Booking flights, hotels and car rentals on sites like Orbitz or Expedia are quite common nowadays. This is not only because of the ease of use, but also because of the time it saves you. People have pretty busy lives, and booking a flight, a hotel, and a car rental through three different sites can be quite time consuming. Doing it all at once through one site has become extremely popular because of this. Also, you can see a list of different airlines, hotels, and car rental companies all at once, comparing them and choosing the one that works best for you.
Many travelers often wonder which travel website is best in terms of the best results, ease of use, and price. Here are a few things to look at when trying to decide which is better; Orbitz or Expedia.
A little history
Orbitz
Orbitz was established in 2001 through a partnership of five major American airline companies in response to companies like Expedia and Travelocity. It was a way for them to lower airline distribution costs, resulting in them being able to offer lower fares. Oddly enough, in 2015 it was purchased by Expedia, the very company it was created to defeat.
Expedia
Expedia was founded by Microsoft in 1996 and was later purchased by IAC/InterActiveCorp. It then went on to acquire Via Travel, Wotif, Travelocity, and HomeAway, as well as its competitor Orbitz. Today, it is the most lucrative travel company in the world, operating around 200 travel booking sites in 75 different countries!
Why not try a search of all the travel sites to get the BEST rate?
Which is easier to use?
Because they are essentially owned by the same company, the ease of use on these two sites is virtually the same. The layout of each site’s homepage is the same, as is their user-friendliness. However, a big difference between the two is that you can book all-inclusive vacations on Expedia, which is something that Orbitz lacks. Expedia also allows you to search and book vacation rentals. Orbitz does not offer this feature.
You can book flights, hotels, and cars on both sites. You can even save by booking a package of all three, or just your flight and hotel. One of the great things about this is that you can save even more by booking everything all in one go. Plus, it will save you a lot of time. So in terms of which is easier to use, they are a dead equal.
Is there a price difference?
A search was performed departing from Dallas and arriving in Paris for a romantic weekend getaway. Orbitz price was more than $200 cheaper than Expedia flying with multiple airlines with 2 stopovers along the way. With one stopover Orbitz was yet again less by close to $300.
For the exact same period and length of time with the added feature of being able to also book a hotel, Orbitz was significantly cheaper. However, that was because many hotels were listed on their site were at 56% off. When no discount was in play Expedia came slightly cheaper than Orbitz. Which means that if you book a flight and hotel package through Expedia you will get a much better deal than if you only book a flight with them.
The same search was then done for the same time period departing from New York City. This time it was different. Not only were the flights over $100 less through Orbitz but when combining the flight and the hotel there was a difference of roughly $300. So when departing from New York City, Orbitz is the better site to book from if you want to save some money.
Basically, if you are booking a flight alone than Orbitz is the better one in terms of price. When booking a flight and hotel in a package, it depends on where you are departing from. So it is a good idea to check both sites and see which one has the better deal.
Rewards points
Both Orbitz and Expedia offer rewards programs where you get points every time that you make a booking. Both have three membership levels, but there are differences between the reward programs of each site.
Orbitz
Orbitz’ reward program is called Orbitz Rewards. Its three membership tiers are based on how many hotel-room nights you book. You start as a silver member, and once you have booked four or more nights you become a gold member. After 12 nights booked you get platinum status. Memberships are 100% free and start as soon as you make your first hotel booking.
They also offer Orbucks, which you get when booking a hotel or a flight. One Orbuck equals $1, and you earn 5% for each hotel booking and 1% on each flight. Plus, if you are a gold member you can get extra perks with your Orbucks, like free hotel Wi-Fi, breakfast and upgrades. Platinum members can get up to $50 a year to be used towards checked bag fees.
Expedia
The rewards program at Expedia is called Expeida+ Rewards. Its three membership levels are based on how much money you spend, rather than how many bookings you make. You automatically get blue membership status on your fist booking, and if you spend $5,000 on bookings per year you get bumped up to silver. After spending $10,000 you are rewarded the gold membership.
Regardless of what level membership you have, you will get 2 points for every $1 spent on hotels, cruises, packages, and activities booked through the site. You will also receive 1 point for every $5 you spend on flights, and 1 point for every $1 spent on flight and car rental packages. Silver members also get an extra 10% bonus, while gold members get an extra 30%. Silver and gold members also get perks like exclusive travel offers and free room upgrades.
Conclusion
If you book more flights online than you do hotels, then Expedia offers the better program. If you would rather use your points towards hotels alone, than Orbitz is the better choice.
Phone apps
Both Orbitz and Expedia have a phone app to make booking flights and hotels on the go that much easier. You can therefore make a booking anywhere, be it a restaurant, while on the train, or even at an airport. Both apps allow you to book flights, hotels, cars, and activities directly from your phone. And both work with Androids and iPhones.
Orbitz
As soon as you download the app onto your phone you automatically receive $25 off of your first hotel booking. You will also earn 5% on all hotels booked and 1% on all flights, which is the same as if you were booking through the website via a computer. Booking is quite easy, although the difference between booking a hotel on the phone app versus the computer is that there is a map of the city on the right with hotels marked on it, and the list of the hotel on the left. When booking through Orbitz on the computer you get either a map view or a list. So this is a plus.
Another thing that the Orbitz app has that you will not get on the website version is the ‘My Trips’ feature. This allows you to plan your trip and share it with your friends and family so that they can see where you will be and when. You can also plan an upcoming trip that you are taking and have it all right there on your phone wherever you go.
Expedia
Like Orbitz, Expedia also offers a deal the first time that you use their app; double points on flight and hotel bookings. They also offer exclusive deals that you will only get when you book through the app; meaning they are not available when booking online via a computer. On top of this, you will earn rewards points, although these are the same as booking through the website. Like Orbitz, the Expedia app also has a map of the city with hotels marked on it on the right, and a list of the hotels on the left.
The Expedia app also has an itinerary feature, which you will not find on the website. This feature means that you will get immediate alerts on any trip updates, like departure gates, delayed flights, and what carousel your bags will be at. You can also access and manage your itinerary from anywhere!
Conclusion
Both have their perks and both have their downfalls. I guess it all depends on the user. Those that find booking things on the small screen of their phone difficult will obviously prefer to make all of their bookings on their computer. If you don’t mind the smaller screen, the apps are a great alternative and make booking on the go that much easier.
In terms of which app is better; the Expedia app is more appealing to the eyes than the Orbitz app. Tabs for flights, hotels, cars, and activities are in bold colored blocks at the top of the screen, while in the Orbitz app they are all white with blue font. As well, the background in the Orbitz app is white, while Expedia’s background shows a nice photo of your travel destination. Being more colorful and appealing means that Expedia has the upper hand in terms of a great looking phone app, but the two apps do basically the same thing.
So which is better, Orbitz or Expedia?
In general they are essentially the same, with neither being better or worse. The major difference depends on what you are booking. If you book more hotels than flights, than Orbitz is the better option. If you are predominately booking flights online than Expedia is the better way to go.