Public Online Travel Sites 1H 2017: Eyes on Rentals & Metasearch for Growth

Public online travel companies increasingly tried to be everything to everyone in the first half of 2017 (1H17), no longer satisfied with just sticking to the business of processing travel transactions or driving clicks. Eyes were on metasearch as newly public Trivago set off to pursue global ambitions, and Priceline’s Kayak gobbled up international players Momondo and Mundi. The biggest online travel agencies (OTAs) went full speed ahead integrating vacation rental options into their booking engines to keep their accommodation businesses competitive amidst private accommodations’ rising popularity. The online travel world remained resilient and optimistic as collective gross bookings by nine publicly reported companies rose