Expedia: Objective Hotel Search Results? Not Likely
February 16, 2016
I read “Expedia’s New Bidding Program Lets Hotels Buy Better Placement in Search Results.” The write up states:
The exact details on the program aren’t public, but it allows hotel properties to bid for placement in select slots on search result pages. But hotels won’t be able to just buy their way to the top of every search result. They’ll still have to match other needs the consumer is looking for.
In my experience, locating a hotel in an unfamiliar city is a difficult task. The idea that a hotel search engine might return objective results was an expectation I had and have long since abandoned. For example, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, there was a hotel with Potomac in its name. The problem was that Potomac was miles from Gaithersburg. Navigating the interstate for a morning meeting was a thrill some executives did not want to experience. I have also stayed in airport hotels at BWI which were miles from the airport.
Now it is clear that objectivity is not on the radar of Expedia. I doubt if it ever was. It is nice to have my hunch confirmed that delivering on point results is irrelevant.
Great news for everyone except the person looking for a hotel near a meeting location in an unfamiliar city.
Stephen E Arnold, February 16, 2016
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