Making travel arrangements not only offers consumers convenience but also savings when they use companies like Orbitz, provided they use Microsoft or Android devices. Consumers who search for hotels on Orbitz Apple Macs could find themselves receiving decidedly skewed search results.
Luis Alvarez, president and CEO of Alvarez Technology Group, talked about Orbitz’s practice of placing higher priced hotels at the top of search results lists when the seekers conduct their searches via Macs. Microsoft and Android users receive less expensive choices.
Orbitz can do this, Alvarez explained, because of “cookies” that go out to consumers’ devices and let Orbitz – and other vendors – save, catalog and eventually use consumers’ shopping preferences. This helps the vendors to tailor search results, advertising, etc., based on each consumer’s habits and preferences, and provide the best possible consumer experience.
Research has shown that Mac users tend to spend more for hotel accommodations than Microsoft and Android users. For example, when choosing hotel accommodations, Mac users more frequently opt to stay in four- or five-star hotels, and even when selecting the same hotels as Microsoft or Android users, Mac users tend to choose more expensive rooms.
But Mac-loving consumers who don’t want to splurge on hotel accommodations don’t have to worry. Orbitz still allows all consumers to filter search results based on price, said Alvarez.
