Parks Family Vacation using Kayak.com

Mark ParksBITE 5390: Web 2.0 Technologies

7/1/14

Using Kayak.com to plan a vacation for four under $15,000

• The Parks family has $15,000 to spend on a 14 day vacation

• They have selected to go west. Far west!• Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii

Now comes the fun, part…Planning

All those web sites and search engines, not to mention the hotel and rental car!

But wait, There is a Web 2.0 based search that aggregates other search engines and compiles the

results in easy to filter format.

Start with selecting a destination

Where else but Waikiki in Honolulu on the island of Oahu.Home to Pearl Harbor, Diamondhead crater and of course, Magnum, PI.

I can pretend to be TC!

Now to get started with Kayak.comEnter departing city and destination along with

dates and number of travelers.

Filtering the display to show desired amenities…Slider bars throughout the website allow you to filter the display to fit a range of prices and times.

Deselecting different options will filter out those that do not fit the criteria.

Search boxes allow targeted displays of known hotel brands or names.

Additional choices can filter the display even further to show only results that have amenities fitting your needs.(keep in mind that these filters rely on the hotel listing the amenities)

Summary of hotel or lodging features in displayEach lodging will have a summary box below it describing the features and rating.

Rating in stars.

Review results.

Amenities.

Optional extra info tabs to display location on map, detailed reviews or detailed listing of features.

Selecting the details button opens a more in depth display that includes estimated rate, amenities,

pictures, and reviews.

The Parks family is selecting a package, so this display includes the flight options.

Selecting a lodging or flight from the search results.

• The results displayed represent offers from one of many different websites.

• The offers may be directly from the vendors, airlines or hotels.

• They may also be from other travel sites.• Depending on the source, you will be directed

to a different website to book.

The Parks chose a package that was offered through US Airways Travel and was directed to

their website to select the room type.

Prices for upgrading room type are listed.

Total price listed includes airfare and fees, with the exception of local lodging taxes.

Filtering the flights.On Kayak.com, the displays can filtered.If you choose to select your flight from Kayak.com, the filter display will be in the left margin.I t has a price trend graphic that attempts to forecast (when possible) the costs of the flight between the current date and the date of travel to determine if the tickets could be purchased at a later date for less money.The slider bars allow the displayed flights to be displayed by take off and landing of each leg.

Selecting transportationAs part of a package through US Airways, the website lets you choose flight times and even suggests recommended flights based on the advertised package price.

Once selected, it displays the check-in, check-out, and flight arrivals and departures.

Adding items to the package.US Airways site also allows the Parks family to select a rental car through Avis.

There are several activities such as tours and luaus listed for additional fees.

Once flight, lodging and additional items are selected the site gives a summary with total costs.

Total costs.Rental car

Hotel

Flights

Now to decide what to eat…

• The Parks family has budgeted $30 a day for lunch and $80 a night for dinner.

• The Hotel offers free continental breakfast.• There are many low cost options for dining

throughout the island of Oahu.• The local favorites are often served in Food

Trucks that proliferate on the island and in the city of Honolulu due to the limited space in the business district.

Local foods that are low cost but high flavor.

Musubi

Low cost!

Loco MocoWith the requisite macaroni salad and noodles.

Low cost!

And…

PokePronounced, “poh-kay”

Low cost!

Kahuku ShrimpOut of the food trucks on the North Shore

Low cost!

For the evening there are plenty of fine dining options in Waikiki

Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion

Sansei Sushi

And what trip to Hawaii would be complete without Shave Ice?

Low cost!

Now to decide on the activities…

No trip to Oahu would be complete without a visit to Pearl Harbor

USS Arizona Memorial USS Missouri Memorial

Adventurous ones can climb the Haiku stairs, or the Stairway to Heaven

People of all ages can climb and explore Diamondhead crater

Snorkeling Hanauma Bay

And Waimea Bay on the North Shore

Everyone lines up to jump off the rock.

Time flies, but it will soon be time to come home!

How did Kayak.com make this trip better?

• By eliminating the need to check multiple search engines and coordinate flights with hotels.

• By consolidating search results and putting the different offers on one page.

• By allowing the user to filter the results by rating, amenities, and location.

• Provided confidence in pricing by comparing other search engines and websites.

References

• www.gohawaii.com• www.hawaiitourismauthority.org• www.kayak.com• En.wikipedia.org/wiki/tourism_in_hawaii