Introduction of Travel Search Engine -
Every startup's approach for launching a travel search engine website is unique, depending on its business strategies and objectives. The overall procedure entails creating the website before deciding on the sort of integration to implement, which is determined by budget, license or access requirements, and the stage of development. Affiliate and API integration solutions are the two most common types of integration solutions.
A travel search engine is a website that compares hotel, flight costs from many sources such as the internet, online travel agents (OTAs), and hotels or flights directly. These travel search engines are not a booking channel, it should be emphasized. They are simply a place for booking channels to promote themselves.
Travel search engines use a revenue model that is similar to that of most digital advertising platforms. CPC (cost per click), CPI (cost per impression), CPA (cost per acquisition), and hybrid ads are how they make money (a combination of CPC and CPA).
Top 6 Features of Travel Search Engines
In terms of functionality, a travel booking platform necessitates a lot of care. Depending on the purpose, there are a variety of possibilities. However, some of the elements are practically required for any trip enterprise.
- Map Integration
Even though regular Google maps are readily available, it is far more convenient to stay on the same website than to travel elsewhere. Redirecting the client's attention to determine the location of the trip may cost you the sale. Plan ahead of time for your own map integration to keep the customer engaged for as long as possible.
- Filters
Assist your customers in quickly finding what they're looking for. Install various filters to make the decision-making process easier.
- Listing Management
A trip booking website needs an algorithm to manage all of the inquiries because there are thousands of offers updating in real-time. This involves keeping track of whether the option is still available, whether the price is reasonable, and so on. From a technical standpoint, this could involve using APIs or web crawling services.
- Currency Converter
Your international clients will feel much more at ease with this plugin. When customers know how much of their currency they will have to pay, making a purchase becomes much easier.
- Price Tracker
Some travel booking selections are made on the spur of the moment. And they're generally the result of a successful sale of a tourism company. As a result, if you include a price tracker in your project, you'll be able to give the best pricing and discounts in real-time.
- Payment Collection
If consumers can make purchases directly on your website, you'll need to plan for a variety of payment options (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Skill, etc.). For different clientele, some may work better than others.
7 Best Travel Search Engines in 2021 for Traveler
The world of travel has transformed as a result of travel search engines. The days of employing agencies and guidebooks to find lodging and book tickets are long gone. You may organize a complete holiday in an evening from the comfort of your own home with just a few clicks.
However, using a travel search engine does not guarantee the best deal. It's important to remember that, no matter how simple it is to search millions of flights and car rentals in a millisecond, sites like Kayak, Skyscanner, and Expedia are still companies.
- Google Flights
Google Flights is not an online travel agency. It's more of a metasearch engine like Kayak. Once you've found a flight, Google Flights will lead you to the airline's main website or an online travel agency (OTA) to make your purchase. It's a strong search engine based on the ITA Matrix, which was designed for travel agencies in the first place.
Google Flights displays price trends as well as how your travel date may affect the cost of your ticket. It also allows you to watch the prices of a route so that you can take advantage of low costs when they appear! These capabilities make Google Flights an excellent tool for ensuring that the price you're paying is a good one.
- Skyscanner
Skyscanner is a fantastic tool for finding flights to and from Europe. For additional travel needs, you can use the site's seamless tab integration to search for hotels and rental vehicles. It offers reasonable load times, a simple user interface, and excels at including a large number of European carriers, such as Lufthansa and Air France, in its listings. Skyscanner is a wonderful business-class search engine because you can filter by aircraft classes.
- Booking.com
Without Booking.com, this list of the best travel engines would be incomplete.
Its search engine returns streamlined results based on your preferences, such as price, star rating, and so on. Of course, the search engine can assist you in finding and booking the cheapest hotels available.
It has included airfare searches, and it has performed admirably. Of course, although the results of the search are now driven by their sister company, Kayak and/or Priceline, the results of each search change frequently—too many results are different—that each of them has earned their own entry in our competition.
- Skiplagged
Skiplagged discovers low-cost tickets by exploiting a flaw in regular airline ticketing. Skiplagged searches for hidden-city tickets, which are flights from City A to City C with a layover in City B, rather than just flights from City A to City B. Because flights with layovers are sometimes less expensive than direct flights, you can land in City B and avoid the second leg.
While there are suspicions that this technique is banned, this is not the case. However, it has been alleged that airlines will revoke airline miles or bring a lawsuit against those who do this on a frequent basis. It's usually a good idea to double-check the terms and conditions of your airline's contract, as hidden-city tickets may be prohibited.
- Expedia
Let's get one of the biggest names out of the way, if not the biggest name. Indeed, Expedia was instrumental in popularizing travel fare aggregation in the first place. To this day, it is a leading travel deal website where one can buy cheap airline tickets, rent cars, book hotels, or bundle everything into a money-saving package. If you sign up as a member, you will earn points with each booking and receive additional discounts.
- Kayak
Kayak allows you to “search hundreds of travel sites at once,” as its slogan claims. As a result, it's like an Internet within an Internet (also known as a search engine), saving you the time and effort of conducting a more comprehensive search. You may save up to 35% on private offers if you sign up for personalized suggestions.
- Kiwi.com
In addition to timely alerts, daily specials, and a simple interface, Kiwi.com provides an easy-to-use pricing map that allows you to compare fares from different airports across the world. This airline comparison site may be said to truly put the world at your fingers. The Kiwi guarantee also protects you in the event of schedule modifications or delays.
Conclusion
Because each travel search engine has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, you'll want to compare travel costs across several sites to find the greatest offer. It's crucial to remember that the lowest deal isn't necessarily the best option.
OneClick IT Consultancy offers a complete travel portal development solution for our clients across the world. We are specialized in all types of travel search engines, white-label solutions,s and integration of travel APIs for travel aggregators as well as suppliers.