Tripadvisor Inc (TRIP): How Mobile Will Impact Online Travel Companies

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Future threats

The largest competitive threat in this industry is Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG).  In fact, Google has acquired a few small travel companies and has made investments in both flight and hotel-finding search features. Pretty amazing stuff considering its breadth of product offerings.

Still, it is yet to sell travel products and merely serves as a “middle man”, directing users to various sites.  This remains a very small part of its business and there appears to be no immediate danger from Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). The other major threat facing the industry is that significant security-related concerns will hinder usage of various apps.

My Foolish take

First, Wall Street has become very bullish on the sector — some of these companies are exhibiting Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) tendencies.  Second, the U.S. will continue to lead the trend in mobile and online booking. Third, it will take some time for the investments that online travel companies are making to pay off.  Fourth, similar to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), and LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), those companies that engage their customers and build a loyal customer base will benefit in the long run.

Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP) and Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) are in the best position to do that.

Ryan Peckyno has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Google, Priceline.com, and TripAdvisor. The Motley Fool owns shares of Google, Priceline.com, and TripAdvisor.

The article How Mobile Will Impact Online Travel Companies originally appeared on Fool.com.

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