eBay als Verkaufskanal für Reisen

Ich war letzte Woche in London auf der Travel Distribution Summit Europe.
Neben vielen interessanten Gesprächen, über die ich hier noch berichten werde, war es eine Quelle für viele neue Inspirationen.
Der Veranstalter Eyefortravel hat dort folgendes Interview geführt, das ich hier auszugsweise anführen möchte. Das ganze Interview findet man hier:
eyefortravel.com - Travel Distribution News, Events and Analysis

Interview with Karim Lankarany, senior category manager Reise, eBay GmbH

TDS Europe 2006 special: By EyeforTravel Correspondent

eBay’s Karim Lankarany says the company is targeting to be an effective travel channel and is looking at expanding its current product range by adding further services, always focusing on key segments. (6/14/2006)

In an interview with EyeforTravel.com’s Ritesh Gupta, Lankarany shared his viewpoint on “Wikipedia phenomenon” and much more. Excerpts:

What kind of major changes have witnessed as far as online customers booking/buying behavior is concerned in this region?

Online customers have higher expectations when it comes to the design and functionality of a web page. Making payments online is much more common than a few years ago.

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How do you assess operations of your company in this region? What have been the major achievements in the recent past?

We worked on the development of a new travel segment: online auctions for short breaks.

With cutting-edge technology, massive brand awareness and high levels of traffic, is eBay poised to become the most effective channel to online travel customers?

We want to become one of many effective travel channels, expanding our current product range by adding further services, always focusing on key segments.

In your opinion, who of all these - the customer, online travel agents, e-tailers or the search engines - controls “cheapest” sales channel? Who best serves the travel customer?

It’s all about what the customers want. In our opinion all these channels serve different customer’s needs.

What’s your take on the “Wikipedia phenomenon”- how will user generated content and peer-to-peer recommendations change the way you sell travel?

eBay’s business model is based on feedback between buyers and sellers. Without this element eBay may never have reached a global market penetration. Validated content is necessary, and personal recommendations will certainly gain importance.
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Da eBay jetzt auch kontextsensitive Werbung, wie Google und Amazon, starten will, wird EBay mit Sicherheit ein interessanter Platz zum Vertrieb von Reisen. Nicht nur die Auktion, auch die Festpreisangebote und der geplante Marktplatz für professionelle Anbieter gehen in diese Richtung.