Google has invested $700 million in ITA software, used currently by online travel agencies like Expedia, Orbitz etc and meta-search engines like Kayak.
Here are 5 ways Google can shake up these organizations will benefit travel consumers and the destinations that draw them.
- Google will pay its fair share of local room occupancy and tourism development taxes, realizing it benefits when communities have the resources to be visitor-ready.
- Google “gets” geography and won’t default one community to another just because they are in the same media area nor will it haphazardly mix and match lists of cities and airports.
- Google thrives on innovation and improvement and won’t be hamstrung by ‘70’s GDS junk or airport centric searches.
- Google is big on accurate data and updates and knows you need sources at street level, like DMO’s rather than pawning off polluted third party information.
- Google knows that destinations drive travel, not hotels or airlines, car rentals or ticket outlets.
Who knows if Google “gets it”, maybe there’s hope for these other businesses who at the inconvenience of travelers stubbornly refuse to change.
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