Response to page 141

October 15, 2015

Response to page 141

Consumer oriented websites: Expedia and Trip Advisor

Both helping to plan, organize, and arrange vacation or travel trips.

I think that Trip Advisor is more visually appealing. It has more bright colors and the home page shows a relaxing beach picture, whereas Expedia has more dull colors such as white and gray.

When opening Expedia it gets right to it and opens with a page asking where you would like to go. Trip Advisor has a similar thing but more pictures and less specific.

Trip Advisor has very specific tab options, where you can click “Flights” and a box pops up with times from your nearest airport to wherever you would like to go. It also has tabs for things like hotels, cars, rentals, restaurants and reviews. When clicking on a tab it takes you to the page containing that specific information and that information only. Expedia has tabs on its website to. You can select deals, hotels, cars, things to do, rewards, flights and cruises.

Both websites allow you to make an account and provide close to the same information needed for the account.

Trip Advisor has a search bar along the top allowing you to search for anything on the website. But Expedia does not have a search bar.

I think that Trip Advisor is the better website. I think that it has more attractive value. The beautiful pictures and vibrant colors make you want to keep looking and make you feel as if you are leaving on a vacation! It has positive notes, for example; “The Very Best of Travel” across the top of the website in bright green. It also contains helpful information for things you would be looking for. The website does not have a lot of ads or distractions, which is something I prefer. I think the format is helpful, it makes it very clear and easy to read.

To make Expedia more affective I would change the colors. I would use more “happy” colors. I would provide pictures of more “luxurious” type areas rather than productive. A lot of the pictures they have are of cities and populated areas. I would use pictures of beaches and fun activities, like riding horses or swimming. I think the website could use a different format. I would leave the bluntness of the homepage. But provide more that is easy to see. Like, putting restaurants or hotels on the front page as well as the box asking where you would like to go. Also, providing positive information about the website itself would be helpful.