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I think that's completely wrong. Very few vendors want their product to be commoditized. From the perspective of a hotelier, reducing their property to a few li

I think that's completely wrong. Very few vendors want their product to be commoditized. From the perspective of a hotelier, reducing their property to a few lines of JSON data is a losing proposition. The result will be the same thing we've seen in the airline industry: a race to the bottom, competing only on price, with ever-crappier service and more nickle-and-dime addons.

mindcrime 9y ago
Very few vendors want their product to be commoditized. From the perspective of a hotelier, reducing their property to a few lines of JSON data is a losing proposition. Meh. For that to be true, it would have to be the case that all consumers care only about price. I'm pretty sure that's not actually the case. As long as there are consumers who will pay more for $WHATEVER, there will be a market for $WHATEVER. The point is, you can still price discriminate, even if you make your data available as a simple JSON (preferably JSON-LD) file.
- smacktoward 9y ago
  > For that to be true, it would have to be the case that all consumers care only about price. I'm pretty sure that's not actually the case. The current state of the airline industry makes a pretty strong counter-argument.
  - otterley 9y ago
    The barriers to entry are much higher for new airlines than for new hotels. Airlines need far more capital and labor, and getting access to airport gates at most major airports is extremely difficulty. There are also far higher economies of scale in operating airlines than in operating hotels. (In fact, most hotel chains are simply franchises; the properties aren't owned by the brands on the buildings.) That's why we don't see a lot of competition and innovation in the airline industry.
  - mindcrime 9y ago
    Maybe. I can see how if you're only looking at "airlines" (eg, Delta, Southwest, American, etc.) then it might seem that way. But I'd argue that that's a somewhat overly narrow view and that there is still price discrimination in terms of people who charter private jets and what-not. And even among consumer airlines, choice is sometimes dictated by other factors like route availability / timing / etc., and that further complicates the picture.
AdrianB1 9y ago
On booking.com I take in consideration, in this order: user rating, location and features, pictures, price. The user rating is a hard filter (I don't even look below 8.0), the location is a given, the features and photos depend on the hotel, not the agregator, and are much more than a JSON. For example, no Wi-fi or paid Wi-fi in Europe is a deal killer, not a bonus, while a good food selection and hospitable staff is attractive.

mindcrime 9y ago

Very few vendors want their product to be commoditized. From the perspective of a hotelier, reducing their property to a few lines of JSON data is a losing proposition. Meh. For that to be true, it would have to be the case that all consumers care only about price. I'm pretty sure that's not actually the case. As long as there are consumers who will pay more for $WHATEVER, there will be a market for $WHATEVER. The point is, you can still price discriminate, even if you make your data available as a simple JSON (preferably JSON-LD) file.

smacktoward 9y ago
> For that to be true, it would have to be the case that all consumers care only about price. I'm pretty sure that's not actually the case. The current state of the airline industry makes a pretty strong counter-argument.
- otterley 9y ago
  The barriers to entry are much higher for new airlines than for new hotels. Airlines need far more capital and labor, and getting access to airport gates at most major airports is extremely difficulty. There are also far higher economies of scale in operating airlines than in operating hotels. (In fact, most hotel chains are simply franchises; the properties aren't owned by the brands on the buildings.) That's why we don't see a lot of competition and innovation in the airline industry.
- mindcrime 9y ago
  Maybe. I can see how if you're only looking at "airlines" (eg, Delta, Southwest, American, etc.) then it might seem that way. But I'd argue that that's a somewhat overly narrow view and that there is still price discrimination in terms of people who charter private jets and what-not. And even among consumer airlines, choice is sometimes dictated by other factors like route availability / timing / etc., and that further complicates the picture.

AdrianB1 9y ago

On booking.com I take in consideration, in this order: user rating, location and features, pictures, price. The user rating is a hard filter (I don't even look below 8.0), the location is a given, the features and photos depend on the hotel, not the agregator, and are much more than a JSON. For example, no Wi-fi or paid Wi-fi in Europe is a deal killer, not a bonus, while a good food selection and hospitable staff is attractive.