Google Travel, more than just ad space?
August 15, 2012 | Online Travel
Google's foray into the travel review business might well portend a first step into a whole new business line for Google, namely online travel booking, with possibly severe implications for today's online travel agencies.
Yesterday's news of Google acquiring Frommer's travel brand from John Wiley & Sons might be more relevant than it would seem at first sight.
Right now these news are being interpreted as if Google is just seeking more lifestyle content for placing ads on. However, once Google gets travel guides under its portfolio, it's much more likely that Google will treat travel itself as the product to be sold. After all, the online travel agency model has gone full digital, with everything from charging for the travel to making the bookings now being automated.
By using back-end systems from Spanish Amadeus or one of the competing systems such as Sabre, Galileo or Worldspan, Google can conceivably provide the entire service from searching, to reviews, to booking and charging for the travel service without ever building a large physical distribution network.
Get the full story at Seeking Alpha
Read also "With Frommer's, Google taps gurus" at The Wall Street Journal
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