- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
Comments (2)
Print
Save/ShareExpedia has apparently stopped adding its booking fee into its "taxes and fees" in response to Orbitz's identical move yesterday. The change was first noticed by Tom Botts , partner at strategic travel and hospitality advisory firm Hudson Crossing.
We compared the booking price of several hotels at Expedia and Orbitz and found that Expedia's is now roughly matching Orbitz's rates, after taxes and fees are included. Of course, Orbitz remains the first travel agency to post its total price in the search results, unlike Expedia which makes travelers click through several screens of information for the final tally.
UPDATE 1:54 p.m. ET: An Expedia spokesperson declines to comment on the pricing change we've noticed through our unscientific sampling of deals. Here's the official statement:
Expedia's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi really said it best in his comments the other day. Expedia's fees are and will continue to be competitive with Orbitz. Expedia is focused on offering customers the lowest total price. Because of Expedia’s size, often times we’re able to negotiate better rates with lodging supply partners, which likely makes any change in Orbitz’s booking fee irrelevant. But, beyond that….it’s really not our policy to discuss the ins-and-outs of the hotel pricing strategy.
The importance of shopping around online remains key. As Tom Botts points out, the price for the Paramount in New York for this Sunday night recently varied from $150 to $299, depending on which website you looked at. No one website has a lock on the lowest rates.
The linchpin of every online travel agency's profitability is on hotel room bookings, not airplane ticket sales, so this promises to be a summer of price wars.
User reviews and comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions.
Its always best to publish the all-in price at the outset. It can be annoying to be so excited to see that there are ota's or airlines that offer low prices only to find out that the total price is just the same as others.
Russell
www.e-philippines.com.ph
explore. experience. enjoy. Philippines.
Posted By Russell Ri on April 24, 2009, 12:35 AM
Sean: I just posted some more information about the motivations behind Orbitz's kick-sand-in-Expedia's face on the hotel booking fee issue. This move will hurt Expedia -- with its hotel program already under so much pressure -- more than it will hurt Orbitz. One analyst told me that Expedia gets about 19% of its earnings from hotel booking fees. Now, that Expedia has been forced to dramatically cut those fees, its hotel program, a key growth generator, could be in lots of trouble.
It's a great move by Orbitz, also, to show the total price of a hotel booking in the initial search results.
One more step needed and it isn't going to happen any time soon: The OTAs need to break out and specify their service fees in the impossible-to-fathom "taxes and fees" line item on hotel bookings.
Posted By Dennis Schaal on April 25, 2009, 2:07 PM