We begin this week’s Update with the promised overview of the DOJ’s recent guidance on the ADA and website accessibility. Enjoy....more
For readers who have been following our Online Travel Updates since its inception, we thank you for your continued support. In this year of 2021, June will mark our six-year anniversary of publishing these weekly updates...more
This week’s Update features a number of updates on previous stories, including our recent story on Expedia’s apparent abandonment of indirect and direct channel rate parity provisions in Australia. Enjoy....more
South Korean Competition Authority Takes a Hard Look at Parity - (“Comment: Use by online-travel agencies of MFN clauses under study by South Korean antitrust watchdog,” MLex Insight on Dec 5, 2019) South Korea’s Fair...more
Consumer protection concerns are a re-occurring theme in this week’s Update. Proposed Legislation Targets Resort Fees - ("House Bill Would Halt Undisclosed Resort Fees," Benzinga.com on Sep 27, 2019) This past...more
This week’s Update features a number of stories on important developments in the EU. Enjoy....more
This week’s Update includes status reports on several ongoing distribution-related court cases involving both hoteliers and distributors....more
Expedia Gets Tough - ('Expedia sues United in fight over ticket-distribution costs," Seattle Times - Business, February 6, 2019) Although several sources reported late Friday that Expedia and United have agreed to...more
Expedia Expands Its Voice-Activation Résumé - ("Expedia Brings Voice Bookings, Cancellations and Rewards to Google Assistant," Skift Travel News, October 9, 2018) It was less than two years ago that we featured...more
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update is below and features stories on both traditional OTAs and short-term rentals. Enjoy....more
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending November 10, 2017 is below. Senator Kobuchar’s recent request for an DOJ and FTC investigation into OTAs’ purportedly anti-competitive practices leads this...more
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending October 27, 2017 is below. This week's Update includes a number of substantive stories on OTAs, particularly, European authorities’ renewed interest in OTAs’...more
On the 13th September 2017 Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission President, unveiled a framework for investment screening for certain foreign mergers in his “State of the Union” address to the European Parliament. ...more
CMA Seeks to Educate UK Hoteliers [PARITY] - ("Competition watchdog urges hotels to take advantage of demise of price parity," The Caterer - Latest Hospitality News, July 5, 2017) - If you recall, one of the key...more
We have followed over the last years Europe grappling with the issue of most favoured nation clauses and hotel booking. Our last update regarded a joint monitoring project between the CMA and the European Commission, designed...more
On 22 November 2016, the Competition Market Authority (CMA) announced the opening of an initial investigation into suspected breaches of competition law in relation to the supply of auction services in the UK. The CMA...more
EU: Regulatory Scrutiny of Online Hotel Booking Continues - The 13 July 2016 saw the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announce that it had sent a questionnaire to a large sample of hotels throughout the UK. As...more
The 13 July 2016 saw the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announce that it had sent a questionnaire to a large sample of hotels throughout the UK. As part of a joint monitoring project with the European Commission,...more