Sidestep: Online agencies wary of joining travel search engine

The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA: "Online agencies wary of joining travel search engine By Bruce Mohl The Boston Globe:

Sidestep, the online travel search engine, is now hunting for hotel and air vacation packages the same way it scours the Web for price comparisons involving individual flights, cars and rooms. The new search function holds great promise for consumers looking for the best package deal, but it's facing opposition from some travel companies fearful of seeing their unique hotel and air packages sold as commodities.

The online travel agencies Travelocity and Expedia, two of the biggest package vendors, are refusing to participate, which means Sidestep isn't yet able to offer a comprehensive search....


The one big drawback to the Sidestep search model is its limited reach. Sidestep's revenue model depends on customers clicking through to the travel vendor they want and that vendor paying a small fee to Sidestep for the referral.

However, a number of travel vendors, particularly those selling vacation packages, are wary of companies such as Sidestep trying to establish travel search engines.

Many travel suppliers view their vacation packages as customized products that help pull customers to their Web sites, so they are reluctant to pay referral fees to a company trying to help consumers compare them as if they were all the same.

Carpenter said Sidestep has referral deals in place with Orbitz, the National Leisure Group in Woburn, and Pleasant Holidays. Many other vacation package suppliers have so far refused to sign on.

"We're not convinced that any of these search engines are good for consumers, suppliers or us,'' said a spokeswoman for Travelocity.

"We see these engines as commoditizing travel at a time when we're working hard with suppliers to go in the opposite direction.'' "