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The second quarter of 2012 was challenging for U.S. public online travel agencies (OTAs) – Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline. While domestic business was resilient for most, relatively weak travel demand in Europe meant that growth from overseas operations was muted across the board.
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With uncertainty still lingering over many of the world's economies, consumers have grown increasingly careful about their travel spending. A range of influences and information sources impact how consumers decide where to go, and travel behavior varies considerably across different markets. This report explores how the process of destination selection is evolving, and in particular how this process differs between travelers in the U.S., France, Germany and the U.K.
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There are two themes in this month's data. First there is the rampant optimism of hoteliers, suddenly building and hiring again, reporting record demand and confidently talking about 2013 rate hikes. Then there is the much more guarded outlook for the macroeconomy, as reflected in the hit that Priceline and Orbitz have taken because of weakness in Europe. With the U.S. needing to navigate its fiscal cliff of tax-hike expirations and trillion-dollar spending cuts, a reprise is entirely possible on our side of the pond. The Congressional Budget Office said in late August that failure to extend the tax cuts and/or delay the spending cuts would cause a recession next year. And while that made headlines because of the CBO's prestige in the capital, the office was well behind private economists of all stripes in actually publishing what it must have long known about this particular blinding glimpse of the obvious. They can't both be right. Something's gotta give. But which will it be?
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Despite rising oil prices and airfares, aggregate gross bookings of the three public U.S. OTAs – Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline – made notable increases in 1Q12. However, near-term headwinds lie in wait.
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Heads up, travel companies: 2012's host of technology trends – including new developments in social e-commerce, business intelligence and content fragmentation – will have huge effects on the future of travel distribution.
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Delivering relevant content may be the most important thing a supplier can do to convert lookers into bookers – and relevance requires massive amounts of data. This article provides the nitty-gritty on three statistical methods that correlate travel variables, and examines how they work.
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Despite the economic difficulties of 4Q11 – rising fuel prices and airfares, a stronger U.S. dollar, and ongoing financial drama in Europe – online travel agencies delivered mostly strong performances, with solid growth in international markets. The outlook for 2012 is exciting but uneven, with OTAs fighting hard for U.S. share and making gains in Europe.
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Aggregate total gross bookings for the three public U.S online travel agencies (OTAs) - Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline grew in 3Q11. However, macro conditions are becoming convoluted - slowing sales constrained domestic gross bookings, but overseas business remains resilient, particularly in Europe, where economic woes loom large.
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Consumers take into account a broad range of factors when deciding where to spend their hard-earned leisure travel time. This report delivers in-depth analysis of the destination selection process, highlighting the key motivators, information sources, online features and websites used in destination selection. Armed with these insights, destination marketers and other travel companies are better positioned to reach and influence consumers, as they explore the world of travel possibilities.
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While online travel agency growth is slipping in more mature markets, it is gaining strength in emerging markets. Local OTAs are taking the lead in the latter – but don't count global OTAs out yet, as they are investing heavily in these markets in efforts to catch up.
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