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April 27, 1999
Preview Travel for Mom
by Rick Munarriz
([email protected])
Trading at $24 1/4 as of April 26, 1999
This year, Mom, I'm finally going to give you some wings. Big ol' shiny ones too. I know it hasn't been easy for you to merge your love of travel with your fear of flying. I imagine Preview Travel <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PTVL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PTVL)") end if %> feels the same way. While the company's website has become one of the most popular stops for globetrotting cybersurfers, its stock has not taken off with the jet set online crowd. Grounded unjustly? You know it.
I think Wall Street is missing the opportunity to board this sleek yet powerful equity. Last year the company booked more than $200 million in airfare and lodging reservations. The registered users of the site now number in the millions. The company's www.previewtravel.com site has become one of the 50 most popular online destinations (according to Media Metrix). That shouldn't come as a big surprise since the company receives plenty of exposure on popular online portals like Lycos <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: LCOS)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: LCOS)") end if %> and Excite <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: XCIT)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: XCIT)") end if %>.
You know all those times that I kept Dad's travel agent honest by suggesting cheaper flight and hotel alternatives? That's Preview Travel in action. You know that trip I'll be taking next month with my family to check out the last of the independent amusement parks in Pennsylvania? That's right. I booked it through Preview Travel.
Online you are just a few clicks away from the best deals on airfare, lodging, and rental car reservations. Preview is also stocked with Fodor's online travel guides and the latest news from all the major air carriers and hotel chains. I'm sure you probably don't need the seasoned tips, but we can't all have passports that bulk up to Tolstoyesque proportions like yours.
Okay, so I love the site. Apparently so do the 6.4 million other registered users. But that alone isn't why I'm sending you a bit of Preview Travel this month, Mom. Like one of the site's airfare pricing screens, this appears to be the best-valued vehicle if your ultimate destination is to ride the Internet.
To put things in perspective, last month Priceline.com <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PCLN)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PCLN)") end if %> went public and fetched as much as $14 billion in market capitalization. Priceline is an interesting company, but it is not the refined travel agency boutique that Preview has become. Like Preview, Priceline started out selling airline tickets and has diversified logically. Yet, while Priceline's revenues were twice those of Preview's last year, it was selling for 40 times more than Preview and its modest $300 million price tag. Logic would dictate that either Priceline is going to be giving up a lot of that lofty altitude or that eventually the market will give takeoff clearance for Preview to fly the skies as well. Or both.
Preview is losing money right now, but thanks to a beautiful balance sheet that boasts a ton of cash and no long-term debt, the company is better poised than the rest of its red-inked online brethren to see things through. Besides, now that Preview has become a more complete content destination, advertisers like AT&T, Discover, and Ticketmaster are flocking to the company. And why not? Preview's demographics are a dream come true -- educated online users who are affluent enough to travel. What sponsor wouldn't want a piece of that action?
So as Preview grows as a community and broadens its product lines with cruise bookings and complete vacation packages, do you think the company will finally soar towards the heavens? I think so. Here are your wings, Mom. Fly.
Preview Travel Company Information:
Trades on Nasdaq under symbol PTVL
Preview Travel's website: www.previewtravel.com
Current Quote
Preview Travel's Chart
Other Related Links:
Daily Trouble- 03/02/99
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