Travelocity has its idiosyncrasies that might irk some folks. Travelocity is headquartered outside Dallas, but a good number of its senior management reside in NYC: its CEO, COO, and CMO. So if you're in NYC you get to share office space with the bigwigs, but they are often traveling, so you might not see them too much. Folks in the Dallas office, on the other hand, might feel they don't see enough of the C-level folks since they split time between Dallas, NYC, and other worldwide offices. Another downside is that despite the methodology the company has tried to implement to determine the best projects to pursue, it often comes down to who is "in" with the top management, and who makes the biggest noise, to get projects green-lighted. So if you are the squeaky wheel / brown-noser type, even if your ideas aren't the most cogent or compelling, chances are that you'll do okay at Travelocity. Below the C-level management, I would argue that the VP level is mixed. Some good, solid folks, some you scratch your head and wonder how they got/stayed there (cf: squeaky wheel/brown-noser type). Travelocity finds itself in an extremely competitive market, so I suspect that what is true at Travelocity in terms of industry dynamics is true at other online travel agents. Travelocity is like a department store. Just as Macy's sells branded goods like Calvin Klein, Estee Lauder, etc., Travelocity sells branded travel like AA, Hyatt, Hertz. But Macy's can make money selling it's own line of apparel. Travelocity, though, can't sell Travelocity car rentals or Travelocity airlines, so it has to differentiate itself from Expedia, Priceline, etc., in other ways. At the same time, AA, Hyatt, Hertz and the like are trying to get customers to by-pass Travelocity and book directly with them. So, the company finds itself in a tough position. Bottom line: as good as the reasons to work at Travelocity are, there are other pressures on the company that make it difficult for them to deliver on such things as compensation, career development, work/life balance. But this could be said of many a company now.
