Travel website. And they received little recognition for their work; lawyers handling the bankruptcy case did not know that employees were still updating content. But it appears that Budget Travel may be turning a corner. Elaine Alimonti, Budget Travel's president and publisher, said Budget Travel had found ways to generate revenue through digital subscriptions on iPad, Kindle, Nook and Android devices. It has been making money from display advertising on the website, mobile site and app, and also from the start of its Real Deals retail venture, which lets readers gain access to travel deals and offers. In early 2014, Budget Travel will start publishing videos in partnership with the company DCN Creative. That is good news for full-time employees, whose ranks have shrunk to 12 from 17 in the last year. Budget Travel has recently been able to thrive in part because of its continued following on social media. While Google Analytics data supplied by Budget Travel show that its visits and page views steadily declined through 2013, it appears to have held a major presence on Pinterest. Budget Travel attracted more than 4.2 million followers on Pinterest, which surpassed Yahoo! Travel, Lonely Planet and Travel Channel. "We at this point are doing quite well," Ms. Alimonti said. Most of all, there appears to be stable ownership on the horizon. Bankruptcy documents show that on Nov. 26 an agreement was reached to sell the magazine and its related properties for $500,000 to Morris Visitor Publications, based in Augusta, Ga., which also owns Where magazines. The bankruptcy court is also entertaining offers from other bidders willing to pay more than $565,000 for the property. The bankruptcy court is accepting bids through Jan. 29, according to Ms. Alimonti. According to court papers, Budget Travel was conceived by Arthur Frommer in 1998 and then sold to Newsweek a year later. But in 2009, The Washington Post Company, which at the time was Newsweek's parent company, sold the magazine for $1 to BRG Investments, a subsidiary owned by Alphonse Fletcher Jr., a prominent Wall Street investor. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 23, and Ms. Alimonti says she remains upbeat about the year ahead. "We expect to be profitable in 2014," she said.