Articles tagged “metasearch”

Six years after brashly boasting about how it would disrupt travel search, Hipmunk, which had to compete against larger players with more ample war chests, is exiting into the business travel portfolio of Concur. Hipmunk's turn toward business travel may make it more of a business-to-business play than its current consumer incarnation. As Concur's TripIt example shows, it remains to be seen how innovative Hipmunk can be given larger corporate priorities within SAP/Concur.

With the threat of direct booking, the constant spending by traditional online travel agencies, and the move to mobile, metasearch has been forced to rethink its role in the booking funnel.

Hipmunk's user experience in hotel search feels more convenient than on many other metasearch and booking sites but like everyone else, Hipmunk is experimenting and has plenty to learn. We have a long way to go but that's no surprise to anyone.

In online travel and the lodging industry, as well as politics, astute observers follow the money. As it is with Marriott: The chain is using TripAdvisor 1) for bookings with lower-than standard online travel agency commissions and 2) to advertise even-lower-cost direct bookings on Marriott.com. Makes perfect economic sense.

The European regulatory probe of Google on several fronts is putting pressure on the U.S.'s FTC to jump into the fray after bowing out under less-than-stellar circumstances a few years ago. Still, don't expect any meaningful changes in Google's practices until the regulatory processes likely wind through the courts.

Momondo Group is still a relatively small fish in a big pond when measured against the larger, global metasearch players. Still, the Group, with its dual-brand approach and increased investment, is obtaining some scale -- 95 million visits during the first quarter of 2016 -- and is becoming part of the conversation.

Whether it's on hotel, online travel agency or metasearch sites, having attractive pricing is a very powerful thing. We think Kaufer is a smart guy. He knows he isn't going to get hotels' special rates for loyalty program members today, but he's trying to lay the groundwork for a deal later on.

TripAdvisor continues to labor to transform its business from a media/advertising model toward a booking site -- under the glare of all-too-often impatient pundits and investors. The big decline in its revenue per hotel shopper, meanwhile, is likely a temporary hurdle but TripAdvisor management still has a helluva lot to prove.

Expedia is telling hotels that if they "play well" with Expedia it will be very advantageous and the outcomes may not be as positive if hotels decide to rewrite the rules. Many big chains have not appreciated how Expedia has played over the years and they are voting with their proverbial feet.

Expedia is upsetting the proverbial apple cart in introducing hotels bidding against one another for prime placement in Expedia's search results. It's a bold move that could have a far-reaching impact across the online travel agency and hotel industries.