"What set out to be a temporary promotion by the various opaque sites, in order to lure summer travelers, may stick around for the foreseeable future."
Competition these days in the travel industry is definitely at an all time high. Not only are airlines and hotels “duking” it out to win a customer’s service, but so are the very sites where travelers book these various aspects of their trip. In what is a sure sign that the poor economy has hurt travel companies, websites like Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbitz may do away with their booking fees permanently…or at least for a much longer time than originally planned.
What set out to be a temporary promotion by the various opaque sites, in order to lure summer travelers, may stick around for the foreseeable future. All three of the aforementioned sites saw a decrease in sales during the second quarter of 2009. Priceline, which did away with those pesky airlines fees in 2007 and lowered hotel fees in 2008, was the only travel booking website to see growth in that same time period.
Many analysts feel that the companies offering these sweet deals may slowly reinstate fees without any fanfare once demand is stronger again. If the economy kick starts later this year, you will surely see these online travel agencies equally kick start their old fee loving habits. For now though, book and enjoy the “fee-less” fares.
Source: Reuters
