*Disclaimer: When referring to Expedia, it is the traveling site, not Expedia Inc. Expedia the traveling site is owned by Expedia Inc. which owns Expedia, Orbitz, Trivago, Travelocity and others. Within the Expedia Inc., Expedia competes with these other sites*
THE COMPETITORS:
The Priceline Group:
* Priceline
* Booking.com
*Kayak.com
Expedia Inc:
*Orbitz
* Travelocity
* Trivago
Other travel sites:
*Flipkey
*Tripping.com
(Priceline is the main competitor; holds the larger market share of global booking economy)
The Priceline Group:
* Priceline
* Booking.com
*Kayak.com
Expedia Inc:
*Orbitz
* Travelocity
* Trivago
Other travel sites:
*Flipkey
*Tripping.com
(Priceline is the main competitor; holds the larger market share of global booking economy)
Priceline
Expedia has numerous competitors but its main competitor is Priceline. Priceline offers services that are extremely similar to Expedia. They dominate in the global market, claiming to have an average price that is 40% lower than competitors.
How it works:
How it works:
- Customers bid on hotel rooms that are in an area of their destination. The hotel name is remains anonymous during the bidding and it is not revealed until the booking is complete. No cancellations or changes can be made after the booking process is complete.
- Priceline also offers “Express Deals” which shows the price but the name of the hotel remains anonymous
- The option to see both the price and the hotel name are available to customers but the deal may not be as good as it would to keep the hotel name anonymous
- Priceline offers a guarantee that if customers find a better price within 24 hours of booking, Priceline will refund their money and double the difference.
- They have the option for car, flight, and package booking but the process does not include bidding like the hotel booking portion
Booking.com
Booking.com is apart of the Priceline Group. It provides for both customer seeking leisure travel or for those customers that are seeking business-related travel. It is a online traveling company that has options for customers in 227 countries with the option of 40 different languages available.
How it works:
How it works:
- They offer more properties to book other than hotels, unlike most competitors. Options like villas, resorts, apartments, lodges, etc.
- Unlike Priceline, they offer cancellations without fees and no booking fees
- Customers are able to manage their reservations directly through Booking.com
- Their multilanguage accommodations for travelers are like any other site since they offer 40 different languages to their customers
Orbitz worldwide, Inc.
Orbitz is one of the oldest and biggest online travel companies. They are apart of the Expedia Inc., the parent company to sites like Expedia, Travelocity, etc.
How it works:
How it works:
- Customers are able to search pricing and are able to book hotels, flights, cars, cruises, and even activities through the site
- Orbitz has been around since 1999 so their economy of scale is enormous and is rated one of the best sites for online booking
- Unlike Priceline, Orbitz does not charge a fee to change reservations
- They also have a Price Assurance Guarantee which provides a refund for customers if someone books the same flight for less
- Customers do not have to go directly to the hotel/airline to change a reservation instead they can do it through Orbitz
Kayak
Kayak is apart of the Priceline Group and is rated one of the best traveling sites to book a hotel for a trip. It is available in forty international sites and has the option of over twenty different languages.
How it works:
When customers create an account through Kayak they are able to share their trips with friends and others.
They are also able to receive alerts about flight statuses sent through email or text.
How it works:
- They use algorithms to get customers the best deals based on the best rated hotel and book directly.
- Kayak allows their customers to search by criteria like budget, trendy, location, etc.
- They also offer the ability to see results on a map that highlights bars, restaurants, and other attractions that around the area of the hotel
- Customers can choose to receive notifications if the trip that they want to book has a deal going on.
When customers create an account through Kayak they are able to share their trips with friends and others.
They are also able to receive alerts about flight statuses sent through email or text.