At least not in the ones that pop weekly into my in-box.
Orbitz's M.I.A. status in the Travelzoo Top 20 ain't no accident.
It's part of Orbitz's new strategy, as articulated by CEO Barney Harford to analysts this week, to play hardball with e-marketers that Orbitz perceives as too expensive.
Marketing is Orbitz's single largest expense, and Harford said Orbitz henceforth will use advertising vehicles that contribute not only to top-line growth, but deliver results that show up on the bottom line, too.
As contracts come up for review, expect Orbitz to put on its game-face.
Well, Travelzoo is no pushover on these things by any means, so I guess push came to shove regarding the Top 20.
Up until late March, Orbitz would offer advertisements in the weekly Travelzoo Top 20 deals newsletter with links like this.
But, I haven't seen an Orbitz advertisement in the newsletter in the past six weeks.
However, Orbitz continues to advertise in Travelzoo's SuperSearch, which may return a better ROI with its cost-per-click model than the flat-rate-based Top 20.
Orbitz's MIA status in the Travelzoo Top 20 may not be a permanent thing. Perhaps cooler heads will prevail eventually.
But, at a minimum, Harford has set a tone about the kinds of e-marketing deals he is looking for.
Meanwhile, Orbitz continues to participate as the exclusive online travel agency in the Kayak metasearch engine, and Orbitz's advertisements continue to appear in Kayak's Top Travel Deals newsletter.
I guess, at this juncture, Kayak is a sort of a very-preferred relationship.
