Why Etraveli’s Airline Tech Deal Could Catch Airbnb’s Eye
Photo Credit: Some developers at work in the Athens, Greece, office of Etraveli, an online travel group based in Sweden. Hopefully they take better care of the software code than the fish in that fish tank. Etraveli
Skift Take
We don't know much about Airbnb's thinking about launching a flights product, but an unrelated acquisition by Etraveli Group shines a light on some of the business issues Airbnb needs to consider as it crafts a strategy.
Sometimes a relatively small deal uncovers a broader market opportunity. For example, the actions of executives at a small company in Uppsala, Sweden, may echo the thinking inside a giant company in Silicon Valley because both face similar issues, though at different scales.
On Thursday Sweden's online travel agency group Etraveli said it had fully acquired TripStack, a Toronto-based airline distribution tech company.
In a roundabout way, the acquisition highlights similar issues to ones that must be on mind of executives at Airbnb, the short-term rental company that has been exploring a flights product of some kind.
When Airbnb begins selling flights, it will likely need to source its airfares from more than one type of travel distribution company because of industry quirks. It may also choose to mix-and-match flights across multiple carriers that don't have formal agreements with each other to get more coverage and lower prices than giants like Expedia and Ctrip currently of
