Comments on: Bing Travel’s Crean: “We save the average couple $50 per trip”

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:32:58 +0000

How can I get in touch with Hugh Crean, GM of Bing Travel?

By: David Z

David Z — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:44:01 +0000

Well…it says on bing.com it’s on Beta. :)

By: Joe Farrell

Joe Farrell — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:30:35 +0000

Bing is bull. I either got higher prices, less or different availability and unreasonable wait times – Bing is NOT the same as the others – all they do is promise to search on their websites so you do not have to go to Orbitz/Travelocity/Expedia separately.

Bing is not only bull but also worthless – I’ve tried it three times and it never got me a lower price – so the claim is pure bs.

By: Jim_J

Jim_J — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:24:32 +0000

After checking several travel sites for a trip later this month from Tampa to New York City, I decided to give Bing a try. The best price for non-stop flights that I had found was $242 on Delta. Bing did not list any flights on Delta, but showed Jet-Blue at $264 as the lowest fare and several other airlines at higher fares. How do you ignore the nation’s largest airline which, in this case, happens to have the best fare and the departure times that I want?

I also tried to book a hotel in Brooklyn for the dates of my trip. When I put Brooklyn, NY into Bing’s booking engine, it changed it to Brooklyn, OHIO. I then chose New York City with the prospect of being able to do a sub-search on Brooklyn. That borough was not a choice. I then looked through all of the NYC listings hoping that the search including properties on the other side of the river. It did come up with properties on the other side of the river but the wrong river. By choosing NYC, I could book a hotel in New Jersey, but not in Brooklyn.

I have since gone to another travel site and booked my trip. They offered seven hotels in Brooklyn. Sorry, Bing. You are going to have to do much, much better to win my business.

By: Steve -- Ohio

Steve -- Ohio — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:43:41 +0000

“We save the average couple $50 per trip””

How much do you save the above-average or below-average couple?

By: LeeAnne

LeeAnne — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:37:54 +0000

@Heather Collins – where did you go to school for your understanding of statistics?

To help you put a less-damning spin these numbers, try this. Imagine 20 people used Bing. Two saved $200, three saved $100. The rest saved $20 each. That averages out to $50 per person.

I’ll take those odds!

By: Chicky

Chicky — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:20:33 +0000

No, it doesn’t cost anyone more to use their service since it’s free anyway. A traveler is always free to check other search engines or go to a travel agent to see if they can get a better deal. The Bing folks just can’t guarantee people will save $200 per flight. And an average is just that: some people will save more, some will save less.

However, after checking out the site, my suggestion to the Bing folks is to have price predictors for more cities and airports. Nashville, Tenn. is one of the tourist meccas and they couldn’t get a hotel price index? Ehhh.

By: Heather Collins

Heather Collins — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:50:57 +0000

Woah…hold on here…I’m no math expert BUT if they claim the AVERAGE is (ONLY)
$50, but also claim that they have saved some people $200, then for SOME people,
it actually costs MORE to use their service. Right??? If the highest savings was
only $100, then I could see the “average” savings of $50. Zero saved would be
at the other end. Big difference between $200 and $50, so some poor sap paid more
(eg a minus $) to drag the average down to $50.

Well, at least it looks like they are being honest about it.

By: Dean Wright

Dean Wright — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:03:52 +0000

Starting last week, the one thing that Microsoft has that Google does not, is a calendar plugin for business travel. I’m not self-promoting here, but rather stating a cool fact: Tripware allows business travelers to plan, book, and manage their business trips in a familar place: Microsoft Outlook. NO ONE has that.