by RobertKCole on August 10, 2010
The Orbitz press release boldly announced “Orbitz Launches Groundbreaking Hotel Search Experience with Industry-Leading Property Comparison Features.”
photo credit: Erik CharltonThe Orbitz hotel user interface may be new and improved, but is it enough of a dramatic step forward to catch the attention of travel shoppers?
Wow, sign me up! Nothing grabs my attention better in online travel than a big leap forward for hotel search innovation.
In reality, calling the enhancements “groundbreaking” or “industry-leading” is a stretch. These changes are incremental, mostly derivative and unfortunately not significantly innovative.
Not to denigrate this big step forward for Orbitz, but given the hyperbolic claims of the press release, I was expecting changes that would dramatically surpass the current hotel search paradigms.
Orbitz has definitely provided a more Kayak-like experience, with some improvements like including user ratings when mousing over a property on a map, but in many cases, Kayak still offers better functionality.
What was added?
- Google Maps, including street-view
- Location, hotel classification, customer review score, amenity and brand filters
What was removed?
- Hotel neighborhood / star classification matrix
Orbitz’ attempt to translate the airline carrier/number of stops matrix display to a hotel star rating/neighborhood format never really resonated with users due its inability to categorize and differentiate a hotel product that is much less commoditized than air travel. continue reading →
Tagged as: Expedia, hotel, innovation, Kayak, online travel companies, Orbitz, Priceline, search, travel, travel search, Travelocity, user interface
by RobertKCole on August 7, 2009
Google has almost unlimited options when it comes to its future travel strategy. In addition to its huge search traffic and expansive advertising network, Google also possesses an impressive arsenal of technologies that promise not only to change how consumers research and book travel, but how they will interact with their destination once they arrive.
Will Google Labs Cook Up Some Revolutionary New Travel Tools?
Given Google’s massive traffic and advertising reach, it is no wonder Kayak CEO Steve Hafner was recently quoted in Dennis Schaal’s blog, “Google is by far the biggest source of travel information for consumers.” This statement got a lot of people’s attention. Dennis’ follow-up post included a quote from Google’s managing director of travel, Rob Torres, stating “We are not going to copycat. We will only do something if we can do it 10 times better than what’s happening today.” I’m not sure if that helped to calm the fears or feed the terror…
So let’s put this in perspective. In Angry Online Travelers Consider Abandoning The Web, Forrester’s Henry Harteveldt blogged “travelers are so angry with poor online travel experiences they’re approaching a breaking point.” A clearly defined need exists.
Google’s mission statement is: “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Organizing travel information aligns perfectly with Google’s mission. continue reading →
Tagged as: Expedia, Forrester, Google, innovation, Kayak, online travel companies
