Articles tagged “kayak”

Kayak is making a landmark departure from its current strategy. It will add a tool to its mobile app to let users who book select short-term rentals and boutique hotels through it check in and check out via its app. That moves the travel metasearch player beyond merely listing accommodations to actually providing extra services for guests at partner properties.

Booking.com may be a household name in Europe, but Kayak and OpenTable are far better known in the United States. Parent company Booking Holdings is touting the three companies' ties to advantage Booking.com in a way that might be a tad confusing to travel industry executives or NYU Hospitality students, but consumers could care less.

Customer service is a key aspect of business travel. Kayak doesn't do customer service so that may not go over well. That being said, the company's massive inventory and simple user interface may help it gain traction with small businesses.

When Booking Holdings acquired Momondo in 2017 to pair with fellow metasearch brand Kayak, officials said one of Momondo's core strengths was its brand marketing bonafides. The World Piece video works because it stirs emotions, and this type of dynamic can go a long way toward creating a relationship between consumers and brands.

There's little doubt that Tans' abrupt departure, without any transition time, points to conflicts within Booking Holdings over the company's strategic direction.

As Booking Holdings brands try to cross-sell their customers on more products, such as attractions, restaurants, and ground transportation, more companywide collaboration may be inevitable. No brand mergers are in the offing, but signs point toward more coordination.

Kayak is looking to get leaner and more efficient. The restructuring, though, doesn't exactly mesh with the upbeat picture about the metasearch company that parent Booking Holdings described during its fourth-quarter earnings call this week.

The old idea of payments in monthly installments is seeing new life in the U.S. online travel sector. Uplift is one of the leading tech vendors powering loans to travelers for buying from airlines such as Spirit and search sites like Kayak. Expect a lot of marketing around this in 2019.

This is a prime example of "Why didn't they think of this sooner?"

Southwest has perennially been a thorn in the side of online travel companies that lusted after getting access to its flights and fares. But no one can credibly argue that Southwest's insistence on direct distribution hasn't worked for the airline. Its competitors and peers inside and outside of the airline industry can only be jealous.