Yahoo revamped site to compete with online travel agents
Yahoo introduced an upgraded travel service that blends searches with travel-specific features.
Consumers using Yahoo’s central search site can receive instant airfare and hotel price comparisons, satellite overview maps and user reviews of restaurants and tourist destinations. These features previously existed in different corners of the Yahoo network.
“Industry-best prices will actually show up in Yahoo search results,” said Jasper Malcolmson, director of Yahoo Travel. “We have created a search engine both for best places and destinations.”
Users of Yahoo can quickly locate flight or hotel information using terms such as “Flights to Las Vegas” or “compare Las Vegas hotels.”
Search results feature a range of information from Yahoo’s FareChase price comparison system. By clicking on a specific hotel, for example, customers then receive maps or images of where the hotel is located.
Yahoo quotes analysts who say the company’s new site could lure customers away from online travel agents where most online shoppers now look for travel deals.
Many of the Yahoo features can be found, though they are scattered across the Web. By putting many features together, Yahoo has gotten more competitive, according to Forrester Research analyst Henry Harteveldt.
“What Yahoo has and the travel agents don’t have is user generated content,” he said.
Forrester Research found that internet media companies such as Yahoo and AOL have only 20% of the US market for online travel.
Three quarters of the market is controlled by travel brands or dedicated online agents such as Expedia or Tavelocity, which usually require users to sign on and provide personal details to allow sites to tailor travel offerings to specific individuals.
Report by David Wilkening
David
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airbnb eyes a loyalty program but details remain under wraps
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season