Will Mobile Technology Put ORBITZ in the lead (Page 446)

1.How important is mobile technology in Orbitz’s business strategy? Why?

• Orbitz connects consumers to plane tickets from 400 airlines, hotel rooms from 80,000 hotels worldwide, as well as rental cars, cruises, and vacation packages. Orbitz, launched by five major airlines, was designed to compete with Internet travel companies such as Priceline, Travelocity, and Expedia, which were upending the travel industry with their Internet presence.

• Now with the majority of Internet users projected to access the Net through mobile devices,Orbitz’s business strategy must focus more on how easy its site is to use through them. Orbitz has a long history of accommodating mobile users and will continue to expand its mobile capabilities as it has in the past.

• Increased transaction speed provided by Orbitz mobile apps will attract new customers, especially those trying to book same-day reservations which account for about 50 percent of Orbitz’s mobile car rental purchases.

2.What management, organization, and technology issues did Orbitz need to address in its mobile strategy?

Management:

Users want and expect fast when they access Web sites and services through mobile devices. People can book an Orbitz hotel room in just three taps on their devices. It further enhanced its iOS and Android apps to cut down the number of steps required to search for and make reservations so that the entire process can take place on the mobile device without redirecting the user to other sites to complete their transactions.

Organization: 

From its beginning, the company distinguished itself as a leader in mobile technology. It has continually upgraded its Web site and surrounding technology to accommodate a new generation of devices and users. It went first-to-market with anm-commerce site designed specifically for business users.

Technology: 

Orbitz constructed a mobile Web site that could be accessed from any Web-enabled device. The m-commerce site was again upgraded to respond to swiping gestures, expedite touchscreen transactions, and to accommodate the small screen size of any Web-enabled mobile device.Its proprietary platform creates mobile HTML5 Web pages on the fly from standard e-commerce Web pages. It further enhanced its iOS and Android apps to cut down the number of steps required to search for and make reservations so that the entire process can take place on the mobile device without redirecting the user to other sites to complete the transactions.

3.Why are mobile phone users much more likely to book same-day hotel room or airline reservations?

Mobile phone users are more likely to book same-day hotel room or airline reservations because they are traveling without access to a desktop or laptop computer. Orbitz instituted same-day deals,called Mobile Steals, that enable proprietors to fill hotel rooms that might otherwise remain vacant.Consumers can save up to 50 percent off the standard rate of hotel rooms using Mobile Steals. Even though only 12 to 14 percent of users want to make a same-day reservation, smartphone and other mobile users book for the same night between 50 to 60 percent of the time because they aretraveling and need a room at the last minute.

4.What role does Orbitz for Business play in the company’s business strategy?

• Because a large number of users are business-related travelers, Orbitz for Business plays a large part in the company’s overall business strategy. The site delivers the same set of tools enjoyed by the consumer market while incorporating features that enable business travelers to adhere to individual company guidelines. 

• It enables business users to enter and modify the purpose of their trip, search results that give precedence to preferred vendors, and to access company-specific reference data. Those features are very important to business users and make the site much more compatible for their use and their company’s use.

• Others role of Orbitz is to enhanced its iOS and android apps.  Orbitz wants to cut down the number of step required in processes to search for and make reservations. It is to save time and improve efficiency to the users.

5.How successful is Orbitz’s mobile strategy? Explain your answer.

• Orbitz has made a lot of improvements in its mobile services. It enables mobile users to view the average waiting time of airport safety line, find airport available WiFi services, calculate boarding delay and taxi line waiting time, and check weather and traffic conditions. GPS and improved search function enable consumers to find nearby hotels, and compare prices, distances and ratings, compare flights and car rental according to different customer reviews.

• Only Orbitz has a team of internal travel experts, including former air traffic controllers, who actively monitor the conditions affecting passengers, from weather and traffic disruption to flight changes. Besides, helping programmers can get information and experienced professionals by flying professional knowledge. They have many years of experience in the enterprise tourism industry, and their mission is to provide excellent service and expert opinions.

• Next, business travel becomes more intelligent, such as relying on our innovative business travel solutions to provide the latest technology, intuitive interface and ultimate flexibility, and provide motivation for saving time and money in intelligent choice. Online, online, and on the journey, Orbitz helps your travellers maintain efficient production.

• But other online travel players also believe that consumers will increasingly turn to mobile devices to make their travel plans, and they have been investing heavily in mobile websites, search tools and applications. Priceline and TripAdvisor offer the highest ratings on attracting attractive and pleasant experiences on their website, and continue to enjoy stronger growth in unique visitors and visits compared with Expedia and Orbitz. As a result, Orbitz needs to be improved to lock up customers.