Traveling at the Speed of Late
Travel seems to be the summer-hot e-commerce sector these days, seeing actual growth in dollars spent online as well as more competition. And just to underscore the increased activity comes a deal with AOL that will boost exposure for LastMinuteTravel.com.
The Atlanta-based listing service, featuring discounted prices for airline
seats and hotel rooms that are about to go begging, signed a deal with AOL
Time Warner,
Financial terms were not disclosed. The promotions are scheduled to begin in
September and also will appear on other AOL Web-based brands. Vacation
packages, cruises and car rentals are also offered.
"Increasingly both business and leisure travelers find themselves wanting or
needing to book travel days or even hours before departure," said David
Miranda, CEO and founder of LastMinuteTravel.com.
"LastMinuteTravel.com provides an easy solution to finding both last-minute
availability, as well as exceptional values. We are delighted to bring this
service to AOL's customers."
Travel is clearly emerging as an online focal point for e-commerce, as
witness the upcoming formal launch of Orbitz, an airline-backed travel site
that
analysts think will present a bit of a challenge to established sites
such as Travelocity and Expedia, both of which are already doing reasonably
well financially as dot coms go. And just yesterday Priceline.com
launched a name-your-own-price resort-getaway travel service.
Goldman Sachs analysts have said they believe the online travel market
overall is a compelling category "because it is the largest online consumer
market with an estimated $12 billion to $15 billion in sales in 2000."
making its offers available across the travel channels
of AOL's Internet brands, including the proprietary service and CompuServe.