Latest HA D&T Perspective
OTAs see hotel boost
Priceline, Orbitz Worldwide and C-Trip have all saw their first-quarter results bolstered by revenues from hotels, a trend which was expected to continue for the rest of the year.
The online travel agents said that they would continue to invest in mobile, international expansion and, in an echo of recent actions by the operators, building loyalty programmes.
TripAdvisor’s ‘rapid clip’
TripAdvisor reported that first-quarter growth had accelerated and that it had acquired holiday rentals site Niumba.com.
The results came as the company continued to build its relationship with suppliers through the launch of a service that allows hotels to send bulk emails to customers through TripAdvisor.
“A tale of two Groupons”
Groupon last week surprised the market by releasing better-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit figures.
Shares in the group rose by 12% following the announcement, although the company acknowledged that it had “a lot more work to do” on its international business.
DoubleTree builds identity
DoubleTree by Hilton has collaborated with Google to launch DTour, a YouTube channel that offers travellers a new way to plan and share their trips.
The website integrates all major social media networks in one place and is part of the hotel operator’s ongoing efforts to compete with the online travel agents in providing a one-stop-shop for consumers to research and book hotels.
Hipmunk launches direct bookings
Hipmunk has debuted direct bookings, through a partnership with Expedia’s affiliate network.
The travel search site has also updated its apps to take advantage of growth in the mobile market as it competes with the bigger online travel agents.
