Polytechnic Institute of NYU SPRING’09

Travel Search Engines

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Outline

•   Intro  •   Threats  for  agents  •   E-­‐commerce  •   SideStep  •   Yahoo!  FareChase  •   Conclusion  

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Intro

•   Old  model:  Travel  agents  •   System  used:  GDS  ,designed  by  airlines.  •   E-­‐commerce  model:    First  B2B  •   Travel  agents’  main  source:  airlines  commission  •   Airlines  were  looking  how  to  reduce  payments  •   SoluKon  -­‐  new  channels:  Web  sites,  call  centers  •   Benefit:  reach  travelers  directly  

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Traditional Model

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New Model

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Threats for agents

• DisintermediaKon  (airline  companies)  

• ReintermediaKon  (Cybermediaries)    

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E-commerce

•   Products  are  sold  effecKvely  over  the  Web    

•   Many  travel  Web  sites  were  established  

•   Examples:  Expedia,  Travelocity,  Sidestep,    Kayak,  Farechase  and  Priceline.  

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What is Metasearch?

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Top 9 Travel MSS

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SideStep

•   SideStep  -­‐  the  traveler's  search  engine  

•   Type:  Metasearch  engine    

•   Income:  AdverKsing  and  referral  fees  

•   Alliances  with  leading  travel  marketers  

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SideStep strategy

•   Acquired  TripUp  

•   Acquired  TravelPost  

•   The  Trips  Facebook  applicaKon  

•   The  Extended  Info  applicaKon  

•   SideStep  toolbar  

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Yahoo! FareChase

• Yahoo!  FareChase  –  online  travel  search  engine  

• Type:  Metasearch  engine  

• The  site  provides  useful  search  tools  

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YFC advantages

• FareChase  is  the  default  search  engine  

• Travelocity  booking  engine  sKll  avaliable  

• Fourth  largest  travel  aggregator  

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Conclusion

•  Get  new  and  save  exisKng  customers  •  Branding  issues  •  ConKnuous  improvement  

Thank You!

Any Questions?