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Kayak first quarter profit plummets in last hurrah as independent company
DigitalKayak’s first quarter profit fell more than 48%, compared with a year earlier, as the travel metasearch company increased its stocked-based compensation, and spending on brand and online marketing. Kayak filed its results with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday, and it could be the final time such detail is publicized as Priceline’s $1.8 billion [...]
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Priceline CEO: We won’t bias Kayak search results
DigitalWith Priceline’s acquisition of Kayak expected to close May 21, Priceline will have a new weapon in its arsenal, but CEO Jeffery Boyd vowed today that Priceline won’t do anything to bias Kayak’s search results. Appearing on CNBC today, Boyd said that Priceline won’t do anything to upset the level playing field that exists among [...]
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Priceline-Kayak merger should close on May 21, thanks to regulators’ approval
DigitalPriceline and Kayak said on Thursday they expect their $1.8 billion merger to close on May 21. The two companies said they have received all the needed approvals from regulatory agencies. Norwalk, Conn.-based Priceline.com Inc. announced last November that it would buy competitor Kayak Software Corp. for $1.8 billion in cash and stock. Kayak, which [...]
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Priceline purchase of Kayak approved by UK, deal to close May 21
DigitalThe nail-biting is over. The last major hurdle to Priceline’s $1.8 billion of Kayak was removed when the UK’s Office of Fair Trading today announced that it cleared the merger after conducting a regulatory review. The transaction is slated to close May 21. The merger had initially been slated to close during the first quarter [...]
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The biggest battle coming in online travel: Tripadvisor Vs. Kayak
DigitalGoogle who? That’s what the people at Kayak, who so feared the impact of Google Flight Search, must be saying as they watch events unfold at TripAdvisor, which likely is a much larger threat to Kayak’s business. Consider that there is a lot more money in hotel metasearch (TripAdvisor) than flights (Google Flight Search), and [...]
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Kayak strengthens branding abroad with first global ad campaign
DigitalFor the first time, Kayak is airing the same ad in four destinations and four languages. Kayak launched a global ad campaign yesterday that builds brand awareness in Spain, France, Italy, and of course, the U.S. The campaign launched with a different ad in the U.S. than in France, Italy, and Spain, but both videos [...]
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The next generation of Kayak wannabes: 10 travel metasearch challengers
DigitalIn the early 2000s there were a ton of travel metasearch sites (RIP Quixo), even before Kayak came on the scene in 2004. They faded away for awhile, but in recent years travel metasearch has come back in force and is hot, hot, hot. Witness Expedia’s majority stake in Trivago, Priceline’s still-pending acquisition of Kayak, [...]
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Secret to Kayak’s 2012 profits: $75 million advertising spend
DigitalKayak increased its advertising spend 30% to $75 million in 2012 as it saw ncreased travel queries on its websites and mobile apps — and posted its largest profit. Kayak’s 2012 net income came in at $18.8 million, its highest ever, a 93.8% jump over 2011. The travel metasearch company likewise saw its 2012 revenue [...]
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Hotel search site Room 77 gets its CEO: Jetsetter founder Drew Patterson
DigitalAfter a several-month CEO search, the heavily-funded hotel search startup Room 77 has its first official CEO: Jetsetter co-founder and CEO Drew Patterson. A surprise pick, Patterson left flash-sales site Jetsetter amidst controversy 10 months ago and in the interim co-founded a hotel and mobile software startup, CheckMate.io, which is still at a very early stage. As [...]
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How Priceline became Google’s $1 billion advertising buddy
DigitalPriceline.com Inc. has boosted annual ad spending to more than $1 billion for the first time, extending its lead over Expedia Inc. in the hotel-booking market and stepping up a rivalry that’s benefiting Google Inc. Even as social-networking services Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. capture a widening share of the Web-advertising market, the top online [...]
