Travel search engines with unfamiliar names like Sidestep, Kayak, and Farechase may be mere blips on the Internet, but they are generating a lot of buzz.
The Holy Grail for any traveler is a website that can present the universe of flight, hotel, or rental car options in one place for easy comparison. No website has been able to do that yet, in part because some airlines and hotels are wary of ceding control to third parties, but the travel search engines are showing glimmers of promise.
''These guys have become a credible threat and competitor to Orbitz, Travelocity, and Expedia," said Al Lenza, vice president of distribution and e-Commerce at
Not everyone is convinced. Henry Harteveldt, vice president of travel research at
''Metasearch 1.0 is dead," he said. ''It's time for Metasearch 2.0 to emerge and service a slightly different purpose."
The travel search engines definitely face an uphill struggle. Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity handle the bulk of online travel sales in the United States. They are online travel agents that help customers find fares, rooms, or cars and then book them, usually charging a fee for the service they provide.
Travel search engines have a very different business model. Instead of selling travel, they assemble travel information. The searcher chooses the fare or hotel he prefers and clicks through to make a purchase directly from the airline or hotel chain. The travel search engines don't charge their customers anything. Instead, they make money from small referral fees paid by travel suppliers and advertising on their websites. High volume is the key to their business.
For consumers, the travel search engines require a bit more work because they make booking a two-step process. Yet they also offer a chance at a better deal, both in terms of avoiding service fees and having more fares to choose from. But they don't have every fare or hotel. No one does.
Sidestep is perhaps the best-known travel search engine. The Santa Clara, Calif., company has been around five years in the form of software that can be downloaded to a customer's browser, but only a year as a stand-alone website. Sidestep is functional, not flashy, and focused on making money.
''This is a proven model," said Phil Carpenter, vice president of corporate marketing. ''We're the only player in travel search that's shown we can make a living -- and a good one -- doing this."