NB: This is a guest post Andrew Silverman, senior product manager at Google and working on the company’s travel initiatives.
Every year, millions of people go online to find flights. Some go directly to the website of their preferred airline. Others use online travel agencies, review or metasearch sites.
With just a few clicks, consumers can accomplish what used to take a half hour on the phone -- or longer.
But as the travel industry gathers in Phoenix this week, buzzing about the latest innovations, does anyone believe that online travel works as well as it could for consumers?
We sure don’t.
That’s why we’re acquiring ITA Software - to contribute to the already fast pace of travel innovation, provide consumers who search for flights on Google more useful answers, and give them better ways to make their travel plans online.
This combination will allow us to send even more high-quality leads to airline and online travel agency sites -- the kind of clicks that lead to sales. And we’ve pledged to continue licensing ITA’s tools to other sites.
Despite what we see as the benefits for the entire online travel ecosystem, a few players in the online travel space have objected to this deal.
But let’s be candid: so far the only voices complaining are competitors, not consumers. And our legal system isn’t designed to protect companies from competition, but to ensure that consumers benefit from it.
It’s time for some straight talk in response to these companies’ claims.
First, some companies apparently believe that Google should not be allowed to improve the results we deliver our users, by providing our users with airfares and schedules.
They’d like Google results to forever remain “ten blue links” -- never mind that other websites already provide such additional details.
But if these companies got their wish and the status quo prevailed in search, we wouldn’t see innovations like Google Instant, which is helping users save time, or voice search, which is helping mobile users search more efficiently.
Second, some argue that Google is somehow a gateway to travel sites.
Based on our analysis and data from Compete.com, non-navigational traffic from Google (i.e., not including when someone types in a search query like [expedia] into Google) is responsible for only about 8% of traffic to the top ten travel websites.
And if ITA’s QPX product is as “essential” as some claim, how then are Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity all able to survive -- and thrive -- when they don’t even use QPX at all?
Third, others have argued (with no evidence) that this acquisition will somehow cause prices to go up. But Google and ITA don’t set airfare prices, the airlines do.
And increased competition brings prices down - it doesn’t drive them up. That’s good for consumers.
Finally, some have asked why Google doesn’t just license ITA’s QPX service instead of buying the company. With all due respect, this reflects a failure of imagination for what’s possible in flight search.
Once we combine with ITA, we plan to build new tools together that take flight search to the next level.
Today’s travel websites work okay if you’re looking for a flight from city A to city B on a specific date, but not if you’re searching for “fly to an island location at a time when it’s usually good weather for less than $500.”
We don’t know what these new tools will look like yet -- and can’t, until we can close this acquisition and begin working with ITA. But some critics apparently think consumers should be satisfied with the status quo.
The history is clear. When Google enters a new space, the products in that space get better for consumers. When we launched Google Chrome, an Internet browser, other browser makers responded by making their browsers faster. Android has made the smartphone space more competitive.
Web-based email was never the same after Gmail launched – and consumers reaped the benefits.
That’s exactly what will happen when Google and ITA combine. Consumers will get new flight search tools, making online travel better for everyone. We can’t wait to see what’s next.
NB: This is a guest post Andrew Silverman, senior product manager at Google and working on the company’s travel initiatives.