Kayak.com, a travel search provider, has embarked on an aggressive campaign to win business from TripAdvisor, the Expedia-owned website with consumer hotel reviews.
The company launched TravelPost.com, which it called "the most comprehensive hotel information site on the web."
In a telephone conference call, Kayak Chief Operating Officer Paul English took a number of verbal shots at TripAdvisor for being "over-commercialized" and for "trying to jam things down peoples throats" by making bookings a priority over providing information.
For instance, TripAdvisor is "constantly asking you for your dates of travel," English said.
English said that TravelPost, which was acquired when Kayak purchased SideStep in December 2007, has not been enhanced until now. He said TravelPost would be "simpler and cleaner" than TripAdvisor and would "function as a true search engine."
"We are trying to win this space," English asserted.
In a prepared statement prior to the phone conference, Kayak CEO Steve Hafner said, "Consumers and hoteliers are woefully under-served by websites like TripAdvisor.com, who appear to care more about their bottom lines than providing relevant content and a seamless experience.
"So we built a website that combines search functionality; a clean, uncluttered display; and unbiased results that are not auctioned off to the highest bidder."