Amazon DOIN’ EVERYTHING: HOTEL SERVICE! AD-SUPPORTED STREAMING SERVICE.
HEY YOU KNOW WHAT AMAZON LIKES? FUCKING EVERYTHING. GOT ITS FINGERS IN LIKE INFINITY PIES. DRONES AND FUCK! DELIVERING MIKE AND IKES TO ME. NOW IT’S LIKE, FUCK IT. HOTELS. AD-SUPPORTED STREAMING. FUCK.
Gizmodo:
Looking to get away? Maybe you should just add a trip to your Wish List in the hope someone buys it for you. At least, that’s what you might be able to do soon, if reports of Amazon branching out into travel are accurate.
The travel news site Skift reports that Amazon has been working with independent hotels and resorts near major cities to kickstart a new Travel department. The report claims that the new service could launch as soon as January 1st 2015, initially providing hotel options around New York, Los Angeles and Seattle.
The model sounds pretty simple: hotels would list rooms, availability, pricing, and photos into on Amazon, then pay 15% commission to Bezos & Co. on any bookings. Hoteliers tell Skift that Amazon has been approaching them to join the scheme over the past weeks, using TripAdvisor ratings to target the best places to get on board.
The report suggests that the initial focus of Amazon Travel would be on places to stay rather than transport, though the offering will be “rounded out” with “editorial about attractions and other things to do in the destination.” It sound much like Amazon’s other early-stage dabbling, which start small in an attempt to see if they’re viable at scale.
[cont]
Today in things Amazon might be working on: first, a travel site, and now, according to the New York Post, an ad-supported streaming video network. This has been previously rumored, but the Post is saying it’s a done deal.
The Post also says the service would operate separately from a $99 Prime subscription, be supported by ads and might undercut the cost of a Netflix subscription. While that estimation came from an analyst—which means it is basically worthless—it would make sense that a Netflix clone with ads would cost less than Netflix itself.
As with many things Amazon does, this lower-level video subscription service would be used as bait to lure people to ultimately sign up for Prime. In other words, if you like Transparent, but you want to see it without blocks of ads interspersed, you’d have to pony up for Prime. Next step, profit. Considering Amazon has been throwing a lot of weight behind original programming as well as actively adding movies and TV shows you want to watch, this is something that sounds within the realm of possibility. The other part of the equation is what with HBO unbridling itself from cable subscriptions next year, Amazon might need a little more incentive to get people into its very own streaming service rather than looking elsewhere. We’ll see.
Any of these things appeal to you?