So 2010 has begun and the hiring landscape is starting to take shape. Things are looking up for a number of people on the market today as well as for MBA interns at MIT.
MIT MBA’s make the trek to Seattle every year to discuss future employment opportunities with a number of top companies that include Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Expedia to name a few. Everyone agrees that the job market is looking much better in 2010 but there will still be some hiccups along the way.
One issue that was noticed right off the top was the fact that Expedia didn’t even host the students this year as they have in the past. Are they just not entertaining MIT MBA students or is it a broader problem.
Don’t get me wrong, they are hiring entry level positions that turn over frequently but long gone are the days where they couldn’t fill the positions to keep up with the volume of business on their books. This is the same for the other big online travel agents. Travelocity and Orbitz are essentially in a crawl related to their hiring status.
Now, is this indicative of a slow economy or are the big OTA’s just losing market share to smaller more inventive and flexible companies. The type of companies that truly build relationships with their customers and clients may be the ones who are now winning the race.
It was talked about years ago that the buying public would begin to start spending their money with smaller niche online travel agencies as they became more educated on how to find the best deals with the best players online. This may be taking place right now.
Companies such as bookit.com are in a strong hiring position essentially hiring for every area within their company. They are currently looking for Market Managers, IT Developers, Reservationists, etc. They have started to change the game online by creating true relationships with their suppliers as well as their customers thus being able to grow in a soft economy. They do not handcuff their clients in regards to their agreements so they are able to deliver great deals to the buying public.
I would suggest that this scenario will continue to grow. As we, the buying public, begin to fully grasp where the best places are to shop for our trips, etc we will look at more focused, smaller online travel agencies that help create a sense of a relationship with the buyer and supplier.
If you are looking for a job right now in the online travel space, I would suggest looking at smaller more proactive and flexible companies that are dedicated to change and their employees rather than the larger players that need to reinvent themselves.
So 2010 has begun and the hiring landscape is starting to take shape. Things are looking up for a number of people on the market today as well as for MBA interns at MIT.
MIT MBAs make the trek to Seattle, Washington, every year to discuss employment opportunities with a number of top companies that include Microsoft, Amazon and Expedia, to name a few, as well as down the road in California with Google.
Everyone agrees that the job market is looking much better in 2010 but there will still be some hiccups along the way.
One issue that was noticed right off the top was the fact that Expedia didn’t host the students this year as they have in the past. Are they just not entertaining MIT MBA students or is it a broader problem?
Don’t get me wrong, they are hiring entry level positions that turn over frequently, but long gone are the days where they couldn’t fill the positions to keep up with the volume of business on their books.
This is the same for the other big online travel agents. Travelocity and Orbitz are essentially in a crawl related to their hiring status.
Now, is this indicative of a slow economy or are the big OTAs just losing market share to smaller more inventive and flexible companies. The type of companies that truly build relationships with their customers and clients may be the ones who are now winning the race.
It was talked about years ago that the buying public would begin to start spending their money with smaller niche online travel agencies as they became more educated on how to find the best deals with the best players online. This may be taking place right now.
Companies such as Bookit.com are in a strong hiring position essentially hiring for every area within their company.
They are currently looking for market managers, IT developers, reservationists, etc. They have started to change the game online by creating true relationships with their suppliers as well as their customers thus being able to grow in a soft economy.
They do not handcuff their clients in regards to their agreements so they are able to deliver great deals to the buying public.
I would suggest that this scenario will continue to grow.
As we, the buying public, begin to fully grasp where the best places are to shop for our trips, etc we will look at more focused, smaller online travel agencies that help create a sense of a relationship with the buyer and supplier.
If you are looking for a job right now in the online travel space, I would suggest looking at smaller more proactive and flexible companies that are dedicated to change and their employees rather than the larger players that need to reinvent themselves.
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- Expedia drops the blocks for debut Australia-New Zealand TV commercial
- Expedia beefs up web advertising plans across Europe
- TRX hopes for soft landing as Expedia sunsets some functions
on 13 January 2010
So 2010 has begun and the hiring landscape is starting to take shape. Things are looking up for a number of people on the market today as well as for MBA interns at MIT.
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I do think it’s notable any time a big player pulls back on hiring efforts. However, I respectfully think it’s a bit of a stretch to conclude job seekers should avoid large OTAs & seek roles with small, niche players. I’m not seeing the correlation between that recommendation & one OTA dropping an event.
I’m certain, Alan, you have much more knowledge than I do on this topic, but to play devil’s advocate, isn’t it possible that Expedia’s move could be the result of a few very uninteresting, explainable events?
For one, HR/recruiting were some of the first budget items to be cut in 2009. Hosting this event isn’t free, and cutting it out of the budget could have just been an easy decision. No brainer.
Second, maybe Expedia decided that in a crappy economic year it didn’t need an MIT MBA (the most expensive in the US) to copy edit its marketing emails and field calls from its ad agency on the new logo design billing codes… Maybe someone from Kellogg or Texas for 100K instead of 120K would suffice?
Third, all of these OTAs have been fat & happy for awhile. This economic collapse was the greatest excuse any CFO ever had to get overhead under control to run their low-margin businesses.
For these small companies you mention who are hiring like crazy right now, I would be curious to see exactly how many are hiring specifically MBAs… my guess is not many. But I’m hoping you have examples that prove me wrong.
Overall, the most opportunities for MBAs in the travel industry exist with the giants. That’s because MBAs started their career at these large companies, learned the business, then left to start these niche companies… they know from personal experience that an MBA isn’t needed to be a middle manager at the company they own. Yet, large companies still believe it is… so ride that gravy train, MBA kiddos, as long as it lasts. And based on your predictions, Alan, that may not be for very long.
Thanks Sarah for your comments.
You make some very interesting points and I thank you for bringing them to light.
MBA’s aside, as they do make up a small amount of the OTA workforce, I still think that there is a issue with the big OTA’s and their hiring strategies or lack there of.
Long gone are the days where large companies truly make their employees feel like family and I think this is very sad. Companies like the big three OTA’s are driven by their investors and not the public at large nor their workforce.
The smaller firms will attract a number of MBA’s along with the general work force as they bring a sense of ingenuity, flexibility and family along with listening to their employees input. Not too sure if this is the case within the larger companies.
Finally, in order for any company to remain competitive, they must continue to engage some of the best talent possible in order to maintain the input of fresh, new ideas. I fully understand that there is a cost in doing this but I wonder what the actual cost in not continuing to bring in fresh minds with fresh ideas is.
Having worked most of my life in hospitality technology and distribution and now working on the recruiting side of our industry, I am looking at the business from a different angle. It certainly is an eye opener!
Thanks again for your comments, they are truly appreciated.
100% agree with your analysis of the large players having trouble maintaining the family atmosphere that fosters young talent. I think it’s a classic case of growing at a rate that outpaces their ability to maintain the same culture that got them there on a local and global level. That is why you see so many young, talented MBAs and non-MBAs abort mission from the big guys and launch the next big travel start-up.
And maybe that’s a good thing – maybe crappy recruiting and retention by the large OTAs is actually the best thing that could happen to the travel industry. If the brightest minds all spent their entire careers in roles that didn’t truly impact anything and were just medium-size fish in a massive pond, that would be unfortunate. The young employees who are truly worth their salt are the ones who aren’t passive enough to stay at a place that doesn’t provide the culture they need or believe makes a company successful. They are forced to put up or shut up, and those who put up usually do so in the way of securing funding their own business.
Heck, Tnooz even today posted an article today of one of the prime examples of this – Traxo.
Anyway, great discussion points. I hope to see more analysis from you and the Tnooz’ers on talent management in the travel industry. Fascinating topic and one of the utmost importance for the future of this industry.