This past week, we saw a number of stories (including the one listed below) describing Booking.com’s potentially precarious financial position, which reveals just how broad of an impact this pandemic is having on the travel...more
4/20/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Health and Safety ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Travelers ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Both Google and Expedia are featured prominently in this week’s Update, particularly Barry Diller and his many colorful statements made during last week’s Expedia earnings call. Enjoy....more
2/24/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Search Results ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
Our holiday-abbreviated OTA & Travel Distribution Update is below. Happy Holidays....more
12/31/2019
/ Booking.com ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Data Privacy ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Governor Brown ,
Hotels ,
New Legislation ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Travelers
Startup Seeks to Turn Traditional Group Booking Upside Down -
(“Booking Startup Stayker Makes Room Blocks Less Risky for Planners,” Skift Travel News on Nov 20, 2019)
Launched last Thursday, Stayker seeks to disrupt...more
11/27/2019
/ AirBnB ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Startups ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
Japanese distributor Rakuten leads off this week’s Update with a story detailing the circumstances leading to the distributor’s recent commitment to abandon all contractual parity requirements. Enjoy....more
11/4/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Financial Analysts ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals ,
Wyndham
A good mix of stories in this week’s Update, including another name change for one of the largest OTAs. Enjoy....more
9/23/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Airlines ,
Appeals ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Hotels ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Ticket Pricing ,
Travelers ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
This week’s Update features a story on relative newcomer to third party distribution (Southwest Airlines) and includes, yet again, another update on the on-again/off-again saga of Booking.com commissions. Enjoy....more
8/19/2019
/ Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Fees ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Retail Installment Sales Contracts ,
Sales Commissions ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s Update features a variety of topics – OTAs, short-term rentals and loyalty. Enjoy....more
7/22/2019
/ AirBnB ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Keyword Search ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers
This week’s travel-shortened OTA & Travel Distribution Update features two stories detailing two recently announced unique partnerships, one between Accor and Air-France-KLM and the other between Expedia and Lufthansa. We...more
7/16/2019
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Amazon ,
Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Fees ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Lufthansa ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Sales Commissions ,
Travelers
This week’s Update features a story on an issue – OTA cancellations – that we’ve been hearing a lot about recently. Enjoy....more
5/6/2019
/ Airlines ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Booking.com ,
Cancellation Rights ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Google Maps ,
Hotels ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Travelers
Stories detailing investors’ renewed interest in travel technology feature prominently in this week’s stories....more
11/26/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Airlines ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Investors ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Orbitz ,
Partnerships ,
Startups ,
Technology Sector ,
Travelers ,
Venture Capital ,
Venture Funding
Regulation of Large Online Platforms is Coming to Japan -
("Online platforms may face stricter rules, enforcement in Japan, panel says, MLex, November 5, 2018)
Following up on a story (and prediction) included in last...more
11/19/2018
/ Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Hyatt ,
Japan ,
Merchants ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vacation Rentals
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
10/22/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Algorithms ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Data Collection ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Internet Retailers ,
Joint Venture ,
Online Platforms ,
Personal Data ,
Pricing ,
Technology Sector ,
Travelers ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Vacation Rentals ,
Virtual Reality
Job Postings Hint at TripAdvisor’s Growing Interest in Travel Packages -
("TripAdvisor Hints at Its Growing Interest in Vacation Package Search," Skift Travel New, September 6, 2018)
Since April of this year, TripAdvisor’s...more
9/14/2018
/ Airlines ,
Appeals ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Hotel Tax ,
Hotels ,
Job Offers ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Orbitz ,
Popular ,
Singapore ,
Tax Code ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s Update features a variety of stories....more
9/10/2018
/ AirBnB ,
China ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Expedia ,
Financial Statements ,
Hotels ,
Local Ordinance ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers
August has been a slow month in the distribution world as this week’s Update reflects....more
Corporate Travel Sector Eyes a New Distribution Model Down Under -
Skift Travel News on Aug 2, 2018 -
Qantas, Serko, and Corporate Travel Management are leading the charge towards new distribution capability adoption...more
8/13/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Australia ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Hotels ,
Hyatt ,
Landlords ,
Millennials ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Distribution ,
Rental Property ,
Startups ,
Travelers
This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including a story on an unique approach to loyalty. Enjoy....more
This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including an additional story on last week’s announcement by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority regarding its recent commenced enforcement efforts against several...more
7/16/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hotels ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Price-Fixing ,
Travelers ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Website Accessibility
Our weekly OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 22, 2018 is below. This week’s Update features not one, but two stories (offering perspectives from both the hospitality and technology industries) on...more
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 8, 2018 is below. This week’s Update is a lengthy one and includes our sixth and final installment of our series in anti-trust challenges to hoteliers’...more
6/18/2018
/ Airlines ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Google ,
Homeaway ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Keyword Search ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Technology Sector ,
Travelers
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending April 27, 2018 is below. This week’s Update features a wide variety of stories. I hope you enjoy....more
5/7/2018
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
China ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Distributors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Internet Retailers ,
Keyword Search ,
Online Distribution ,
Partnerships ,
Pricing ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Trivago ,
Vacation Rentals ,
Websites
Our weekly client OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending April 20, 2018 is below. This week’s Update features a number of stories on the emerging tours and activities space. I also included the first installment...more
4/30/2018
/ Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Distributors ,
Hotels ,
Keyword Search ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rebranding ,
Startups ,
Technology Sector ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending April 6, 2018 is below. A variety of stories are featured in this week’s Update, including an interesting follow up story on Red Lion’s somewhat unique (and...more
4/16/2018
/ Airlines ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Austria ,
Brand ,
Competition ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Fines ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Microsoft ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Price-Fixing ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Travelers
This week’s abbreviated OTA & Travel Distribution Update is below and features stories on the biggest distribution players – Ctrip, Booking.com, and yes, Airbnb. Enjoy....more