Articles tagged “metasearch”

Mondee, a travel technology company in California, paid $2.89 million for the Fly.com domain name, according to our sources. But the story behind this secretive company is also a broader tale about private equity, ethnic travel, and how airlines distribute their lowest-priced tickets.

Tune in for insight from travel metasearch executives about advertising, standing out in a crowded field, and trying to create product that users will love.

There ain't no such thing as a free booking.

TripAdvisor may be making progress on personalization and the balance between searching and booking, but we're not sure whether it has found a message that will resonate with consumers -- one that's different from Kayak's and Trivago's.

TripAdvisor hasn't abandoned letting customers book on TripAdvisor but it has dramatically downplayed the feature in favor of the more lucrative metasearch option. With Trivago and Google making gains in a hyper-competitive sector, TripAdvisor couldn't stick with a strategy that wasn't working.

In this video from Skift Forum Europe, CEO Gareth Williams explains why his travel price-comparison is finding inspiration from Chinese online retailer Tmall. He says brands need to be able to stand out better from their competitors in search results.

TripAdvisor is getting more sophisticated about prodding customers to book hotels on TripAdvisor or to more effectively refer them to partner sites. In an apparently modified strategy, TripAdvisor is finding religion in being agnostic about where its users book hotels.

The Momondo Group knows it has to spend big to catch up with the competition. Its growth caught the attention of the Priceline Group, which will be hoping the acquisition, if approved by regulators, will help boost its European metasearch operation.

Google has all the tools, including a giant search engine, to make its mark in hotel metasearch and its competitors are starting to really feel it. The only hope for rivals is a hail Mary to regulators — or to focus on being faster and better.

Hafner reveals his admiration for new acquisition Momondo Group, expresses his bother at Trivago's ad spend, and pooh-poohs Skyscanner's analytics approach in a frank discussion that cut to the core of what makes metasearch different.