Expedia Buys Orbitz for $1.6B in Cash • Hacker News Board

Re: Expedia Buys Orbitz for $1.6B in Cash

#31

Post by zippergz » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 7:01 PM UTC

MichaelGG wrote: post #29

untog wrote: post #2

All these sites seem to use the exact same backend services, so it's difficult to care. About the only site I use regularly is hotels.com because they have a loyalty scheme (book 10 nights, get 1 free) - and even then I'm sure there's some catch I'm not aware of that makes them the same as everyone else.

The catch, in my anecdotal experience, is that third parties have terrible integration with the hotels. In some cases, they fax a reservation using a company credit card, to pay on your behalf. End result is some percent of the time, this gets messed up and you end up dealing with an annoyed person on check in that sometimes ends up having to get the agency on the line to sort it out. Same for flight bookings. I've n…

Indeed, the only thing I use the third-party sites for is search. For example, to get a quick overview of which airlines have flights to the place I'm going to, or what the available hotels are and their relative prices. And then I go and book directly through the airline or hotel. The price difference is usually minimal or non-existent, and it drastically reduces opportunities for problems.

Re: Expedia Buys Orbitz for $1.6B in Cash

#32

Post by chx » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 7:02 PM UTC

giarc wrote: post #23

stevenj wrote: post #22

In all cash deals like this, is there just a bank wire transfer that's made in the purchase amount from one company's account to the other's once everything has been approved and the deal has closed?

I can't answer your question directly, but I'm reminded of a story a friend once told. He was a new lawyer at a large firm. He was helping with a large deal and the bank couldn't get a hold of the lawyers listed above him. The bank called him and said "Is this $12.5 million transfer approved?" Do which he said yes, and 1 second later, 12 million dollars was moved from one account to another. So perhaps, with some aut…

My brother once put in a 1M EUR transaction instead of 1M HUF he wanted and it went through without a hitch... even though his account didn't have that sort of money or even anything close to that. That was weird and disconcerting.

Re: Expedia Buys Orbitz for $1.6B in Cash

#33

Post by aepearson » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 7:03 PM UTC

Wait until they buy Homeaway next..

Re: Expedia Buys Orbitz for $1.6B in Cash

#34

Post by Kiro » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 7:05 PM UTC

sk2code wrote: post #6

I applied for a Job at Orbitz yesterday and today this news came. Orbitz ratings are pretty solid on Glassdoor and that makes them one of the best companies to work for in the Chicagoland area, hope it remains the same after the merger.

Fun fact: Rich Barton founded both Expedia and Glassdoor.

Re: Expedia Buys Orbitz for $1.6B in Cash

#35

Post by paulhauggis » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 7:12 PM UTC

Someone1234 wrote: post #21

burger_moon wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this article from Reuters [0] their CFO stated that they only hold a single digit market share in the travel industry. "The possibility of antitrust issues was played down by Expedia's Chief Financial Office Mark Okerstrom who said, "It is a $1.3 trillion industry and is highly fragmented ... We are only a small player and our overall share is in single digits."" [0] http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/12/us-or…

That's a ridiculous argument by their CEO. That is like saying Microsoft Office only holds a single digit percentage of revenue in the technology sector. It might technically be true, but it is irrelevant. MS Office has a monopolist hold on the office software space. Monopolies aren't defined by someone who controls an entire sector (a "sector" is arbitrary anyway) it is when one specific company controls one commodi…

"it is when one specific company controls one commodity or service"

There are plenty of office alternatives, including open office.

Here is a list of 10: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/best-microsoft-office...

Google also has competition: Bing, Yahoo, and Baidu to name a few.

"Expedia absolutely has a monopoly on travel price comparison sites now."

There are many other travel comparison sites. How can they possibly have a monopoly?

Re: Expedia Buys Orbitz for $1.6B in Cash

#36

Post by 0cean » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 7:15 PM UTC

jeletonskelly wrote: post #4

untog wrote: post #2

All these sites seem to use the exact same backend services, so it's difficult to care. About the only site I use regularly is hotels.com because they have a loyalty scheme (book 10 nights, get 1 free) - and even then I'm sure there's some catch I'm not aware of that makes them the same as everyone else.

It's actually a big deal in the travel industry. Yes, for the most part they are all the same. Online travel sites have negotiated contracts with the hotels that prevent them from selling their inventory at lower prices to anyone else, so you're not going to get a much better deal where ever you book. The big thing here is this makes the Expedia umbrella by far the largest distribution channel for online hotel reserv…

While the rates are generally the same because of the rate parity agreement these OTAs have with hotels. One way you can get a better deal is booking direct with the hotels. Hotels can offer loyalty rewards, which is not covered by the rate parity agreement, as well as additional on property benefits. My company, https://universalpoints.com offers a 5% cash back that you can earn on your first stay at participating hotels for booking direct with the hotel. We are also working on adding a service where you can use the cash you've earned for reduced room rates and upgrades.

Re: Expedia Buys Orbitz for $1.6B in Cash

#37

Post by pearjuice » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 7:35 PM UTC

stevenj wrote: post #22

In all cash deals like this, is there just a bank wire transfer that's made in the purchase amount from one company's account to the other's once everything has been approved and the deal has closed?

There's probably a whole loop of transfers with one or more Double Irish arrangements, some Dutch sandwich and in the end all the money finds its way to the Cayman Islands or Swiss banks.

Re: Expedia Buys Orbitz for $1.6B in Cash

#38

Post by acomjean » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 7:39 PM UTC

I interviewed at a travel company last year. It was interesting because they didn't do any of the backend booking stuff (for flights), but instead seemed to like to direct you to other sites to book and then take a referal cut if you buy. This was a weird business where the person buying the travel was the product (I didn't like it).

Expedia is one of the direct bookers. I use them. The UI is not pretty but functional enough.

Re: Expedia Buys Orbitz for $1.6B in Cash

#39

Post by mdev » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 7:48 PM UTC

untog wrote: post #2

All these sites seem to use the exact same backend services, so it's difficult to care. About the only site I use regularly is hotels.com because they have a loyalty scheme (book 10 nights, get 1 free) - and even then I'm sure there's some catch I'm not aware of that makes them the same as everyone else.

hotels.com is owned by Expedia

Re: Expedia Buys Orbitz for $1.6B in Cash

#40

Post by ryanSrich » Thu, Feb 12, 2015, 7:48 PM UTC

untog wrote: post #2

All these sites seem to use the exact same backend services, so it's difficult to care. About the only site I use regularly is hotels.com because they have a loyalty scheme (book 10 nights, get 1 free) - and even then I'm sure there's some catch I'm not aware of that makes them the same as everyone else.

I've always found that if I know and book ahead of time I can get a massive deal on hotels simply by calling the front desk. It's usually 10-30% cheaper than booking with any service online. I'm not sure why this is the case but if there's a service that can get me front desk rates, I'd be more than happy to switch.