Kayak began testing the placement of Private Sale banner ads on top of its core hotel-search results in select markets and, unlike other metasearch websites, Kayak collects the booking details from the consumer when Kayak sources the hotel deal.
Kayak tests placing private-sale hotels into search results, collects booking details
July 15, 2010 By 4 Comments
Kayak goes public with Private Sale hotels, rewriting metasearch playbook
January 28, 2010 By 9 Comments
Kayak quietly introduced its Private Sale exclusive hotel deals, where Kayak, in an apparent travel-metasearch first, collects the booking and credit-card details from the consumer.
Kayak’s collection of customer information would ‘assist’ its media business
January 19, 2010 By 2 Comments
Kayak’s burgeoning effort to turn the metasearch model on its head by facilitating some aspects of consumer bookings will go much further than its mobile app, and eventually could permeate its websites.
That’s the word from Kayak co-founder and CEO Steve Hafner, who says “assisted bookings” will first be trotted out in its pending launch of Private Sale, will be woven into its mobile app “soon,” and will be launched on its websites, too.
One aspect of “assisted sales” that hasn’t been thoroughly vetted is that the move could be a significant boost to Kayak’s behavioral advertising efforts, and could be subject to some push-back from partners.
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Kayak Private Sale continues to draw public questions
January 14, 2010 By 9 Comments
Kayak Private Sale, the travel metasearch company’s upcoming offering of exclusive hotel, flight and vacation package deals to registered users, is an interesting product name for a company considering an initial public offering, but I digress.
A departure from Kayak’s core metasearch business,Private Sale has raised some eyebrows in Australia and the U.S.
Fellow Tnooz node Tim Hughes, writing for his personal blog, The BOOT – The Business of Online Travel, pointed out that getting into the exclusive deals’ business makes Kayak “a zero percenter no more” in terms of an operational-costs’ advantage. And former Kayaker Drew Patterson notes that offering exclusive deals is not part of Kayak’s traditional DNA.
Kayak exclusives to include flights, hotels, vacation packages
January 11, 2010 By 3 Comments
Kayak’s upcoming Private Sale offering will be separate from its metasearch feature and will be available to Kayak account holders only, the company says.
Kayak’s web page seeking seeking registrants refers to Private Sale inventory as “exclusive hotel deals for Kayak users,” but Brian Harniman, executive vice president of marketing and distribution, says, “We’ll start with hotels, but I anticipate offering air and vacation deals shortly. Discussions with suppliers are happening right now.”
Kayak’s Private Sale venture has some parallels to the operations of Jetsetter, founded by former Kayaker Drew Patterson, although the business model is different. Jetsetter is a hotel booking site for upscale properties and shuns the media business.
Kayak gets clubby with exclusive hotel deals
January 8, 2010 By 3 Comments
Kayak, a metasearch engine and deal publisher, says it will begin to be a provider of exclusive hotel deals.
Kayak began soliciting people on Twitter to sign up for the exclusive deals, called Private Sales, before it goes live.
This has been in the works for several months, and apparently the debut of private sales is inching closer.
Kayak says the hotel deals, which will be exclusively available to Kayak users who sign up, will feature hotel deals up to 50% off and will last until the inventory is gone.
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