Travelocity vs Expedia vs Orbitz - Which is best?

Travelocity.com, Inc. operates a comprehensive online travel web site where travellers can make reservations and seek information about potential destinations. Launched in 1996 it was cobbled up as a joint venture of Sabre Interactive and Worldview Systems both travel companies of repute! It is a treasure trove of facts & figures where you can browse through information for more than 700 airlines, more than 50,000 hotels, and more than 50 car rental companies apart from nearly 6,500 vacation packages. It posted a revenue of 301.8 million$ in 2001. This site clocked an amazing 1.2 million hits and countless registrations in its first three months of operation as registration is compulsory to make a purchase through this site.

It has been adding many value added features such as hotel reservations, car rentals, vacation packages and street maps to meet the burgeoning needs of the aspiring tourists The merger with Preview Travel, another leading online travel service notched it up further into a public company that floated shares. Its website is colourful and lively, true to a travel portal, well complimented by smiling faces and enchanting landscapes that readily strike a chord with its viewers!

The online travel agency of Expedia, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, USA. went public way back in 1999 and later Inter ActiveCorp (IAC) bought a controlling stake in Expedia Though in 2005 these two entities became separate and independent, Expedia, Inc. still remains under the chairmanship of Barry Diller who is the senior executive of IAC.

One of the world's leading online travel companies, Expedia is leaving nothing to chance and is employing the best trading practices coupled with its unparalleled leverage of geographic reach and scalable business models to make an indelible imprint on the tourist map! It has bagged its fair share of awards such as Webby Award in the area of "Best in Travel Websites" Stevie Award from the American Business Association for "Most Innovative Company" as well as the top rating in customer satisfaction across online travel agencies by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. The various coveted awards and viewers' positive responses vouch for its raging popularity that is set to dislodge Travelocity from its pedestal! Just like Travelocity, this full throttled online travel agency also offers complete information on airfares, lodging, car rentals and cruises. Its website that is temporarily unavailable due to renovation may leave an unsavoury mark on its users apart from the minor blotches left by some customer complaints such as lost reservations and erroneous hotel accommodations.

Orbitz, though has many innovative ideas to lure the travellers, it has clearly fall short of the expectations of its customers as its fares and services just do not stand a match in front of the other players' matchless packages and gift schemes! Its website appears too dreary when compared to that of Travelocity that fail to invoke any significant interest in the travellers' minds!

Its promotional strategies include sponsoring dreamy themes such as "Win Planet Earth" where the winner will receive tickets for two to six continents and $5,000 cash! It has cast a wider net by teaming up with its promotional partners of AmericanGreetings.com to bring the maximum travellers into its fold. The one thing that sets it apart from its competitors is its powerful search engine that scans up to two billion flights and fares from 450 airlines in split seconds and gets all your data in simple grids in one screen.

The popularity weighed on the scales of facts and figures clearly give the 1st place to Expedia.com. In March 2005, more than 18.7Million consumers visited Expedia.com, followed by 17.7Million to Orbitz and 12.6Million to Travelocity. The fares offered by Expedia and Travelocity were attractive than that of Orbitz. Travelocity flashes an email notification when prices drop for specified cities and last minute discounts for travel within two weeks that makes it stand apart from the other two players. Expedia promises it users an easy access to previously booked and current itineraries. 60% of the customers of Expedia remain loyal and are less likely to switch sides making Expedia consistent whereas Travelocity remained vulnerable among its customers.

The popularity and other value added features of Expedia.com clearly make it the leader separated by a whiff from Travelocity, with Orbitz closely behind in the third slot.

Usha Hari

Hi-Tech Editorial Division