Not A Hipster Essay: Will Meta-search Level The Playing Field For Suppliers Against The OTAs?
I work in a travel-tech start-up, so topics like meta-search engines floats in my mind.
There’s a grapevine around the travel industry community. Word has it that meta-search is the next big thing in travel. Let’s accept it, meta-search sells like a hotcake. But what is meta-search? How do you define it?
According to Sandy Berger, author of Great Age Guide to the Internet, “a meta-search engine is a search tool that sends user requests to several other search engines and/or databases and aggregates the results into a single list or displays them according to their source”. In the context of travel and hospitality, travel meta-search is a lead-generation platform that allows the consumer to compare rates from multiple online travel agencies and suppliers, usually in a single grid.
Now that we’re clear on meta-search functions, the question is, what spawn meta-search’s meteoric rise?
Meta-search in has been around since the late 1990s, with startups like Sidestep.com (now part of Kayak.com), Qixo and FareChase. Then, meta-search simply displays prices, and offers bookings for hotels, flights and car rentals. It was a good-to-have. After more than ten years later, it became a must-have. Meta-search is a vehicle that the big-boys consider an essential element to their digital marketing mix.
Arguably, one could say that travel consumers these days are not particularly brand-loyal. These segment of travel consumers tend to be deal-seekers. They gravitate towards low-prices, good deal-for-money buys. Travelers are also becoming more and more familiar with these platforms when looking for hotel rooms, flights and etcetera.
Meta-search engine is liberating consumers from the information overload the internet is offering. Hence, it is seen as an efficient channel to drive traffic to websites, than being reliant on Google Adwords - it offers more qualified consumer leads. The context being, a travel consumer is actively-involved in searching for an accommodation or flight deals on the meta-search engine because he has the intention to plan a trip.
Now, it seems to be a very sensible and economically-sound decision for the OTAs to have acquired these travel meta-search engines, left-and-right.
With the OTAs and the supplier constant battle over customer acquisition, often attempting to one-up another with gamification elements (like loyalties points, vouchers etcetera), and many a time OTAs winning the bout - meta-search engine can be a game changer. It may help hoteliers and flight suppliers to gain a level-playing field, especially if it’s utilized well. Who will win the war is something to look forward to.
Whilst meta-search seemed to have a bleak future back in the late 1990s, its future now appears bright. Some might argue, but meta-search is definitely creating a different dynamism in the travel and hospitality industry.
