IBISWorld’s recent travel agencies research report puts the
U.S. market size at around $34 billion in annual revenues as of 2014, with a
steady increase in internet-based technologies fueling a CAGR of around 1.2%
over the next five years. At the same time, consolidation pressures among the
big three U.S. online travel agencies (“OTAs”), Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE),
Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN) and Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE:OWW), are heating up the
push to dominate online and mobile markets, and capture market share within
this key area of the roughly $165 billion (eMarketer) U.S. travel space.
Expedia is by far the biggest player today, with around
40%-plus of the OTA market currently under their thumb and increasing emphasis
is now being placed by Expedia on content over commerce in their online and
mobile footprint. With more and more attention being paid to all parts of the
travel experience, as loyalty programs, personalized messages, and more
granular accommodation data are brought to the fore, the OTAs are seeking out
the best digital landscaping artists they can find in a bid to grab and hold
onto consumers amid a slowly tightening U.S. travel market. Expedia continues
to innovate with mobile apps geared towards app retention and user experience
cultivation, using marketing efforts like mobile-only offers, as well as new
features like their recently released Media Lounge, that actively touts other
travel-themed apps.
Priceline’s acquisition of mobile app developer Kayak in
late 2013 is another example of the underlying dynamics at play in the market.
Kayak’s iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and Kindle Fire apps, in addition to
their mobile site, continue to show increasing emphasis on feature-rich design
that empowers consumers, with the debut of additional tools like itinerary
managers and flight trackers. Kayak also brings in information like baggage
fees, weather data, airport terminal interior maps and images of sourced
destinations, showing how the trend towards content over transactions in the
OTA world has become core to growth strategies.
Online search giant Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) also recently
announced in February of 2015 that they have made a big push further into the
OTA market with the launch of a new online tool to assist travelers in planning
their trips, called Google Flights, which gives users a great deal of power
when it comes to examining various destinations, dates, fares, and flights.
This move by Google follows up on a series of such moves over the past several
years, including licensing the hotel booking software of a start-up backed by
Expedia, Room 77, as well as the launch of Hotel Price Ads in 2010, Hotel
Finder in 2011, and the ITA Software acquisition during that same year. Add to
this the announcement by Expedia, also in February of this year, that they
intend to acquire rival Orbitz (currently trading at $11.68/share) for some
$1.6 billion in cash ($12.00/share), which comes fast on the heels of the $280
million all-cash Travelocity acquisition earlier in January, and you can start
to see the real crunch that is going on in the OTA market.
This set of trends is clearly one of the main drivers behind
Pure Hospitality Solutions’ (OTC:PNOW) major refocusing of efforts in recent
months on the launch of the update to their extremely successful FROL (Friendly
Reservations On-Line) hospitality booking engine technology, Oveedia, slated
for Q2 2015. Oveedia is being geared up as the premier online travel system
platform for the thriving Central American-Caribbean market. Divesting their
hotel assets and moving firmly into becoming the de facto, go-to regional OTA
online software for the Central American-Caribbean travel market is a shrewd
move by management, who is intent on becoming the top online hospitality
booking system for Costa Rica, before expanding further into the Central
American-Caribbean.
Pure Hospitality Solutions recently released projections to
a series of private investment groups pegging valuations on their Oveedia
platform in the range of $40 million or more. Management further explained that
their real-estate properties could never return similar shareholder value.
Divestment of current real-estate holdings, a halt to any further real-estate
acquisitions and a decided refocusing of efforts on the Oveedia rollout is a
big move for PNOW, but management is confident that they have correctly read
the sector’s weather signs and have placed the company in the pole position to
deliver handsome returns to the company’s investors.
Get a closer look at the company by visiting
www.purenow.solutions
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