A Leader in On-Line Travel Services Essay

The travel industry is billion dollar a year business. Year round people from all walks fill the roads and departing plane seats in search of travel success. There is no doubt that the travel industry will continue to be in demand, however, while vacationers, business travelers and everyone in between anticipate spending a good chunk of change to get from point a to point b, no person wants to part with their hard earned money. Thankfully, some genius out there understood this. Along with the evolution of the technological advances came a miraculous source for locating the best deals in travel, from flights to hotels to car rental. Based on the number of travel websites available, no longer do discounted travel options belong solely to commissioned travel agents. Today, everyone from housewives to grandpas to beer-guzzling football fanatics have the capability of obtaining their own travel deals. Parented by Expedia, Inc and based in Washington State, Expedia. com revolutionized the way people travel the world, and as time continues, its services only get better. With a bit of research, a pen and some paper, soon-to-be travelers are able to decide what airline or hotel best suits their needs (and their wallets) all with just a few clicks of the mouse. While competitors such as Travelocity and Priceline offer much of the same services, Expedia. com continues to be a leader in the travel industry (PR Newswire, p. 1). Thousands of hotels, airlines and other travel accommodators have joined in to vie for the traveler’s business, and the wooing has resulted in deep discounts and sometimes little extras, such as free hotel nights. Expedia. om’s early days were a bit primitive, but as the demand for travel options increased, the business flourished. Expedia. com has become a household name among travelers and will continue to be a source for deal seekers around the world. Expedia. com’s big break came in 1996 when Richard Barton, who, at the time, was responsible for creating CD-ROMS for Microsoft, presented the idea of offering travel options on-line (NetIndustries, p. 1). Microsoft Network1 reluctantly began assisting in web exposure in order to generate business for the experimental company (NetIndustries, p. ). While discounted airline tickets were the only product Expedia was offering at the time, the investment Microsoft placed in technological innovations for the company greatly expanded the number of people coming across Expedia. com’s website. A few short years would prove that Expedia. com was not just some fly-by-night ‘dot-com’. In 1999, Microsoft Network spun off a portion of their interest in Expedia for public availability; a move that increased Expedia. com’s worth within hours (NetIndustries, p. 1). With success under their belt, Microsoft opted to sell its entire interest in Expedia. com to USA Networks, Inc. 2. Led by CEO Erik Blachford, Expedia. com is wholly owned by InterActiveCorp (PBM, p. 1). Teaming up with Classic Custom Vacations, Expedia Corporate Travel and Travelscape. com, Inc. , Expedia. com found itself in the perfect position to expand the types of travel services offered, and could continue fulfilling their mission of utilizing electronic sourcing in order to provide the best travel options to its users (About Expedia. com, p. 1). Services available through Expedia. com include discounted flights, hotel accommodations, auto rental, cruises and even vacation packages, all for domestic and international destinations. Additionally, the company offers guidance to travelers who are unsure of the type of travel they are seeking. By clicking the ‘activities’ tab on the website, destination seekers are able to view events taking place all over the world (Expedia. com, p7). Additional services include printable maps, an easy 1. Microsoft Network, a major software developer, assisted Expedia. om by providing technological resources, to include premium web exposure, which played a major role in Expedia. com’s growth. 2. USA Networks, a media based operator, changed its name to USA Interactive upon completing its purchase of Expedia. com. USA Interactive also owns Expedia. com competitor Hotels. com (SJP, 2002). to maneuver website and 24/7 customer service. Along with success, Expedia. com endured its share of struggles. In early operations, Expedia faced several lawsuits, including one from competitor Priceline. om for infringing on a patented â€Å"name your price† service. Other competitors, such as Travelocity. com were heating things up by adding new features and services to their websites. Expedia. com’s defense was to play-up the features and services they already used by launching a major marketing campaign using tags like â⠂¬Å"Don’t just travel. Travel right,† and â€Å"Where do you want to go today? † (NetIndustries, p. 1). While the marketing campaign was a success, profit success was short-lived when some airlines stopped paying commissions to on-line travel agents, including Expedia. om. While competitors such as Priceline. com tagged on hefty $10. 00 surcharges to customers using airlines who didn’t pay commissions, Expedia was able to negotiate with several airlines in order to avoid charging additional fees to customers, while continuing to offer those airlines’ services without feeling too much of a punch (NetIndustries, . 1). Overcoming these challenges, Expedia continues its success by utilizing a product line pricing strategy, which entails offering a variety of products at ranged pricing, or bundling packages and charging accordingly. A mere 11 years old, Expedia. com has become established nationally as well as internationally. Today, Expedia. com’s success continues. It employs 1,758 people, and averages sales at an estimated $590 million (NetIndustries, p. 1). The future includes focusing on the business traveler, whose needs are being met by providing the widest range of products possible, and offering little comforts such as the Expedia. com Cafe3. Cornering the market with the best deals, Expedia. com will continue to lead the on-line travel industry without missing a beat.