We talked a little last week about the airlines and their relationship with travel agents. . .how they ceased recognizing us for selling and promoting their product, still expecting us to do that and service their/our clients, but for nothing. Their intent was that the consumer would readily go to their web sites and purchase their tickets.
This action then gave rise to some internet entrepreneurs who saw an opportunity to sell travel to the American public, so in October of 1996, Expedia was born as a Microsoft internet property. To compete, another on-line agency was created by Sabre, an American Airlines progeny,Travelocity, to engage in the activity of guiding the consumer to purchase travel through their website.
Well, would you believe it….another on-line agency, Orbitz, was established in 2001 by Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, and American to compete against Expedia and Travelocity, thinking that they could in concert, lower their distribution costs by owning their own system.
Interestingly enough, in January of this year, Expedia acquired Travelocity from the Sabre Corp. The next month, they agreed to acquire Orbitz for $1.2 billion in cash. So now, Priceline, which came into being in 2001, and Expedia, are the two remaining major players in on-line travel booking market.
One person said that they could go to Kayak and get a good rate, except that Kayak is owned by Priceline. How about Hotwire…owned by Expedia. Hotels.com is owned by Expedia; HotelsBooking.com is owned by Priceline.
As one travel writer put it, “the irony of all this is that the airlines, which precipitated a lot of the rush to the internet by destroying the travel agencies’ ability to book travel for free, are now locked in a deadly embrace with Expedia and Priceline…two companies that have at least equality of bargaining power….and a willingness to play hardball when they don’t get what they want.”
Where is the consumer in all this? Well, in my opinion, that’s where a good, experienced, and understanding travel agent enters the picture. All those on-line agencies don’t give a rip about who is punching those keys and couldn’t answer all the questions that arise in the process of planning a trip. A travel agent spends time in helping our clients make just the right arrangements that fit their needs and pocketbooks….and we will be right here before they go and when they return to respond to their praise or concerns.
So, when you want to travel, strike up a relationship with your favorite travel agent at The Travel Factory. We are located at 4150 Southwest Drive, or call us at 698-1421 or 800-760-4040…or our website is www.thetravelfactoryabilene.com.