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Posted Nov 18, 2009
Does the world really need another search aggregation website? Well, we are about to find out. FlightSearch.com has gone live (in beta) with an interesting approach to searching multiple travel sites.
Posted Nov 5, 2009
Expedia announced today that they are removing booking/service fees on all travel products sold through Expedia's call centers.
Posted Nov 3, 2009
Bill McCollum, the Florida Attorney General filed suit against Expedia and Orbitz this afternoon, opening the next chapter in the ongoing fight over occupancy taxes. Florida is the first state to take such a step - all of the previous actions have been filed by cities or groups of cities in a specific state.
Posted Nov 3, 2009
Late last week, a jury in San Antonio delivered a verdict on a class-action suit against the major OTAs that was brought by around 170 cities in Texas. The verdict against Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity and Orbitz is for $20M plus court imposed penalties and interest.
While this sounds dire, (and if you read the lawyers press release you would think this was a slam-dunk) a detailed analysis beyond the headlines should give the edge to the OTAs. Why?
Posted Oct 22, 2009
A little while back, some of the major online travel agencies waived fees for flight bookings. Has it had an effect on airline direct Web site bookings? Yes, say some airline executives. What are the airlines doing about it? They can't say.
Posted Aug 11, 2009
The general media is abuzz with stories about the lack of innovation of the major online travel agencies. A recent Forrester Report which shows consumers' frustration with online travel planning and booking is cited. The report stated that many consumers are fed up with the complicated process of planning and booking travel online. Part of this frustration concerns added fees, what we like to label in the travel industry as ancillary revenue. The article points to a resurgence of bookings through traditional travel agents.
Posted Aug 6, 2009
Never did and never will...OK so call me an old WHO fan - but I find the news that travellers are pissed off with travel booking sites a revelation of stunning proportions (not). I have great respect for Forrester's research and for a mere $499 you too can get a copy of the study.
Posted Jul 29, 2009
No matter where you stand on the current battle(s) between the online travel agencies ( OTAs) and the various municipalities who are currently suing them over occupancy taxes, you'll probably have to agree that this outcome reported in the Madison Record (a weekly legal journal covering the Madison County, IL courts) is not a good one.
Posted May 7, 2009
This week's announcements of the departures of Egencia's and Orbitz For Business' leaders made me wonder how much at-the-top change each of the biggest-brand travel management companies has endured in recent years. As it turns out, Egencia and Orbitz For Business win in the category of turbulence. Here's a glimpse ...
Posted Apr 28, 2009
Executives at Delta and United recently singled out online travel agencies for providing less value than other distributors, namely corporate travel management companies, and suggested that one day OTAs should pay for access to fares and inventory. Asked to respond, officials with Expedia and Travelocity chose their words carefully and an Orbitz spokesman referred me to the Interactive Travel Services Association trade group
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