Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

Travelocity

Q1 Profit and Loss: Weeding Out the OTAs

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In a 2014 economy seemingly stagnated OTAs and other travel businesses are feeling some pain. This is not the case for Priceline Group, which just showed a 1st quarter earnings jump of some 36% on international bookings. However, this company’s gain is evidently Orbitz’s and other digital travel business loss. Are we seeing a “weeding out” of good travel entities versus bad ones?

Big OTAs and Big Hotels in Price Fixing Lawsuit

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A federal lawsuit naming the likes of Expedia, Orbitz, Booking.com, Travelocity, Trump International Hotels Management, Intercontinental, Kimpton, Sabre Holdings, Priceline, Marriott, Starwood, and Hilton alleges the companies conspired to fix hotel room prices. According to the news from Reuters, the suit claims the travel giants did so in an effort to fend off competition from smaller online retailers.

Big Hotels Launch Their Own OTA – Roomkey

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In travel technology news from yesterday Tnooz carried the announcement that six of the world’s largest hotel proprietors had launched a booking commune Roomkey. Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels, InterContinental Hotels, Marriott International and Wyndham Hotel Group set sail on a joint venture which is piloted by Pegasus founder John Davis. Argophilia Travel News decided to take the new flagship for a ride.

OTA CEOs: Part III

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Continuing our series on decision makers in the online travel world, Argo jumps back in to an interesting Q & A session between reporters from USA Today and leading CEOs. Veronica Gould Stoddart and Roger Yu caught up with 6 top bosses at the recent PhoCusWright conference in Hollywood, Fla. We take up where we left off, analyzing answers to some key tech trend questions.

OTA CEOs: Part II

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Yesterday we began a series on online travel agency CEOs, and a recent interview conducted by USA TODAY’s Veronica Gould Stoddart and Roger Yu. We analyzed a bit, some key decision makers’ mindset on the question of whether consumers want (will get) richer content from these industry giants during their travel searches. Expedia, Orbitz, TripAdvisor, parent Expedia, Travelocity, and Priceline bosses all had their views there.

OTA CEOs and Who Has Your Back: Part I

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What do you want from information providers? How about service providers that offer information you need to know to make decisions? Where online travel is concerned, there has been a lot of shakeup of late over these questions. Can you trust reviews? Which OTAs can you trust? We decided to micro-analyze some questions and answers already provided by none other than USA Today, and the leading bosses of your online travel agencies.

Travelport & Orbitz Safe for Now – and Tomorrow?

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Everyone associated with Travelport has to have breathed a sigh of relief on the news that Travelport Holdings successfully revamped their debt, extending their PIK until December of 2016. Unanimous support from their lenders now ensures the travel giants ongoing operations.

Travel for Good Winners Picked by Travelocity

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Travelocity announced the four grand prize winners for their recent Travel for Good® program. Over the last six months Travelocity has been looking for stories of inspiration from volunteers around the world. The four winners will each receive a $5,000 grant for a so called “volunteer vacation” – where they can offer their services in some corner of the world.

American Airlines Wins Court Round – Travelers Losing Still

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A Texas judge has ruled that Sabre Holdings Corp. cannot stop American Airlines (AMR) from seeking a court order to bar Sabre from diminishing the position of AMR’s flight listings. American is seeking an injunction to stop Sabre from listing the airline’s flights beneath competitors routinely. While AMR has won the most recent court round, passengers may lose in the end.

Ticket Prices Skyrocket – Google Shrugs

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The online travel war between OTA’s, airlines, and other interested parties has grown into an industry damaging PR nightmare. American Airlines, Google, Expedia, all the major players may not realize how frustrating their power moves are for the little people. These companies are jeopardizing their own future, and that of developers all over the world.

Is American Airlines Spinning Out of Control?

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The shakeup for air travel bookings online continues today with American Airlines’ contention that their ticket sales have never been better – even without Orbitz and Expedia. The airline neglects to point out an email marketing initiative instigated simultaneously with dumping Orbitz, and the fact that ticket sales for every airline have risen these last few days. What is the customer to make of supposedly trusted travel partners when low blows are the trend?

Microsoft Piggybacks On FairSearch Whining

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In a transparent move to block yet another Google business move, Microsoft joins the scaredy cats at FairSearch. Like a ravenous whining hyena, Microsoft once again nips at the heels of the Internet’s most profitable and powerful company.

The Decaying Orbit of Orbitz Online

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With the holiday travel season upon us, and Google pushing online travel giants around, the best Orbitz can come up with is a mobile application and a drug store marketing deal. American Airlines is about to pull one of Orbitz’s biggest calling cards and the company is doing research about holiday airport traffic? Just what is up with this online travel giant leaves room for much speculation.