Booking.com and Expedia are working to evolve from travel platforms that focus solely on accommodation to ones that offer complete travel services to position themselves as one-stop shops. However, to date, particularly in the United States and Western Europe, we do not have a dominant truly comprehensive travel platform for travelers.
Booking.com offers a choice of more than 29 million property listings, including accommodations, flights, car rentals and activities, but for some reason, less than 10% of its transactions are “connected” trips. The core issue is that travel sectors – flights, hotels and activities – are fundamentally different businesses that require specialized expertise. Each of these segments has its own operational and financial model, networks and customer journey that don’t easily blend with the others. Consumers prefer to book with trustworthy providers in separate categories instead of settling for a platform that tries to be everything but masters little.
Even if a company manages to get everything in place, the initial investment is staggering.
The idea that travelers will opt for convenience over savings is overestimated; price comparison is ingrained in modern travel behavior. If a customer can find a better deal for a hotel on one site and a cheaper flight on another, he will happily use both, no matter how convenient a one-stop-shop platform may claim to be.
Every company should do :
- First, look for natural synergies between their core strengths and customer needs, focusing on strategic partnerships where they can add value.
- Second, instead of cramming every service into one platform, companies should focus on interoperability. Partnerships with hotels or car rentals make more sense than trying to own everything and do everything on their own
- Third, the matter of cost-effectiveness, because by focusing on what works and partnering for the rest, companies can reduce costs while still offering a comprehensive travel experience to their customers.
In summary, the truly one-stop-shop model in travel has not been realized due to its complexity, resource intensity, and failure to meet customer preferences. Travelers are already comparing a dozen websites to find the cheapest option.