Priceline, Orbitz see biz travel drop

By Kyle Peterson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. recession presents a strong headwind to the travel industry, especially for business travel, which is declining more rapidly than leisure, the chief executives of two online travel agencies said on Monday.

Speaking at the Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit in New York, Priceline.com Chief Executive Jeffery Boyd and Orbitz Worldwide CEO Barney Harford said separately they are seeing pressure on business travel bookings as companies look for quick ways to cut costs.

"There's been a more rapid downturn in business travel than leisure travel," Boyd said.

Boyd linked the decline in business travel, in part, to efforts by executives to avoid criticism that they are wasting company money on unnecessary travel. He said complaints by politicians about expensive corporate travel is putting additional and unfair pressure on the struggling industry.

Boyd said that while no one is pleased with the current state of the economy, the downturn gives travel agencies a chance to court bargain-hungry travelers with cheap bookings and creative travel package deals.

The three publicly traded U.S. online travel agencies -- Priceline, Expedia Inc and Orbitz Worldwide Inc -- posted mixed results for the fourth quarter. Only Priceline saw the total value of its bookings rise.

The CEOs did not predict an end to the current downturn for the travel industry. But other experts have said it will not end this year.

"I could see well into 2010 having a very sluggish travel and leisure market," Phillip Kleweno, partner at Bain Corporate Renewal Group, said at the summit.