Metasearch

PhocusWire's in-depth coverage of the metasearch sector, featuring news, analysis, interviews, research and more on the brands and their strategies, executives and positions in the market.

Local goes loco -- Groupon, AOL find their places
News / Online
Local goes loco -- Groupon, AOL find their places
By Dennis Schaal | March 19, 2010
Suddenly, it's all about local -- news about your city, deals from your area and the best vacations from your airport. Read More
Reverse auctions - an experiment that turned into a business at Air New Zealand
News / Online
Reverse auctions - an experiment that turned into a business at Air New Zealand
By Kevin May | March 17, 2010
Ask many observers about reverse auctions in the travel industry and there is a collective shrug of the shoulders - it doesn't work, too complicated, often risky. Read More
UpTake heads down ultimate travel content aggregation route
News / Online
UpTake heads down ultimate travel content aggregation route
By Kevin May | March 17, 2010
Hotel metasearch site UpTake is embarking on what it claims is a web-first to aggregate not only travel information from suppliers but also bloggers around the world. Read More
Skyscanner opens new site domains for Austria, Sweden and Switzerland
News / Online
Skyscanner opens new site domains for Austria, Sweden and Switzerland
By Kevin May | March 15, 2010
Metasearch engine Skyscanner has unveiled three new country domains as it continue its global expansion programme. Read More
Zugu lifts lid on site for Germany
News / Online
Zugu lifts lid on site for Germany
By Kevin May | March 12, 2010
Cheapflights has launched its second Zugu metasearch site in less than a month - using the ITB exhibition in Berlin to unveil a local version for the German market. Read More
The GDS wars, broken models and metasearch issues -- JetBlue-style
News / Online
The GDS wars, broken models and metasearch issues -- JetBlue-style
By Dennis Schaal | March 11, 2010
In the last round of GDS negotiations in 2007, airlines such as American Airlines and Delta Airlines stridently warned that they would pull out of major GDSs if the carriers didn't get their way. Read More
Priorities for metasearch - Skyscanner and Swoodoo say booking way down the list
News / Online
Priorities for metasearch - Skyscanner and Swoodoo say booking way down the list
By Kevin May | March 10, 2010
The chatter generated by Kayak when it announced it is considering adding a booking element into its model appears not to have inspired others to think the same. Read More
Will Priceline come back to the field?
By Dennis Schaal | March 3, 2010
Among the three U.S.-based public company online travel agencies -- Expedia, Priceline and Orbitz Worldwide -- Jake Fuller sees Expedia and Orbitz closing the gap a bit on a global basis with... Read More
Priceline CEO on metasearch swan song, private sales, Expedia, Asia strategy
News / Online
Priceline CEO on metasearch swan song, private sales, Expedia, Asia strategy
By Dennis Schaal | February 24, 2010
Priceline CEO Jeffery Boyd thinks metasearch's best days are behind it, argues that Jetsetter's private, members-only hotel sales will forever remain a niche endeavor, and rules out relaunching a... Read More
Zugu already considering other travel products for metasearch
News / Online
Zugu already considering other travel products for metasearch
By Kevin May | February 23, 2010
Zugu, the fledgling metasearch brand from Cheapflights, is already looking at adding other elements to its flight search such as hotels and car hire. Read More
TravelSupermarket says clicks to British Airways flights dropped by 20% as strike threat loomed
News / Online
TravelSupermarket says clicks to British Airways flights dropped by 20% as strike threat loomed
By Kevin May | February 22, 2010
British Airways is starting to suffer the medium to long-term effects of its ongoing dispute with cabin crew, not least in the amount of traffic its website receives from metasearch engines. Read More
WotFlight - Fighting talk from Wotif as it targets flights, aiming for hotel repeat
News / Online
WotFlight - Fighting talk from Wotif as it targets flights, aiming for hotel repeat
By Kevin May | February 17, 2010
Australia-New Zealand online accommodation service Wotif is targeting some of the biggest players in the region's flight search and booking sector with the launch of WotFlight. Read More
BudgetAirlines gets interim lift from Kayak
News / Online
BudgetAirlines gets interim lift from Kayak
By Dennis Schaal | February 15, 2010
Budget Center, a mash-up of budget-oriented travel domains. launched an interim website, BudgetAirlines.com, featuring Kayak metasearch. And, oh yes, the website has Google AdSense, too. Read More
Basking in Google glory, Kayak launches Trips in the UK, upgrades iPhone app
News / Online
Basking in Google glory, Kayak launches Trips in the UK, upgrades iPhone app
By Kevin May | February 15, 2010
Fresh from being cited by Google as a key competitor, Kayak is rolling out its trip planning tool to the UK market this week and also unveiling a major upgrade to its iPhone app. Read More
Google takes Kayak by surprise, named as key competitor
By Kevin May | February 14, 2010
Some folk in Connecticut, US, will be scratching their heads as feverishly as they are digging their way through the snow after Google named the metasearch firm Kayak on its list of competitors. Read More