Kayak goes after rival Trivago in Germany with new vacation packages

Trivago dominates Kayak in Germany, but Kayak is wasting no time in going after the soon-to-be Expedia-controlled company as Kayak soft-launched a new vacation-package product on Kayak Germany.

In addition to offering air and hotel packages on Kayak.de from a host of suppliers, including Expedia, Kayak’s Urlaub (Vacation) tab now provides K-Packs, or Kayak-constructed packages.

K-Packs debuted on Trivago’s home turf, Germany, but Kayak is expected to bring them to its UK and U.S. sites soon. Trivago focuses on hotels, and doesn’t have a vacation-package product.

With K-Packs, Kayak conducts separate searches for the best flight and hotel deals, and puts them together in a package that sometimes achieves more savings than other online travel agency and supplier offers on Kayak.de.

If you search the Kayak Germany site for a June vacation package in Toronto, departing from Dusseldorf, you’ll see the “Kayak Mix” price of euro 699 beats the Expedia price of euro 729.

The Kayak “package,” however gets a little dicey because you’d have to book the euro 587 American Airlines fare, and the euro 48 per night room at the Howard Johnson Inn from EasyToBook.com separately.

“Since you must make two separate bookings, first check the price and availability of these offers, before you complete your booking,” Kayak warns its customers. “KAYAK does not guarantee that no additional charges are incurred at the time of booking. The fees may be subject to change at short notice, out of KAYAK’s control.”

Still, Kayak’s soft-launch of K-Packs, and its choosing its German site as the first market, shows that it will be aggressive in trying to knock German metasearch site Trivago off its current perch.

Priceline received U.S. Department of Justice approval for its $1.8 billion acquisition of Kayak yesterday. The Federal Trade Commission announced the approval, although the review was conducted by the DOJ.

The deal is expected to close during the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Expedia is awaiting approvals for its $632 million majority investment in Trivago.