Comments on: Travel Comparison Engines – SideStep’s Phil Carpenter http://comparisonengines.com/2005/08/24/travel-comparison-engines-sidesteps-phil-carpenter/ Just another WordPress.com weblog Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:58:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: softsolutions http://comparisonengines.com/2005/08/24/travel-comparison-engines-sidesteps-phil-carpenter/#comment-87 softsolutions Wed, 28 Feb 2007 15:13:12 +0000 http://www.comparisonengines.com/?p=110#comment-87 Hi everyone. We have been working for a consolidator in Norway and created a web based fares information system for him. Can anyone of you kindly advise me how can I go to the next level; i.e. making it an online fares search and booking tool. Please point to me to some resources or links that may be useful. Ali Hi everyone. We have been working for a consolidator in Norway and created a web based fares information system for him. Can anyone of you kindly advise me how can I go to the next level; i.e. making it an online fares search and booking tool. Please point to me to some resources or links that may be useful.

Ali

]]> By: Paul http://comparisonengines.com/2005/08/24/travel-comparison-engines-sidesteps-phil-carpenter/#comment-86 Paul Thu, 11 May 2006 18:49:41 +0000 http://www.comparisonengines.com/?p=110#comment-86 Just wanted to add that the site is www.orbedia.com Just wanted to add that the site is http://www.orbedia.com

]]> By: Paul http://comparisonengines.com/2005/08/24/travel-comparison-engines-sidesteps-phil-carpenter/#comment-85 Paul Thu, 11 May 2006 18:48:53 +0000 http://www.comparisonengines.com/?p=110#comment-85 Orbedia.com - It's Orbitz and Expedia combined with a number of other partners to provide a comprehensive search and tailored results for users. What sets Orbedia apart from sites like Kayak, Sidestep and others is that users are directed to partner sites with results displayed. So you only have to input your search parameters once. This also guarantees that the rate you are looking at, is what you will pay. Finally, Orbedia allows users to explore and gather more data about the destination they are visiting, by viewing user comments on individual sites. We invite you to try Orbedia.com for your future travel needs. Your comments and feedback are appreciated. Orbedia.com – It’s Orbitz and Expedia combined with a number of other partners to provide a comprehensive search and tailored results for users. What sets Orbedia apart from sites like Kayak, Sidestep and others is that users are directed to partner sites with results displayed. So you only have to input your search parameters once. This also guarantees that the rate you are looking at, is what you will pay. Finally, Orbedia allows users to explore and gather more data about the destination they are visiting, by viewing user comments on individual sites. We invite you to try Orbedia.com for your future travel needs.

Your comments and feedback are appreciated.

]]> By: VerticalSearch.net » Blog Archive » SimplyHired Job Search http://comparisonengines.com/2005/08/24/travel-comparison-engines-sidesteps-phil-carpenter/#comment-84 VerticalSearch.net » Blog Archive » SimplyHired Job Search Thu, 23 Mar 2006 00:17:29 +0000 http://www.comparisonengines.com/?p=110#comment-84 [...] til 3/2005. There’s a 5 year delta between travel search and job search. Related Posts: Travel Search Engines - Phil Carpenter - August 2 [...] [...] til 3/2005. There’s a 5 year delta between travel search and job search. Related Posts: Travel Search Engines – Phil Carpenter – August 2 [...]

]]> By: VerticalSearch.net » Blog Archive » Past Posts about Mobissimo, Kayak, and SideStep http://comparisonengines.com/2005/08/24/travel-comparison-engines-sidesteps-phil-carpenter/#comment-83 VerticalSearch.net » Blog Archive » Past Posts about Mobissimo, Kayak, and SideStep Fri, 17 Feb 2006 22:32:48 +0000 http://www.comparisonengines.com/?p=110#comment-83 [...] #038; Travelocity? - June 7, 2005 One of Mobissimo’s co-Founders Moves On - June 7, 2005 Travel Comparison Engines - SideStep’s Phil Carpenter - August 24, 2005 Kayak - Interview with Steve Ha [...] [...] #038; Travelocity? – June 7, 2005 One of Mobissimo’s co-Founders Moves On – June 7, 2005 Travel Comparison Engines – SideStep’s Phil Carpenter – August 24, 2005 Kayak – Interview with Steve Ha [...]

]]> By: Alan Sorenson http://comparisonengines.com/2005/08/24/travel-comparison-engines-sidesteps-phil-carpenter/#comment-82 Alan Sorenson Mon, 05 Dec 2005 05:12:27 +0000 http://www.comparisonengines.com/?p=110#comment-82 The problem that travelers who use travel search engines have, is that they don't know which sites have biased search results and which don't. Since many of the sites get advertising revenue and referral fees from airlines and hotels, it's appropriate for travel shoppers to at least be suspicious. This has also been the case with the systems that travel agencies use. From what a travel agent friend of mine told me, it's long been the case that the order of travel options that agents see on their systems may be biased by the fees that the airlines and hotels pay Sabre, Galileo and the other global distribution systems. Why would it be much different in the travel search engine world? By the way, one travel search engine that may actually be neutral is mySmartTrip from Enable Solutions - www.enablesolutions.com. They offer their software to companies and individual business travelers for a monthly fee and don't accept any advertising. The problem that travelers who use travel search engines have, is that they don’t know which sites have biased search results and which don’t. Since many of the sites get advertising revenue and referral fees from airlines and hotels, it’s appropriate for travel shoppers to at least be suspicious. This has also been the case with the systems that travel agencies use. From what a travel agent friend of mine told me, it’s long been the case that the order of travel options that agents see on their systems may be biased by the fees that the airlines and hotels pay Sabre, Galileo and the other global distribution systems. Why would it be much different in the travel search engine world?

By the way, one travel search engine that may actually be neutral is mySmartTrip from Enable Solutions – http://www.enablesolutions.com. They offer their software to companies and individual business travelers for a monthly fee and don’t accept any advertising.

]]> By: Marlene http://comparisonengines.com/2005/08/24/travel-comparison-engines-sidesteps-phil-carpenter/#comment-81 Marlene Fri, 23 Sep 2005 19:36:26 +0000 http://www.comparisonengines.com/?p=110#comment-81 Hello - Price comparison for distriubution is questionable - can be argued either way. What Im interested in exploring is your distinction between "old vs. new" tecnology - "They understand new tech as opposed to Travelocity which means Sabre, which means old tech” - both means are seamless (live). Please elaborate on new vs. old. Thanks, Marlene Hello – Price comparison for distriubution is questionable – can be argued either way. What Im interested in exploring is your distinction between “old vs. new” tecnology – “They understand new tech as opposed to Travelocity which means Sabre, which means old tech” – both means are seamless (live). Please elaborate on new vs. old.

Thanks, Marlene

]]> By: Jerome Thil http://comparisonengines.com/2005/08/24/travel-comparison-engines-sidesteps-phil-carpenter/#comment-80 Jerome Thil Mon, 29 Aug 2005 08:53:08 +0000 http://www.comparisonengines.com/?p=110#comment-80 Nawar, In a sense you are right, but there is a technical point that is relevant. The fact that the meta-search websites are paid by the suppliers does not mean that they are not neutral. I agree with Frosti. Travel meta-engines are limited because it is very difficult to grab prices in real time on travel websites. This is not a Google like approach. You need a strong technology to grab information in real time on websites. If you don't have this technology, you need to build relationships with the travel websites and you become dependant to a limited list of actors. The funny challenge is : being able to set up travel metasearch tools which can grab prices in real time on an unlimited list of websites, including the airline companies websites (... kind regards to the GDSs)... Try www.tazzoo.com. Jerome thil founder coelis.com tazzoo.com Nawar,
In a sense you are right, but there is a technical point that is relevant. The fact that the meta-search websites are paid by the suppliers does not mean that they are not neutral. I agree with Frosti.
Travel meta-engines are limited because it is very difficult to grab prices in real time on travel websites. This is not a Google like approach. You need a strong technology to grab information in real time on websites. If you don’t have this technology, you need to build relationships with the travel websites and you become dependant to a limited list of actors. The funny challenge is : being able to set up travel metasearch tools which can grab prices in real time on an unlimited list of websites, including the airline companies websites (… kind regards to the GDSs)…
Try http://www.tazzoo.com.

Jerome thil
founder
coelis.com
tazzoo.com

]]> By: Frosti Sigurjonsson http://comparisonengines.com/2005/08/24/travel-comparison-engines-sidesteps-phil-carpenter/#comment-79 Frosti Sigurjonsson Sun, 28 Aug 2005 20:41:36 +0000 http://www.comparisonengines.com/?p=110#comment-79 Hi, I am the founder of http://www.dohop.com - a travel search engine. dohop may be tiny still - but its strong! It is the only search engine that can find flight connections with European low-cost airlines, and it does this in less than 2 seconds. More to come this fall! I do hope Nawar reads this because dohop welcomes all vendors even if they don't advertise. Ranking of search results is not biased by sponsorships. Its exciting to be part of this new industry. Travel search engines are just starting out and the public seems to be somewhat confused about what they are. Are they travel agents ? Why don't they book this flight for me? People also seem to mistake the likes of Expedia for "travel search engines". No doubt, this because these Travel Agents offer good search functionality for their catalogue. The term "meta search engine" is sometimes used for the likes of Sidestep. This is not so good because elsewhere this specifically means "search engines that search other search engines". One example would be www.dogpile.com. Perhaps somebody will one day start a meta travel search engine that searches sidestep, kayak, dohop. What will he be called then? Lets be clear about it: Sidestep, Kayak, Mobissimo, dohop, Allcheckin and the like are nothing but TRAVEL SEARCH ENGINES. I would also like to suggest that we start using the term Travel Search Engine Marketing (TSEM). TSEM is growing fast and going to be big. By 2008 turning over more than $1.5bn so it probably merits an acronym. Frosti Sigurjonsson founder dohop.com Hi, I am the founder of http://www.dohop.com – a travel search engine.

dohop may be tiny still – but its strong! It is the only search engine that can find flight connections with European low-cost airlines, and it does this in less than 2 seconds. More to come this fall!

I do hope Nawar reads this because dohop welcomes all vendors even if they don’t advertise. Ranking of search results is not biased by sponsorships.

Its exciting to be part of this new industry. Travel search engines are just starting out and the public seems to be somewhat confused about what they are. Are they travel agents ? Why don’t they book this flight for me?

People also seem to mistake the likes of Expedia for “travel search engines”. No doubt, this because these Travel Agents offer good search functionality for their catalogue.

The term “meta search engine” is sometimes used for the likes of Sidestep. This is not so good because elsewhere this specifically means “search engines that search other search engines”. One example would be http://www.dogpile.com. Perhaps somebody will one day start a meta travel search engine that searches sidestep, kayak, dohop. What will he be called then?

Lets be clear about it: Sidestep, Kayak, Mobissimo, dohop, Allcheckin and the like are nothing but TRAVEL SEARCH ENGINES.

I would also like to suggest that we start using the term Travel Search Engine Marketing (TSEM). TSEM is growing fast and going to be big. By 2008 turning over more than $1.5bn so it probably merits an acronym.

Frosti Sigurjonsson
founder
dohop.com

]]> By: Nawar Alsaadi http://comparisonengines.com/2005/08/24/travel-comparison-engines-sidesteps-phil-carpenter/#comment-75 Nawar Alsaadi Sun, 28 Aug 2005 11:27:21 +0000 http://www.comparisonengines.com/?p=110#comment-75 The Meta-Ad search! In the last several years, the online travel market has witnessed the birth of the meta-search travel website, which in essence a search engine that fetches rates from thousands of suppliers and third party websites and display them all in one place, hence making travel comparison much faster and easier. The premise behind meta-search engines such as Kayak, Mobissimo, Sidestep and Farechase is interesting; the goal of simplifying and speeding up the online travel shopping process is a worthy goal and it does serve an existing need in a highly fragmented industry. Today airlines and hotel shoppers must search multiple sites to find the best airline and hotel deal, not to mention studies has shown that supplier do not practice price consistency across various distribution channels, hence making it more imperative for the client to shop and compare before making an online purchase. However, while the underlying foundation behind meta-search is legitimate, the method applied today is not, let me explain: For a search business or a search website to be viable, the search results must have a neutral results component, the most well known search site of all: Google, has thrived due to the accuracy and comprehensiveness of its natural listings, results that continue to evolve and change as new sites get created and Google improve upon their search code. Meta-search travel websites on the other hand, lack a key component in making them a viable travel search destination, which is the lack of neutral listings, all the results shown in the meta-search companies websites today are sponsored and paid for results. Many of those sites mention that they offer the ability to compare hundreds or even thousands of supplier and travel websites, however in reality they offer a comparison tool among hundreds or thousands advertisers; users are in no way getting a fair, clear or comprehensive comparison among all suppliers and third party websites, in reality users are being tricked into thinking that they are seeing the full picture, but they are not. Another way to look at travel meta-search today is to think of a Google like website where ALL the results shown are Adwords sponsored results; in fact a company like this existed once and it was called Goto.com, the company failed miserably as a search engine, but succeeded eventually as a pay per click provider, working with other search engines that do offer neutral search results, this company is known today as Overture. Unless the meta-search websites will offer comprehensive, neutral and none-sponsored results in their listings, they will never evolve into major travel portals or destinations; at best they will become another tool to compare against and not to compare from. Nawar Alsaadi, Founder of Global Hotel Discount (www.globalhoteldiscount.com) The Meta-Ad search!

In the last several years, the online travel market has witnessed the birth of the meta-search travel website, which in essence a search engine that fetches rates from thousands of suppliers and third party websites and display them all in one place, hence making travel comparison much faster and easier.

The premise behind meta-search engines such as Kayak, Mobissimo, Sidestep and Farechase is interesting; the goal of simplifying and speeding up the online travel shopping process is a worthy goal and it does serve an existing need in a highly fragmented industry.

Today airlines and hotel shoppers must search multiple sites to find the best airline and hotel deal, not to mention studies has shown that supplier do not practice price consistency across various distribution channels, hence making it more imperative for the client to shop and compare before making an online purchase.

However, while the underlying foundation behind meta-search is legitimate, the method applied today is not, let me explain:

For a search business or a search website to be viable, the search results must have a neutral results component, the most well known search site of all: Google, has thrived due to the accuracy and comprehensiveness of its natural listings, results that continue to evolve and change as new sites get created and Google improve upon their search code.

Meta-search travel websites on the other hand, lack a key component in making them a viable travel search destination, which is the lack of neutral listings, all the results shown in the meta-search companies websites today are sponsored and paid for results.

Many of those sites mention that they offer the ability to compare hundreds or even thousands of supplier and travel websites, however in reality they offer a comparison tool among hundreds or thousands advertisers; users are in no way getting a fair, clear or comprehensive comparison among all suppliers and third party websites, in reality users are being tricked into thinking that they are seeing the full picture, but they are not.

Another way to look at travel meta-search today is to think of a Google like website where ALL the results shown are Adwords sponsored results; in fact a company like this existed once and it was called Goto.com, the company failed miserably as a search engine, but succeeded eventually as a pay per click provider, working with other search engines that do offer neutral search results, this company is known today as Overture.

Unless the meta-search websites will offer comprehensive, neutral and none-sponsored results in their listings, they will never evolve into major travel portals or destinations; at best they will become another tool to compare against and not to compare from.

Nawar Alsaadi, Founder of Global Hotel Discount (www.globalhoteldiscount.com)

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