Travelplus.com

[major]

I purchased the domain travelplus.com here on this forum 4 years ago. As I don't have the time to actually do much with it - I'm considering selling the domain - and possibly the actual site that comes with it.

Any idea how much the domain in itself could be worth ? And how much the site will give on top of that ?

The site has anywhere from 20-40 visits per day, entirely organic - so not much to speak of - but still something...

Thanks.

[hugegrowth]

'travel' is a top notch keyword, and 'plus' is a great suffix type word to go with it. There are many historic sales of 'keyword plus' type domains you could look up prices on. I could see it selling for a high four or low five figure sum. It's very brandable and travel is a popular online market.

[katherine]

I like it too.
I think it's reasonably brandable. It's taken in quite a few extensions, variations too.
I have the feeling it could fetch five figures but you have to find the right end user.
Provided it has no TM issues.

[Jeffreyw]

Brandable domain.

Consider hiring a broker for this domain.

[major]

Thanks for your replies so far.

I will consider hiring a broker, I also believe it has potential.

[Maxwell]

It's an extremely saturated industry.

Check the owners of the .ca, I think they're your most likely purchaser.

I don't think it's worth more than low $xx,xxx. If this was 2001, it would be a different story.

[major]

Yes, travelplus.ca seems like a potential purchaser. Thanks.

As for value, you are right, it's not 2001 anymore - but I think it can still achieve a decent price (which your estimate would be).

It's an extremely saturated industry.

Check the owners of the .ca, I think they're your most likely purchaser.

I don't think it's worth more than low $xx,xxx. If this was 2001, it would be a different story.

[oldtimer]

If I saw this domain advertised somewhere on TV or in print I would have thought that it was a big travel company.

Don’t let it go cheap, in my opinion its worth at least 50k to the right end-user buyer starting up in the travel Industry. (assuming that there are no TM issues)

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[Maxwell]

If I saw this domain advertised somewhere on TV or in print I would have thought that it was a big travel company.

Don’t let it go cheap, in my opinion its worth at least 50k to the right end-user buyer starting up in the travel Industry. (assuming that there are no TM issues)

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How do you propose said end-user will compete in providing the exact same service as established players such as Expedia, Hotwire, Fly.com, Kayak.com, Hotels.com, Orbitz.com, Travelocity, FlightNetwork, iTravel2000, Cheapoair, Skyscanner, Farespotter, Lowfares, etc.?

They all pull rates from the same sources, the only real competition is how much of a rebate each site can provide.

[oldtimer]

How do you propose said end-user will compete in providing the exact same service as established players such as Expedia, Hotwire, Fly.com, Kayak.com, Hotels.com, Orbitz.com, Travelocity, FlightNetwork, iTravel2000, Cheapoair, Skyscanner, Farespotter, Lowfares, etc.?

They all pull rates from the same sources, the only real competition is how much of a rebate each site can provide.

How a new travel site or agency can operate and survive the competition is not the subject of discussion here;

As far as the domain goes it’s a great name for those who have the know how and the right resources to put it to a good use.

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[hugegrowth]

There are a lot of sidelines to the travel market besides airfare and hotel, like car rentals, day tours, events, etc.

TravelPlus is easy to remember and spell, passes the radio test, and it's highly brandable. Because the travel market is so competitive is even more reason to have a memorable brand name, to get an advantage.

[oldtimer]

Also some of the established players in the travel Industry as mentioned above by Maxwell have multiple branches and use different names to cover different markets, so a memorable and brandable name can always be of interest even amongst the already big and famous companies.

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[major]

Thanks for your views, yet again. Much appreciated.

I'm considering putting a broker on this - and as I'm not used to dealing in domain names, how do I go about it ? I do know of sedo, but that's about it. Who else could I approach ?

[hugegrowth]

MoviePlus.com is in this week's DNJ report, sold for $7,500. I think TravelPlus is better.

[dcristo]

I agree I wouldn't sell for less then 5 figures.

[major]

MoviePlus.com is in this week's DNJ report, sold for $7,500. I think TravelPlus is better.

Good find, thanks.

I will consider my options on where and how to sell it. Any suggestions are appreciated (PM or here).

[katherine]

The market has spoken

[WhoDatDog]

Very good name. This is the type of name you hold onto unless you can materially change your life for the better. Unlike most names listed here, this name give you a reasonable chance to get extremely lucky at some point in the future.

Every single new travel company that opens for business from now until the rest of your life has to have a domain name to go with their business, and you won't find many better names that aren't established websites.

You might want to put up a professional looking webpage and list the means to contact you. You would think that at some point you could reel in a very live buyer. Even though the traffic is pretty good, and you could probably make a few bucks in PPC, I suggest a simple webpage listing the name for sale, since people can land on sedo and similar pages and not notice the For Sale link.

You don't even need to tout the name on the page. Just list it as available. The right buyer will already know it is a serious name.

[dcristo]

It's an extremely saturated industry.

This is flawed logic. It's a competitive market because there is money to make in this industry.

Aside from your two biggest purchases (home/car) travel is up there with one of the biggest purchases most people will make in their lifetimes.