Why niche can be nice in the massive world of online travel

There’s plenty of noise made around big-name travel players through the industry - in the news, at conferences, in headlines, on social media - and the attention is warranted. But there’s value beyond size and household recognition.

Smaller online travel sites are finding that being in a niche can actually be quite nice for business purposes - and there’s room to play in a niche, even if it’s not quite as spacious as the world in which online travel agencies such as Expedia, Booking.com, Trip.com and Airbnb operate in.

“The common idea is that there is this little cookie here on stage, and the three of us have to fight to get a little piece. I think the reality is it's more like a big cake filling the entire room,” said Matthijs Keij, CEO of Withlocals, a travel tours and experiences company, during a Center Stage session at Phocuswright Europe.

Keij, Eric La Bonnardiere, CEO of tailor-made tours company Evaneos, and Elnur Seyidli, CEO of Halal-focused booking platform HalalBooking, opened up about leading niche travel businesses in a discussion led by Phocuswright research founder and senior analyst Lorraine Sileo.

Beyond room to grow in more unique areas, niche travel businesses can work in tandem with bigger organizations.

“It's also important … not to look at the niche players necessarily as a competitor to giants,” said Seyidli, whose company partners with the “giant” OTAs. “There can be cooperation, and it works for us.”

Another benefit of living in a specialized space is perhaps a lower competition level in general.

“We have quite a unique concept and this is also a beauty of being a niche. You can have unique concepts,” added La Bonnardiere. “You do not fight against … alternatives that don't do exactly the same. So it's really an opportunity to communicate brand values that are totally different.”

The wide-ranging conversation on the environment for smaller online travel sites touched on the challenges and rewards of working in a smaller, specialized space. Watch the full discussion below.