The performance and potential of travel meta-search engines continues to be in the news.

Published: 05 Dec 2005

The performance and potential of travel meta-search engines continues to be in the news.

Quoting Al Lenza, vice president of distribution and e-Commerce at Northwest Airlines, on viewpoint on the battle, boston.com report says, “These (travel meta search engines) guys have become a credible threat and competitor to Orbitz, Travelocity, and Expedia.” Lenza adds, “It’s good for the consumer, because the search engines highlight the fees the travel agencies charge.”

The report also refers to viewpoint of Henry Harteveldt, vice president of travel research at Forrester Research. “Metasearch 1.0 is dead,” he reportedly said. “It’s time for Metasearch 2.0 to emerge and service a slightly different purpose.”

The report adds: “The travel search engines definitely face an uphill struggle. Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity handle the bulk of online travel sales in the United States. They are online travel agents that help customers find fares, rooms, or cars and then book them, usually charging a fee for the service they provide.” The report also shares info on travel search engines’ different business model.

Further the report says, “Kayak executives love to talk about the website’s performance, not the nearly $500,000 a month it is losing.”

“We’re not so concerned right now with the economics of commercializing it,” Steve Hafner, the co-founder and chief executive of Kayak has been quoted as saying. “Right now we're focusing on making a great product.”

In the same report, Jasper Malcolmson, director of product development for Yahoo Farechase, said most Americans tend to prefer the comfort and convenience of booking with an online travel agency, while Europeans are more inclined to search. “We don't buy into the concept that one is superior to the other,” Malcolmson reportedly said. “We think travel search has got great potential and it will grow, but right now it's very small.”

Mitch Truwit, chief executive of Orbitz, doesn’t think so, added the report. “The travel search sites are just handing the customer off. They don’t provide any personal care, Truwit reportedly said. “They're not doing anything different and customers know it.”