Watch Travel Expert Explain Why Expedia, Orbitz, Trip Advisor & Others Soon Might No Longer Exist

It seems hard to believe, but online travel agencies (OTAs) might soon no longer exist. When OTAs, such as Expedia, Orbitz, Trip Advisor, etc., first emerged years ago they were filling a void, and were very much the best friend of the world’s top airlines because they were taking the unsold inventory of the airlines — which were suffering enormously at the time — and helping drive more sales. But fast forward to 2015 and these same airlines are in excellent financial shape, running flights at approximately 90% load factors, and they are starting to pull their inventory off these sites, as are the world’s top hotels. CBS This Morning writes, “Senator Chuck Schumer Monday called on the Department of Transportation to investigate airlines that won’t allow their fares on other sites. According to the Travel Technology Association, this move by the industry could cost consumers more than $6 billion a year. ‘Law of supply and demand,’ Peter Greenberg says. ‘If you restrict the opportunity for comparison shopping you have a problem.’ The probe would supplement an ongoing investigation, recently announced by the federal government, looking into possible collusion by the airline industry to slow their growth and keep airfares high.”