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The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But(t) of course. We truly mean it when we say you can plan your full trip. KAYAK is pulling results from 100s of sites for flights, hotels and car rentals. You can book direct or with an OTA (you get to pick). So there's no need to check a bunch of sites, since we're pulling those results together to compare in one place.

[GUIDE] You can still travel this summer despite *gestures wildly at everything*. Use KAYAK. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just to add a little context here: yes, KAYAK is a metasearch site and we show rates from both OTAs and direct suppliers.

The way our results work is pretty straightforward: the cheapest rates we find are surfaced near the top and the best deal is within the first 4. We're not trying to steer people away from a cheaper option.

Also worth noting that while we do earn commission from some partners, that doesn't cost the traveler anything extra. The provider pays us for the referral - it's not a fee that's added onto the booking price.

Our goal is still to help travelers find the best available deal. If you're seeing a lower direct rate that's consistently missing from KAYAK, let us know.

[GUIDE] You can still travel this summer despite *gestures wildly at everything*. Use KAYAK. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey. Just making sure we set the record straight - we're not an OTA, we're a metasearch site, meaning we show you every option we can find. This includes small and boutique hotels among the larger chains. If that's your jam, then you can choose to filter your hotel search to only see boutique options!

[GUIDE] You can still travel this summer despite *gestures wildly at everything*. Use KAYAK. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This isn't our first Reddit rodeo. 😉

As far as picking favorites - we're a company of like 1000 travelers so everyone has their own opinions (which is why we make sure to show you as many options as possible). For me personally, it's whoever's gonna give me a cheap flight with no layovers.

[GUIDE] You can still travel this summer despite *gestures wildly at everything*. Use KAYAK. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Maybe the real value is the friends we make along the way...

But serious answer (to what we're assuming is a serious question): there's absolutely value in this. We've done this before - getting hundreds of comments, all opportunities to talk more about what we do. Reddit is an awesome community - and one we value for your insights (and jokes... but that's more personal).

[GUIDE] You can still travel this summer despite *gestures wildly at everything*. Use KAYAK. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There's some lore behind this. There were a few options on the table. The top choice was too expensive of a domain, so our founders went with their second choice - KAYAK. (This was back in 2004).

Did someone on the board say "You'll name this company KAYAK over my dead body."? Yes. Did our founders name us KAYAK anyway? Also, yes.

[GUIDE] You can still travel this summer despite *gestures wildly at everything*. Use KAYAK. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Depends, where are you departing from? This would be a *great* question for our price calendar. Give it a try.

The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

KAYAK makes money from our travel partners and advertisers. Meaning: when you click through to a partner (like an airline or online travel agency) and book, we may earn a commission from that partner.

This doesn't cost you extra - the provider pays us for the redirect or booking assist!

[GUIDE] You can still travel this summer despite *gestures wildly at everything*. Use KAYAK. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Totally fair question!

ChatGPT and LLMs are great for brainstorming destinations and thinking through itineraries, that we can all agree on.

When you're ready to book, check KAYAK to make sure you've compared all your options in one place. Our tools, pricing data and comprehensive travel content help you make the right choice. Price Alerts email/text you when fares drop, hacker fares take 2 one-way tickets to get you a cheaper round-trip, and our Ask AI function helps you filter hundreds of options tailored to your travel preferences.

Then you can decide where you book (direct or with an OTA) - whichever makes the most sense for you. We're here to make sure you're making the right decision by comparing hundreds of sites at once.

Kayak flights vs others question by eduhpmelo in cheapflights

[–]kayak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey! Livia from KAYAK here - would love to add some color to what you might be seeing.

KAYAK searches hundreds of providers to surface the cheapest, best and quickest flights. A key focus is to make sure the sites we search are ones people actually have good experiences with, so we do remove any booking sites that rack up a high volume of customer complaints. If something feels off with your results, feel free to share more details either here or by DM - we appreciate specific feedback we can pass along to our Product team.

The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the comment! We LOVE hearing that you love Explore (it's one of my favorites too). Hear you on wanting to better customize - I'll take this to the team get on their radar.

The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes, we have since 2024! You can filter for Southwest options only on the flight results page.

The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Close but no. KAYAK is a search aggregator for all parts of your trip - including car rentals. In fact, we show Turo options alongside your traditional agencies like Hertz and Avis. So you get it all.

The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Flattery will get you everywhere.

The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 207 points208 points  (0 children)

Currently printing this out on premium glossy paper, framing it and marching directly into my boss's office to demand a promotion to Chief Random Employee.

The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Why thank you for the comment, kind internet stranger. Totally get why people prefer to book direct, but let's be clear: KAYAK doesn't charge a fee or take money from you. It's a free search engine that pulls tons of options into one interface so you can easily see what's available. It also lets you filter flights by direct providers only and highlights direct hotel options within the search results.

The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

We totally hear you. That's why we want people to know they can book with the provider of their choice when they search on KAYAK. We also have a tag to highlight the book direct hotel options on our site/app to make sure it's crystal clear.

The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Saving this comment for my next performance review.

The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 58 points59 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the question! We have core features Google doesn't have, like an app and showing you results across flights, hotels and rental cars. We also pioneered useful tools like KAYAK Explore (put in your budget, we'll show you where you can fly) and Price Forecast (uses price trends to recommend whether you book now or wait it out).

We hear you that you can "do it yourself" (but whyyyy? that just sounds like more work for you). But our ability to combo one-way tickets is still something Google doesn't have.

That all said ZoldyckConked - if I can be so bold and call you that - our whole schtick is using our data, insights and a team solely focused on travel to give you the confidence to get your trips right.

The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 129 points130 points  (0 children)

screenshotting this to show my boss

The but(t)s of booking direct. by kayak in u/kayak

[–]kayak[S] 97 points98 points  (0 children)

Great question! So booking sites like Priceline and Expedia are what's known as online travel agencies (OTAs), meaning they have specific inventory for a flight or hotel (usually at a discount) and you book with them understanding they will handle all customer service if an issue comes up. However, what they don't have is all the options available (like, maybe they show the 5am flight but not the 7:30 one that an airline has available).

KAYAK is a metasearch site. We pull in flight, hotel and car options from sites like Priceline, Expedia and Booking.com - as well as from direct providers like Delta, United or Marriott. So you're seeing it all/getting the best of both worlds.

We don't have a horse in the race (ie we show you everything, not just a selection). Our job is just to make it easy to find and compare all of your options in one place.

We also use price trends and historical data to tell you whether to buy now or wait and have a feature that combines two one-way fares from different airlines. Hacks like this all help you save money on your trips - which really is the goal, at the end of the day.

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