Kayak steps beyond metasearch and into direct bookings
Skift Take
Kayak is increasingly a hybrid as its direct-booking option gathers momentum. It's a competitive advantage over other travel metasearch companies, and it shouldn't be long before some of them follow along.
More than one-tenth of Kayak's revenue in the second quarter came from direct bookings as the company expanded the program beyond Travelocity and Air Canada to include Expedia, Getaroom, Hertz/Advantage and Avis/Budget.
This is a major turnaround for so-called travel metasearch companies, which as a rule transfer users to supplier and online travel agency sites when it comes to booking itineraries.
But, these handoffs can be a mess given the fact that metasearch companies such as Kayak, Fly.com, and Skyscanner sometimes deal with hundreds of partners, all with different levels of tech prowess and varying website exper
