Certainly, there are signs in the West that online travel has its pitfalls, but that is partly due to a wider correction of all Internet stocks. Indeed, many analysts argue that of all industries with a web presence, travel is one of the better suited. Many of Priceline's woes, for example, are due to unsuccessful diversification into areas such as groceries and motor cars, which have proved far less effective in making the switch to cyberspace. Crucially, it must be recognised that even within the online travel sector, there are many sub sectors which rely on different business models. Priceline, for example, uses a reverse auction system.
Passengers state where they want to go and what they want to pay.
Priceline then contacts all the major airlines to see if any of them wants to accept that bid. Not all the sites therefore claim to offer discounts, with some instead focusing on convenience. There is also a distinction between agents and companies, such as British Airways, which sell their own products direct. This model has proved particularly fruitful for small, low cost British operators such as Ryanair and EasyJet. Web suitability Even within the direct-sell category there are distinctions between companies selling straightforward products, such as flights, and more complex packages, such as cruise holidays.