Comments on: Orbitz, the worst IPO of 2007? http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/ The Business of Technology Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:26:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU hourly 1 By: Jim http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-723479 Jim Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:53:48 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-723479 <p>I have used Orbitz, hotwire, Expedia and Travelocity, all have their pro's and con's.</p> <p>I spotted a site called Anyfares.com, find air tickets so cheap that my savings were about 35% cheaper than Orbitz, hotwire, Expedia and Travelocity. Flights internationally such as Europe in particular that are great and South American, China and middle East countries, they have excellent rates. Domestic though there are some what competitive where I used either Hotwire or the airlines direct from their web sites.</p> <p>What I really like about Anyfares.com is they sell tickets on US dollars in foreign countries and all their tickets are e-tickets so if you are in France and need a fight to St.Petersburg Russia or London or Frankfurt, they sell everything in US dollars and you have your tickets emailed in 10 minutes so you can just travel just like that. Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity, they sell their tickets if you are out of the US, they will charged you the currency in that country if you want to fly from there to somewhere else. So if I was in France for example and I want to fly to London, Frankfurt or anywhere, they will charged me in Euros or Pound Notes (it is like charging you double when the US dollar is so weak) when if you are an American and want to save, you can't save because Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity will charged the currency if you are outside the United States but with Anyfares.com, they don't. Euros, Swiss Marks, British Pounds, Russian Rubles and etc, they currencies are high to the US dollar and if you are an American, you are stuck if you have to meet those currencies if you have only US dollars.</p> <p>So consider if you have a money budget and you can't afford the high currencies, try http://www.anyfares.com</p> <p>Jim</p> I have used Orbitz, hotwire, Expedia and Travelocity, all have their pro’s and con’s.

I spotted a site called Anyfares.com, find air tickets so cheap that my savings were about 35% cheaper than Orbitz, hotwire, Expedia and Travelocity. Flights internationally such as Europe in particular that are great and South American, China and middle East countries, they have excellent rates. Domestic though there are some what competitive where I used either Hotwire or the airlines direct from their web sites.

What I really like about Anyfares.com is they sell tickets on US dollars in foreign countries and all their tickets are e-tickets so if you are in France and need a fight to St.Petersburg Russia or London or Frankfurt, they sell everything in US dollars and you have your tickets emailed in 10 minutes so you can just travel just like that. Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity, they sell their tickets if you are out of the US, they will charged you the currency in that country if you want to fly from there to somewhere else. So if I was in France for example and I want to fly to London, Frankfurt or anywhere, they will charged me in Euros or Pound Notes (it is like charging you double when the US dollar is so weak) when if you are an American and want to save, you can’t save because Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity will charged the currency if you are outside the United States but with Anyfares.com, they don’t. Euros, Swiss Marks, British Pounds, Russian Rubles and etc, they currencies are high to the US dollar and if you are an American, you are stuck if you have to meet those currencies if you have only US dollars.

So consider if you have a money budget and you can’t afford the high currencies, try (link)

Jim

]]> By: Another X - Orbiter http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-414863 Another X - Orbiter Sat, 04 Aug 2007 05:08:18 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-414863 <p>Having just left Orbitz I can tell you that they have some of the most talented people in the industry, although IMHO they have too many kids in high level managerial positions with little to no experience in formal management training. Nevertheless their technical expertise is what makes their website service a success. Again IMHO the IPO failed because stockholders can read between the lines and as stated earlier in the BLOG it was a premature attempt by Blackstone to repay their debt to Travelport and possibly flip the company again in the very near future with no short or long term plan for economic growth except for reducing staff, reducing budget and cutting programs. Don't blame the people of Orbitz, blame Blackstone for not having a positive plan.</p> Having just left Orbitz I can tell you that they have some of the most talented people in the industry, although IMHO they have too many kids in high level managerial positions with little to no experience in formal management training. Nevertheless their technical expertise is what makes their website service a success. Again IMHO the IPO failed because stockholders can read between the lines and as stated earlier in the BLOG it was a premature attempt by Blackstone to repay their debt to Travelport and possibly flip the company again in the very near future with no short or long term plan for economic growth except for reducing staff, reducing budget and cutting programs.
Don’t blame the people of Orbitz, blame Blackstone for not having a positive plan.

]]> By: Jeremy McMillan http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-368013 Jeremy McMillan Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:48:10 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-368013 <p>All of these people I used to work with at Orbitz had been ignoring my LinkedIn invitations but have suddenly embraced my network. I don't think there is much talent working there any more. Just a lot of bodies holding down the fort.</p> <p>The main service they provide is an abstraction to hide all of the frenetic intraday repricing by the suppliers (Airlines) from Joe Holiday. Airlines do all kinds of evil crap to their fares (multiple fares offered for the same seat on the same trip with retractions, additions and revisions multiple times a day). Suppliers (Airlines) still own almost all the business, and the distribution business has no power. Orbitz is a long Term Loser, or at best a dog.</p> All of these people I used to work with at Orbitz had been ignoring my LinkedIn invitations but have suddenly embraced my network. I don’t think there is much talent working there any more. Just a lot of bodies holding down the fort.

The main service they provide is an abstraction to hide all of the frenetic intraday repricing by the suppliers (Airlines) from Joe Holiday. Airlines do all kinds of evil crap to their fares (multiple fares offered for the same seat on the same trip with retractions, additions and revisions multiple times a day). Suppliers (Airlines) still own almost all the business, and the distribution business has no power. Orbitz is a long Term Loser, or at best a dog.

]]> By: Sumitra Menon http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101080 Sumitra Menon Wed, 16 May 2007 12:28:36 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101080 <p>Leading Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant Sramana Mitra, <a href="”http://sramanamitra.com/blog/980“" rel="nofollow">evaluates Orbitz</a> in terms of Context, Content, Commerce, Community, Vertical Search and Personalization, based on her Web 3.0 framework.</p> Leading Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant Sramana Mitra, evaluates Orbitz in terms of Context, Content, Commerce, Community, Vertical Search and Personalization, based on her Web 3.0 framework.

]]> By: Jedidiyah http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101079 Jedidiyah Wed, 16 May 2007 12:27:45 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101079 <p>Leading Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant Sramana Mitra, <a href="”http://sramanamitra.com/blog/980“" rel="nofollow">evaluates Orbitz< in terms of Context, Content, Commerce, Community, Vertical Search and Personalization, based on her Web 3.0 framework.</a></p> Leading Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant Sramana Mitra, evaluates Orbitz< in terms of Context, Content, Commerce, Community, Vertical Search and Personalization, based on her Web 3.0 framework.

]]> By: ExOrbiter http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101078 ExOrbiter Mon, 14 May 2007 13:36:46 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101078 <p>Agreed, but a couple of corrections: Galileo was never "Europe's answer to Orbitz" -- it is a GDS. Travelport acquired Worldspan to merge with Galileo. Those businesses are very B2B.</p> <p>eBookers is the dog dragging down Orbitz numbers. That was a terrible acquisition and has been hugely unprofitable by all accounts.</p> Agreed, but a couple of corrections:
Galileo was never “Europe’s answer to Orbitz” — it is a GDS. Travelport acquired Worldspan to merge with Galileo. Those businesses are very B2B.

eBookers is the dog dragging down Orbitz numbers. That was a terrible acquisition and has been hugely unprofitable by all accounts.

]]> By: Martin http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101077 Martin Mon, 14 May 2007 13:16:23 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101077 <p>There is one very telling sentence in this document which really says it all:</p> <p>"Partially offsetting the higher domestic volume was a $17 million reduction in net revenue due to lower average commissions on our air transactions and reduced paper ticket fees as airlines continue to move toward electronic ticketing. In addition, 2006 air net revenue was reduced by $8 million as a result of the final contractual step-down in commissions paid to us by the airlines with which we have charter associate agreements."</p> <p>Enough said... anybody who can't see the curve in their earnings in terms of commission from airlines, well...</p> There is one very telling sentence in this document which really says it all:

“Partially offsetting the higher domestic volume was a $17 million reduction in net revenue due to lower average commissions on our air transactions and reduced paper ticket fees as airlines continue to move toward electronic ticketing. In addition, 2006 air net revenue was reduced by $8 million as a result of the final contractual step-down in commissions paid to us by the airlines with which we have charter associate agreements.”

Enough said… anybody who can’t see the curve in their earnings in terms of commission from airlines, well…

]]> By: Brian E http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101076 Brian E Sun, 13 May 2007 12:02:45 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101076 <p>You say that "Orbitz isn’t a bad company, and there’s nothing wrong its spinoff" and then later "Any way you slice it, the company had a net loss and an operating loss in 2004, 2005 and 2006". I think you should look at your definition of what's a bad company.</p> You say that “Orbitz isn’t a bad company, and there’s nothing wrong its spinoff” and then later “Any way you slice it, the company had a net loss and an operating loss in 2004, 2005 and 2006″. I think you should look at your definition of what’s a bad company.

]]> By: Mike B http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101075 Mike B Sat, 12 May 2007 22:17:24 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101075 <p>Looks like Interactive Brokers is shaping up to be the worst IPO of 2007. Only a week after IPO it is already 10% below the IPO price.</p> Looks like Interactive Brokers is shaping up to be the worst IPO of 2007. Only a week after IPO it is already 10% below the IPO price.

]]> By: the priest http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101074 the priest Sat, 12 May 2007 05:07:39 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101074 <p>Despite the litany of naysayer shorters orbitz has a firm hold of the online travel market that is growing at...a pretty good clip?</p> Despite the litany of naysayer shorters orbitz has a firm hold of the online travel market that is growing at…a pretty good clip?

]]> By: chughes http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101073 chughes Fri, 11 May 2007 19:38:01 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101073 <p>Kevin, this is an excellent article and hopefully helpful to risky investors crazy enough to buy this piece of crap stock. It's amazing that despite all the shenanigans that were exposed in the stock market meltdown seen a few years ago that this company would even be given the green light to be allowed to peddle this garbage to the market. I hope the word gets out on this dog!</p> Kevin, this is an excellent article and hopefully helpful to risky investors crazy enough to buy this piece of crap stock. It’s amazing that despite all the shenanigans that were exposed in the stock market meltdown seen a few years ago that this company would even be given the green light to be allowed to peddle this garbage to the market. I hope the word gets out on this dog!

]]> By: Mousefinger http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101072 Mousefinger Fri, 11 May 2007 18:32:33 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101072 <p>Nice write up. I like the blend of Tech stocks mixed in with other Tech stories on this blog as well. Good stuff.</p> <p>=^.^=</p> Nice write up. I like the blend of Tech stocks mixed in with other Tech stories on this blog as well. Good stuff.

=^.^=

]]> By: Nick Hawkins http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101068 Nick Hawkins Fri, 11 May 2007 16:20:15 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101068 <p>Sounds awesome! I can't wait to buy 200 shares upon the IPO!</p> Sounds awesome! I can’t wait to buy 200 shares upon the IPO!

]]> By: engaged http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101070 engaged Fri, 11 May 2007 16:07:27 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101070 <p>No voting rights... sounds exactly like Google's IPO.</p> No voting rights… sounds exactly like Google’s IPO.

]]> By: Eric Savitz http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101066 Eric Savitz Fri, 11 May 2007 16:01:30 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101066 <p>Nicely done, Kevin. Wish I had written it.</p> Nicely done, Kevin. Wish I had written it.

]]> By: Robin Wolaner http://gigaom.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101071 Robin Wolaner Fri, 11 May 2007 14:54:39 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/orbitz-the-worst-ipo-of-2007/#comment-101071 <p>When I grow up maybe I will have a clone. Great piece, Om. I like a hot market. And some of my best friends are in private equity. But you called it, it will take some gullible investors to make this one happen.</p> When I grow up maybe I will have a clone. Great piece, Om. I like a hot market. And some of my best friends are in private equity. But you called it, it will take some gullible investors to make this one happen.

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