Expedia is set to purchase ‘rival’ travel booking site Travelocity for $280 million.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Expedia has been running operations for Travelocity since 2013 – so substantially, consumers will likely see very little difference.
Expedia already owns Hotels.com, Hotwire, eLong Inc. and Trivago.
The WSJ goes on to say the travel industry is feeling pressure from travel comparison shopping sites, but if one company owns the majority of sites AND the marketing their own comparison site (Trivago) – is that really pressure? Consolidation is rarely good for the consumer, as it means less competition and typically higher prices. It isn’t the point of being a monopoly, especially with Priceline still being the dominant player. Orbitz isn’t as hot as it once was, and TripAdvisor is still a close competitor to Expedia.
Also cited as competition are start-ups advertising spare rooms. While there may be a smaller market that is captured by sites like airbnb.com, hotels will still remain the dominant choice for overnight travel accommodations.