What Metasearch means
A metasearch engine sits one layer above the sellers. Where an OTA takes the booking and issues the ticket or hotel voucher, a metasearch site gathers prices from many sellers and shows them side by side. Skyscanner, for example, states that it is not a travel agent and that bookings are made with the provider; KAYAK says it does not sell or process tickets or reservations.
The revenue model follows from that role. Sellers pay to be shown or chosen. Common models are cost per click (CPC), where the seller pays each time a traveller clicks through to its site, and commission or referral fees paid when a click turns into a booking. Display advertising adds further income. Google Hotel Ads now runs on click-based bidding: Google retired its commission-per-stay and per-conversion bid strategies in February 2025.
Some engines also offer booking without leaving the site, such as Google's Book on Google option for flights. Even then, Google describes itself as an intermediary that passes details to the airline or agency, which remains the party to the contract.
For airlines and hotels, metasearch is a way to win direct bookings against OTAs, provided their own rates are competitive. For sellers, it brings high search volumes, which affects the look-to-book ratio and the cost of answering price requests.
How Metasearch works
A metasearch query fans out to many sellers in seconds, then hands the traveller over to complete the purchase.
- Traveller searchesThe traveller enters a route and dates, or a destination and stay dates, on the metasearch site or app.
- Prices are collectedThe engine pulls fares or room rates from connected airlines, hotels and OTAs, using price feeds, APIs and its own caches of recent results.
- Results are rankedOffers are sorted by price, duration or relevance. Paid placement and bid amounts can influence which sellers appear most prominently.
- Traveller clicks throughChoosing an offer sends the traveller to the airline, hotel or agency site, or opens a booking form that passes details to that seller.
- Seller books and pays the engineThe seller takes payment and issues the booking, then pays the metasearch engine under the agreed model, such as per click or per referral.
Metasearch in practice
Flights: Google Flights, Skyscanner and KAYAK compare fares across airlines and online agencies. Google states that all bookings are made directly with the airline or online travel agency, even when the traveller uses its Book on Google form.
Hotels: Google Hotel Ads, Tripadvisor and trivago show room rates from hotels and OTAs. A hotel advertising on Google bids per click, using manual CPC, CPC% (a percentage of the room price) or automated bidding such as target ROAS.
Illustrative example: a traveller compares Dhaka to Dubai fares and sees the same flight offered by the airline and three agencies. She clicks the lowest agency price, books on the agency site, and the agency pays the metasearch engine for that referral.
Who uses it
Advantages and limitations
Advantages
- Sellers reach large audiences of travellers who are already close to buying.
- Click-based pricing lets advertisers control spend and pause campaigns when inventory or margins are tight.
- Airlines and hotels can compete for direct bookings that might otherwise go to OTAs.
- Price transparency rewards sellers whose rates and booking experience are competitive.
Limitations
- CPC costs are charged whether or not the click becomes a booking, so poor conversion wastes budget.
- Price mismatches between the metasearch listing and the seller's site damage trust and can lead to penalties or delisting.
- Answering very high volumes of price queries raises infrastructure and supplier search costs for sellers.
- The metasearch engine owns the first customer touchpoint, which can weaken a seller's direct relationship with travellers.
Frequently asked questions about Metasearch
What is the difference between metasearch and an OTA?
An OTA sells travel: it takes payment, creates the booking and handles changes. A metasearch engine compares prices from many sellers, including OTAs, and sends the traveller to one of them. Skyscanner and KAYAK, for example, both state that they do not sell or process the bookings themselves.
How do metasearch engines make money?
Mainly from sellers. Airlines, hotels and agencies pay per click, pay a commission or referral fee when a click leads to a booking, or buy advertising placements. Skyscanner says providers usually pay it a commission or referral fee, which lets it stay free for travellers.
Does Google Hotel Ads still offer commission-based bidding?
No. Google stopped new campaigns from using commission per stay and commission per conversion in April 2024 and sunset both strategies on 20 February 2025. Hotel advertisers now use click-based options such as manual CPC, CPC%, enhanced CPC or target ROAS, or Performance Max for travel goals.
Can a small travel agency appear on metasearch sites?
Yes, but it needs a reliable price feed or API connection that the metasearch partner accepts, competitive fares, and a booking flow that converts. Many engines also expect accurate prices at click-through, so the agency's booking engine must return the same fare the traveller saw.
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