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Comparing Expedia, Orbitz, and
Travelocity
In 1997, only 5.3 percent of people in
the U.S. booked their travel arrangements online, but by 2002, 39
percent of users were booking online. The biggest sites for booking
online are Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz. But which is best?
Online travel sites
Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbitz were recently named the top three
most valuable brands in online travel, respectively, by a new
ACNielsen International Research study. Expedia,
Travelocity and Orbitz have risen to the top of the online booking
world by touting the widest selection of travel products at the best
prices. But you probably didn’t know that several discount airlines,
notably Southwest and JetBlue, don't even list their flights on
these sites. So, if you are using any of the big three sites, you
should also check with those airlines as well. Further, one study we
read revealed that, in 2003, for business travelers, the direct
airline websites often offered lower rates than what was offered on
the big three travel sites. So, it does pay to compare … and not to
assume that Orbitz, Travelocity, and Expedia offer the best
rates.
As far as
satisfaction rate with each of the websites, that is a wash.
Information
Week reported that nline
retailers overall scored a combined 84% satisfaction rate, and that
among Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity, they were within two
percentage points of each other, all within 1% of the E-travel
average, 84%.
According to
ConsumerReports.org, Expedia and Travelocity are the best sites for
booking airline tickets online, with Orbitz running close behind. As
far as hidden fees (estimated costs, airport fees, etc.), Expedia
and Orbitz ranked at the bottom of all travel websites, while Orbitz
provided estimated totals but no percentages or specific amounts for
any fees.
Clearly,
these two integrated Web sites performed very poorly at providing
detailed information on additional charges. Below is a complete
breakdown of the sites.
Expedia
Orbitz
Travelocity
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