Expedia - The use of the Internet in the tourism industry

Thèmes abordés

Tourism, expedia, travelocity, website, internet industry, travel agency, booking online, package

Résumé du document

In this dynamic society, we are constantly surprised at how technology can change our lives. Today, millions of people are using the Internet to order a product or service, search information, and communicate. E-commerce has revolutionized the way we buy products and services. Moreover, travel is currently the most purchased product online. If online travel sites are popular is mostly because there are no shipping charges, no embarrassment, and above all convenience. The different services offered by online travel sites include airline tickets, car rental, hotel reservations, and a variety of services.
We are going to focus on one of the largest online travel retailers in the world which is Expedia. Then, we will compare Expedia whit its two main competitors: Travelocity and Cheap Tickets.

Extraits

[...] Expedia Traveler Tools are really helpful to any type of travelers, whether novice or experienced; short term or long term. Another positive point is that Expedia is the only site from which people can get quality discounted travel packages to an assortment of destinations. Leisure and business travelers alike would be pleased to know that the site is always updating their offers in Find Savings' online site. One little drawback with Expedia could be the fact that the hotels search is limited in its filter option. [...]

[...] Travelocity Contrary to Expedia, Travelocity is accessible only in the UK, Germany and Canada. Yet, Travelocity offers user friendly tools as well. For instance, I have noticed “Hotel Advanced Search” gives results that can be sorted by price, hotel name, and city name. It enables you to compare the pricing and amenities for up to four properties side by side which is very practical. In addition, the “Fare Watcher” tool alert you to price drops on airfares to any destination on your watch list. [...]

[...] You can choose your country destination by simply clicking on an interactive globe, which then gives you a list of countries and states. You can basically choose any country and look at packages that are offered for that specific country. You can also choose by continent, and it should populate a list of countries within that continent, for example if you choose Europe and the site will give you list of countries within Europe. What is your general impression of the sites? Expedia I have noticed that Expedia has shown an interest in internationalization, in comparison to Travelocity and Cheap Tickets. [...]

[...] Actually, I think that there is too much information on the Expedia home page. They want to put the most ads as they can, but finally the effect is not that good. To my mind, Travelocity home page offers a nicer design and a clearer message. Besides, the choice of the colour plays an important role on the visual impact on the customer. And yet I think that the use of the blue (Travelocity) is much more efficient that the use of the yellow (Expedia). [...]

[...] They contribute to the customer loyalty with the “Cheap Tickets Gold” tool. It is a program for $ 11.99 per month which rewards you the Low Price Guarantee cash back on eligible travel purchases and 24/7 travel assistance. However I have noted down two flaws: -Organization of the site: There is a lot of information unseen in little pockets throughout the website, and it is not always obvious to find what you are looking for. - Host's issues (slowness): The response time for search results can be somewhat slow. [...]