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Online Travel

Travelocity and Sabre Leaders Weigh In on Expedia Relationship: "Smart Deal"

Dennis Schaal photo
Dennis Schaal

Photo Credit: The Roaming Gnome, Travelocity's mascot, takes part in the company's 16th birthday festivities at its Southlake, Texas, headquarters, on April 4, 2012.  Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT / Max Faulkner

Skift Take

Expedia couldn't acquire Travelocity even if it wanted to because it would have triggered an antitrust investigation. The pact marks the obituary of the Travelocity turnaround attempt, and the big winner is Expedia, which gets more volume and EVEN MORE negotiating clout with suppliers. Bad news for hotels.

Within an hour or so of the news that Travelocity was letting Expedia take the reins of its North American websites and supplier relationships, CEOs Carl Sparks of Travelocity and Tom Klein of parent company Sabre were arguing that the deal was the best option given a very rough and tumble competitive space. In a telephone interview Skift conducted with the two CEOs, Sparks spoke of a "highly competitive" market and the difficulties of differentiating Travelocity from other online travel agencies, as well as presssure from supplier sites and metasearch players, all of which have access to similar content, technology and marketing tools. With the deal slated to be implemented in 2014, Sparks said Travelocity can move forward without major investments and capital expenditures, and focus on marketing, which is a strength. "On brand metrics, we pun

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