By - Marco Saio - Industry Analyst!
The Expedia-Groupon partnership has finally stirred me to acknowledge and poke an inquisitive stick at the new 900 lb gorilla in online travel: the social buying phenomenon.
During this period of strained supplier-OTA relations and Google search domination, the concept of group/social/daily/ buying (insert buzzword bingo here) further adds another interesting and disruptive dimension to the online distribution power struggle.
The group buying trend is flourishing very rapidly, this is unquestionable, the question though is how will this affect new business models for travel suppliers and now OTAs?.
Let’s dig deeper and consider the potential benefits and risks facing suppliers using basic scenarios. The four biggest group buying companies for travel deals are; Groupon, LivingSocial, Coupons Inc and Gilt Group.
