Travel metasearch will build on its banner year of 2013, in which Priceline acquired Kayak,
Expedia bought Trivago, and TripAdvisor rounded out its user reviews with a hotel comparison-
shopping engine.
Metasearch is the fastest-growing sector in travel, and will likely attract new investment and
see continued consolidation in 2014. Online travel agencies and travel brands are discovering
metasearch anew as marketing vehicles, and mobile is a new territory, with various
monetization and user experience challenges.
Consumers will continue to view metasearch as an efficient way to get a quick and relatively
comprehensive view of the market. The year 2014 will be highlighted by hyper metasearch
expansion as companies spread their reach way beyond their home-market comfort zones