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Surprising new tricks at “big three” travel Web sites

February 16, 2004 |

Just because Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz have assumed the mantle of "old dogs", that doesn't mean they are unable to learn new tricks.

Whether by accident or by design, over the past year most of us have probably happened upon at least a couple of Web sites devoted exclusively to travel, and more likely than not, we’ve spent time poking around one or more of the “Big Three” travel Web sites--Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz.

According to comScore Media Metrix, a company that tracks consumer Internet behavior, in 2003 a whopping 28 percent of all Internet users in the United States visited at least one prong of this three-headed monster. As booking airline tickets, hotels and rental cars has become old hat for even the greenest World Wide Web explorer, these three granddaddies of the Internet travel world have continued to expand their offerings to keep the experience fresh and to induce travelers to spend more time at their Web sites.

Just because Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz have assumed the mantle of “old dogs” in the online travel planning community, that doesn’t mean they are unable to learn new tricks--the niftiest of which are surveyed below.

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