Online travel agencies and business models

E-Commerce

Travel and E-Commerce

An Exploration of Two Sites

While the travel business is far from the only industry that has made a stunning profit through e-commerce, it is certainly one of the most impressive. Travel sites market to a variety of consumers, putting them in control of their own travel planning and third party institutions like ARCO Global (www.arcglobal.com) are often hired to consult with e-commerce travel businesses about the effectiveness of their marketing strategies. Although they are just two of a slew of popular travel sites, both Obritz (www.orbitz.com) and Cheaptickets (www.cheaptickets.com) are examples of two of the web sites that have revolutionized the travel industry. By offering value, convenience, and the ability for customers to be in control, the two sites differ substantially from the physical travel agencies. Both Orbitz and Cheap Tickets offer convenience and control that cannot be found in physical travel agencies. E-commerce strategies employed by both sites include a quick search feature for customers who visit the site. These easy search options allow customers to view prices and packages for certain destinations including certain amenities during certain times. This e-commerce strategy employed by both sites allows customers and potential customers the convenience and ease of discovering their own vacation options without the stress and hassle of talking to a travel agent. Because contacting businesses over the phone and dealing with live customer support is often frustrating for customers, this advantage over physical agencies offered by both sites is an effective e-commerce tool that satisfies the needs of the customers.

Although both sites offer advantages over physical travel agencies, the different e-commerce strategies that they employ allow them to compete. For instance, Orbitz targets customers looking for a beach get away by offering the beach finder, an application that provides personalized beach recommendations for travelers. Similarly, the site lists special deals, last minuet cruise deals, and special prices offered by partner stores. While customers who visit physical travel agencies usually have an idea of their destination, Orbitz.com recognizes that customers who visit this site on the Internet do not. For this reason, Orbitz.com uses an effective strategy of including vacation planning tools in addition to ideas and deals on destinations. This strategy targets not only the traveler who has already made a decision to go on a vacation, but also the traveler who is only perusing the idea.

Cheap Tickets.com offers a similar service and similar e-commerce strategies. Like Orbitz, cheap tickets allows customers to run personalized searches and informs travelers about trip ideas and deals through a travel deals blog. Cheap Tickets, however, employs several different e-commerce strategies. The site offers tickets for live events, a service comparable to that of Ticketmaster. This strategy allows customers who are booking travel in a certain area to simultaneously scan for events they wish to attend and book their tickets, a convenience that Orbitz.com does not offer. Similarly, Cheap Tickets caters to customers who are looking for a last minuet deal on a destination or event with the deal of the week. By employing these strategies, the web site not only entices the traveler who is simply considering an event, but also, the customer interested in browsing local and non-local events.