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• Solution - 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

•Disintermediation (airline companies)

•Reintermediation (Cybermediaries)

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E-commerce

• Products are sold effectively 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: Advertising and referral fees

• Alliances with leading travel marketers

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SideStep strategy• Acquired TripUp

• Acquired TravelPost

• The Trips Facebook application

• The Extended Info application

• 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 still avaliable

•Fourth largest travel aggregator

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Conclusion

• Get new and save existing customers• Branding issues• Continuous improvement

Thank You!

Any Questions?