Pushing Mac Users to More Expensive Travel Options

What’s the biggest difference between Mac and PC people? Apparently Mac users are willing to spend more (as evidenced by their choice of a pricier computer). And Orbitz is taking advantage of that fact.

The Wall Street Journal

According to , Orbitz is pushing Mac users to more expensive hotel options. In research, the travel website found that people using Macs tend to spend as much as 30% more on hotels and are 40% more likely to book a four- or five-star hotel than PC users.

Given this knowledge, Orbitz has begun to show Mac users hotels that are more expensive than those shown to PC users. However, the site does not show the two groups the same room at different price points.

Also, when the users from the two groups book the same hotel, Mac users tend to go for rooms that are more expensive than the rooms PC users choose.

Forbes

Despite being discriminatory — the site is segmenting users into two groups and attempting to induce greater spending in one group — the move is smart since it is just trying to expand upon a trend it has already noticed, according to .

Are you one of the more frugal Mac users? Or are you a PC user just borrowing a Mac? Don’t worry; people can still sort by price, looking at the cheaper hotels first if that’s what they want to do.

Journal

The article also pointed out that the Orbitz effort is really highlighting a broader trend. According to Forrester Research, Mac owners are typically more affluent, with the average household income of adult Mac owners at $98,560 compared to $74,452 for PC owners.

Journal

Orbitz isn’t the only website looking to capitalize upon the fact that Mac owners are more willing to spend more money. More companies, according to the , are looking at what operating system customers are using.

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