Skip to main content

Orbitz Targets Mac Users for Pricier Hotels

Marketers have always been working diligently to better understand consumers and their behaviors. Using cellphone signals to track consumers’ shopping routines is a great example.

Now, Orbitz has found some interesting statistics by comparing the spending habits of Mac users and PC users. And because of that, Orbitz will display pricier options on top of the search results for Mac users than those for PC users.

As suggested in this news video @WSJ (Wall Street Journal), however, it does not mean that Orbitz is offering higher price for the same product to Mac users than to PC users. In other words, there is no price discrimination. What Orbitz does is to simply display different search results for Mac users because:  

  • As compared to PC users, Mac users spend $20 - $30 more per night on hotels.
  • They are more likely to stay in a four- or five-star hotel.
  • They are more likely to upgrade to a bigger room.

Similar results are also found in e-commerce sites. Retailers have found that people using tablets, iPads in particular, spend more on online shopping than PC users.

Do you think Orbitz is making a smart move by differentiating Mac users and PC users? How so? Will other online travel agents (OTAs) and retailers follow Orbitz soon?



References:
The picture was downloaded from http://orbitz.com.

Comments

  1. A similar report at MSNBC.com via http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/47970026

    ReplyDelete
  2. Orbitz CEO responded to CNN via http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2012/06/26/exp-orbitz-ceo-addresses-claim-website-steers-mac-users-to-pricier-hotels.cnn.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. Orbits' marketing sounds smart. It was nice try to grasp the tendencies of mac users and PC users and the differences between those two groups. Displaying higher prices for mac users is appropriate to market them who spend more money compare to PC users. That doesn't even discriminating mac users with the prices, so I think this is a good idea.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Luxury vs. Millennials and Their Technology: The Ritz-Carlton (By Julia Shorr)

Embodying the finest luxury experience, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC has been established since 1983. In 1998, Marriott International purchased the brand offering it more opportunity for growth while being independently owned and operated. They are known for their enhanced service level as the motto states, “Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen”. The luxury brand now carries 97 hotels and resorts internationally and is attempting to keep the aspects of luxury while keeping up with the trends of the technologically improving generations. The Varying Demographics of the Target Market The Ritz-Carlton’s typical target market includes: business executives, corporate, leisure travelers, typically middle-aged persons and elders, and families from the upper and upper-middle class section of society .   This infers a large range of types of travelers in which all are similar in that they are not opposed to spending extra for the luxurious ambiance. However, with

The challenges of SB 93 (California Senate Bill No. 93) will impose on the employers and their human resource management team (by Brittany Schaffer)

The COVID-19 pandemic started in early 2020, and it has caused massive changes within a short period of time. One of the most rememberable effects of the COVID-19 pandemic was that businesses had to come to a complete halt, forcing them to lay off employees. California's unemployment rates went up.  Now that the stay-at-home orders have lifted, people start to come out. Businesses are now reopening, looking to rehire their laid-off employees. Before the pandemic, employers had the option of recalling only a certain number of laid-off employees they would want to rehire based on employees' job performance. That option had been changed after Governor Gavin Newsome signed into law - Senate Bill 93, which went into effect on April 16th, 2021. The California Senate Bill No. 93 (SB 93) According to SB 93, companies in specific industries, mainly the hospitality industry, have the obligation to provide job opportunities in written form to qualified employees being laid off due to COVI

Is It OK for Hotel Staff to Wear Piercings and Tattoos?

Time has changed. I see more and more college students wearing piercings and tattoos nowadays, but is it OK for hotel staff to wear piercings and tattoos? The answer is “no, no, no.” According a report at USAToday.com, customers across the board do not want to see any hotel workers with pierced eyebrow, pierced tongue, tattooed arm, or nose ring. Some may argue that tattooed and pierced workers may seem more acceptable in edgy boutique hotels as compared to the big franchised hotels, but the survey results did not find any differences among a variety of lodging products. Many respondents believe people who wear visible tattoos and piercings are taking a high risk of their professional lives. If you stay in a hotel, do you mind being served by tattooed and/or pierced staff? What if you are the one who makes the hiring decision? References: USAToday.com: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok08042010 Picture was downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok08042010P