When I met within Expedia a few years back they said they had absolutely intention of buying wtf given tthey effectively have a one brand strategy....no point buying wtf. It has no brand equity outside Australia
Beside what's the point of buying wotif now. Both Expedia and priceline/booking.com have there own teams on the ground in aus. They have done most of the hard work now they can sit back and eat into wotif share
This biggest stuff up in my opinion is not having global inventory...they needed to do a deal with orbitz to get the inventory and stop people getting familiar with Expedia and priceline.
From memory international tourist into Australia generate 20pc commissions for Expedia and booking.com (ie that's what they charge the hotels) wotif has relied on local tourists travelling locally but generating lower commissions. Or it could have been the other way around either way wotif has missed out on a lucrative market segment by being domestically focused.
WTF Price at posting:
$2.57 Sentiment: LT Sell Disclosure: Not Held
