Every Travel Tech Company Calls Itself a Platform: Why That's Silly

Every online travel company is calling itself a platform. Travel tech businesses used to market themselves as mobile-first, or big data, or as driven by artificial intelligence. Now the hip marketing word is platform. It makes sense to aspire to be a market-wide intermediary. Who wouldn't want to build the next Airbnb, Amadeus, Expedia, or Uber? "Platform" may soon lose its shine as a label, though. "The bubble of 'everything is a platform' will likely burst," said Annabelle Gawer, a professor of digital economy at Surrey Business School in England. "That's because of competition." A less loose definition of a platform is a company that is an intermediary, meaning it lets other companies buy and sell products and services, and that it is large enough it is marketwide and often global. Gawer has spent a few years in researching platforms along with fellow academics Michael Cusumano and David Yoffie. The professors have summarized their work in a new book, "The Business of Platforms." The book says the golden age of platforms is here to stay in travel and other industries. "It is only starting," Gawer said. "Platforms are going to play an increasing, not a decreasing role, in all industries — and in travel, too." However, not all of today's aspiring platforms will succeed. The researchers believe they know which types of platforms will tend to become true powerhouses. They also have advice to legacy companies struggling to adapt to the presence of large platforms. Keys to Platform Success The authors counted 43 platforms among the world's 2,000 largest public companies. Of these, only a few are in travel, such as Booking Holdings, Expedia, and TripAdvisor. Some of these platforms are transactional. They act as digital marketplaces, bringing buyers and sellers together. Consumer-friendly transaction platforms like Airbnb — which brings travelers and rental accommodations together — have soared. Business-focused transactional