How Did Travelzoo Fare In 2016 And What Are Its Plans For The Future?

Travelzoo had been reinventing itself over the last three years since the launch of its hotel platform in 2014. The platform is gaining popularity among travelers while it continues promoting more of its ‘pull’ or demand-based deals while replacing the ‘push’ or supply-based deals. The two-pronged approach to its business has been: expanding the membership on the basis of member quality, rather than just quantity, and improvement and upgrading of its products and services on offer. Unlike the regular OTAs, the company strives on providing the best quality travel deals to its members and that is what sets its apart from its peers.

Travelzoo’s 2016 Started With The Impact Of Two Major Changes 

Travelzoo started the year 2016 with a new global CEO, Holger Bartel. Bartel, Travelzoo’s erstwhile chairman, assumed the position after Travelzoo’s then CEO, Chris Loughlin, resigned. Along with Travelzoo’s transition from being a supply based travel deal publisher to a demand based deals company, and with its main focus on its hotel booking platform, it seemed that new leadership was the requirement for the day. Loughlin had been instrumental in introducing local deals and making voucher sales a popular concept on the Travelzoo platform. However, currently in its local deals segment, Travelzoo is trying to promote more live deals and phasing out the rigid voucher format of deals. With the shifts in focus, the company might have found its chairman to be more suitable to handle the transitioning phase of the company.

Another big development for the company was the reacquiring of its Asia Pacific business segment in 2015 in order to expand its business with a special focus on the Chinese outbound travel. Travelzoo tried repositioning its services by migrating from a deal publishing website to one focused on its hotel platform in Q1 2014. The hotel booking platform, like a regular OTA, enables users to book hotels from Travelzoo’s website or through its mobile application. Hotel suppliers can sell full-priced stays under a commission-based model. The platform started picking up demand after its relaunch in February 2015.

Travelzoo’s Hard Work Is Paying Off

In December 2016, the company was recognized as the World’s Leading Travel Deals Website at the 23rd annual World Travel Awards (WTA), held in the Maldives. The award, which is globally recognized as a symbol for industry excellence, is given on the basis of votes cast by customers and over 200,000 travel industry professionals. Since 1998, Travelzoo’s famous deal newsletter, the weekly Top 20® list, has been featuring the 20 best travel offers of the week. Travelzoo’s 28 million membership base currently receive this newsletter.

Changes To The Travelzoo Platform To Be Seen In The Near Future

The global rollout of its enhanced website is expected to be completed by the first half of this year. With its focus on China, Travelzoo’s hotel platform is trying to bring in more hotels and packages from the Asia Pacific region. The company strives on constantly evolving itself in order to adapt to the ongoing market dynamics and demand trends. Therein lies the key to its success.

After the introduction of its hotel booking platform, it is focusing on its travel related services that over time are expected to contribute to a higher portion of the company’s revenues. The local deals and search related services’ contribution to revenue will continue declining over time.

Currently, Travelzoo Is Focusing On These Areas:

• Investments toward expanding its member network
• Rollout of its enhanced website with the main focus on travel deals, (currently available in the U.S.) on a global scale.
• Boosting SuperSearch with better flight search capabilities
• Better customer engagements through channels such as social media.

Have more questions about Travelzoo? See the links below.

• What Is Travelzoo’s Fundamental Value On The Basis Of Its Forecasted 2015 Results?
• How Has Travelzoo’s Revenue And EBITDA Composition Changed Over 2012-2016E?
• Travelzoo: Year 2015 In Review
• How Has Travelzoo’s Stock Performed In The Last Five Years?
• What Drove Travelzoo’s Revenue Growth And Led To Its EBITDA Decline Over The Last Five Years?
• How Have Travelzoo’s Different Segments Performed Over The Last 5 Years?
• Travelzoo Q1 2016 Earnings Results
• Travelzoo’s Expected Revenue And EBITDA For 2016: Trefis Estimate
• How Is Travelzoo’s Travel Related Business Expected To Grow In The Next 5 Years?
• How Do We See Travelzoo’s Top Line Trending?
• Travelzoo’s Q2 2016 Results Show Strong Bottom Line Recovery

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