Search engines are hot, they have been for quite a while. In fact they now are one of the hottest sectors on the internet. Every small company is trying to catch a piece of the online market by advertising on search engines. At the same time, the travel industry has been one of the most successful industries online, as there is lots of information available, it’s convenient, and many products in the space have become commodities.
Surprisingly, only recent developments have pushed a few companies like Travelgrove to try and combine the best of both worlds.
It’s not that far fetched if you consider that the average user searches approximately 3 sites before purchasing a ticket. Furthermore, with airfares having become commodities, users more and more just look for the cheapest prices for their particular details.
“We are confident, that the travel industry will profit from it. Users will value the transparency and speed of the system, providers will love the alternative distribution channels, and consolidators will be able to show more strength with content and service”, Mr Suhayda adds. Large players will come into the market to grab a piece of the potential market size.
Some of the competitors are already doing some very sophisticated things in order to come up with their search results. Stefan Serduelt, Chief Technology Officer at Travelgrove believes that “It’s going to come down to a few core principles, scope, speed, and usability. We are not looking to build the most comprehensive system, we want our system to get every user to the place where he can get his best deal in the shortest time. This will make our advertisers happy as well as our users.”
Travel meta searches will certainly be the way to go in the future. With enhanced search options, better results, short waits, and more intelligent user interfaces, there will be plenty of ways to compete in the space. Finding great travel deals will yet again become more efficient benefitting all parties involved.
Update: Travelgrove has closed down and the same services can now be availed on Yahoo Travel.
