[Infowarrior] - Mac Users May See Pricier Options on Orbitz

[Richard Forno]

Mac Users May See Pricier Options on Orbitz
By GENEVIEVE SHAW BROWN
June 26, 2012—
abcnews.go.com

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/mac-users-higher-hotel-prices-orbitz/story?id=16650014#.T-nCVnDENMM

Mac Users Pay as Much as 30 Percent More for Hotels Than PC Users

Travelers who use Orbitz may want to pay attention to what computer they're on when it comes time to book a vacation. The Wall Street Journal reported that the online travel agency has been experimenting with showing Mac users higher hotel prices than PC users.

To be clear, Orbitz is not charging Mac and PC users different prices for the same hotels. Instead, the first results a Mac user sees after a hotel search may be pricier than those seen by a PC user.

Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare, told "Good Morning America," "If you're the kind of person who likes to pay for premium things, certainly, if I'm Orbitz, I want to offer you those things first."

Orbitz says its data show that Mac users spend as much as 30 percent more on hotels than PC users do. Orbitz chief scientist Wai Gen Yee told the Wall Street Journal Mac users were 40 percent more likely to book a four- or five-star hotel than PC users. When they do book the same hotel as PC users, they were more likely to stay in a more expensive room.

IPhone and iPad users spend 17 percent more on mobile purchases than everyone else, according to Forrester Research. And given that a Mac is about three times more expensive than its Windows counterpart, it's not surprising that an online retailer would want to try to figure out what those customers like and offer them those options first.

The online travel industry is a fractured one, with new competitors entering the market constantly. Most online agencies stopped charging fees for booking airfare in the past few years, leaving hotels and vacation packages as the big moneymakers. Understanding what customers want, and delivering it to them in the initial search results rather than making them scroll through options that don't interest them, is crucial to getting people to book. Orbitz and its competitors do allow users to search by price. Mac users not pleased with what's being shown to them after an initial search may want to try that option.