This week’s Update features a number of stories on the growing short-term rental industry, including Sonder’s recently announced plan to go public. Enjoy....more
5/7/2021
/ AirBnB ,
Booking.com ,
Business Valuations ,
Capital Raising ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Property Management Companies ,
Rental Property ,
Search Engines ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Travelers ,
Trivago
While the debate around health care passports continues, our latest Update offers Booking Holdings’ CEO’s perspective on the growing controversy. We also take a look at two major distributors’ plans for public offerings – one...more
4/20/2021
/ Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection Authority ,
Expedia ,
Failure to Notify ,
Fines ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Travelers ,
Vaccine Passports
This week’s Update features several stories on the big online travel newsmakers of last week – Google and Kayak. Enjoy....more
This week’s Update features stories on Google’s recently announced online third-party tracking changes, the (permanent) nature of virtual experiences, growth of “digital” kitchens and important updates on what group events...more
3/15/2021
/ AirBnB ,
Amazon ,
Booking.com ,
Cookies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Rental Property ,
Subscription Services ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s Update features a number of stories highlighting last week’s Skift Online Travel and Distribution Summit, as well as Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson’s incredible impact on Marriott and its view on online travel. Enjoy....more
3/1/2021
/ Airlines ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Refunds ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Subscription Services ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
United Airlines ,
Vacation Rentals
Happy New Year. Our inaugural 2021 Online Travel Update is below. In addition to sharing a new story about Expedia Group, we are once again providing a roundup of some of the major developments and trends that impacted the...more
1/8/2021
/ AirBnB ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Expedia ,
FinTech ,
Google ,
Health and Safety ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Marketing ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Targeted Digital Advertising ,
Travelers
This week’s Update features a variety of stories – short-term rental, airlines, resort fees and antitrust developments in both the United States and the EU. Enjoy....more
12/28/2020
/ Airlines ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Service Providers ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Fees ,
Google ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Online Marketplace ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rental Property ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Search Engines ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vacation Rentals
Last week’s news headlines were dominated with a major milestone in the short-term rental industry as Airbnb’s long-awaited IPO finally arrived. While many will continue to debate Airbnb’s initial valuation, one thing is...more
Last week was relatively quiet on the distribution front. Enjoy.
Tensions Between Google and Booking.com Become Public -
(“Booking.com and Google Clash in Europe as Regulators Target Both,” October 29, 2020 via Skift...more
What started out as a relatively quiet week in the distribution world ended with a flurry of activity and announcements (some were expected and some were not). I hope you enjoy....more
11/2/2020
/ Airlines ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
Travelers Seeking Increased Transparency -
(“Skyscanner, Expedia, Hopper on need for transparency in travel retailing,” Oct 14, 2020 via Phocus Wire)
In a recent roundtable held at the Open Industry Summit: The New...more
10/26/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Health and Safety ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Transparency ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s Update features two stories on the growing (temporary?) phenomenon of using hotel guest rooms and other public spaces for those seeking an alternative arrangement to working from home and how those new remote work...more
10/19/2020
/ Airlines ,
Cookies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Office Space ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Popular ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Remote Working ,
Rental Property ,
Search Engines ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
As summer was coming to a close last week (and people everywhere were doing best to hang onto the last few glimmers), there was little noteworthy news coming out of the distribution world. Enjoy....more
9/14/2020
/ Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data-Sharing ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Marketing ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Opt-In ,
Popular ,
Privacy Policy ,
Travelers
This week’s Update features important updates on the status of rate parity in the EU and introduces yet again, new tools by Google for safety conscious travelers. Suppliers Come and Go on Google’s Short-Term Rental Platform ...more
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update includes Google prominently featured in the news and a new agreement for Choice Hotels. Enjoy....more
8/31/2020
/ Advertising ,
AirBnB ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Collection ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Popular ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers
Parity Commitments Extended by Expedia and Booking.com -
(“Expedia, Booking.com voluntarily extend 'price parity' antitrust commitments, Aug 14, 2020 via MLEX Insight)
While the European Commission continues its...more
8/24/2020
/ Airlines ,
Asia ,
Booking.com ,
Collaboration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
E-Commerce ,
European Commission ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Refunds ,
Rental Property ,
Search Engines ,
Travelers ,
Traveling Employee
This week’s Update takes a deep dive into all things Expedia, and includes several stories regarding Expedia’s recent disastrous quarterly earnings release, an actual copy of the release as well as a copy of a complaint...more
8/11/2020
/ Advertising ,
AirBnB ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Earnings Reports ,
Economic Downturn ,
Expedia ,
Financial Distress ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Refunds ,
Rental Property ,
Revenue ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Trivago
This week’s Update contains a number of stories on the growing significance of metasearch, particularly as properties compete for the attention of even fewer travelers. However, we begin this week’s Update with a story on...more
6/26/2020
/ Advertising ,
Airlines ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Price Comparisons ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Subscription Services ,
Travelers
This week’s Update again features more stories than usual. With so many in the lodging industry using the current downturn as an opportunity to question “business as usual,” we want to be as inclusive as possible. Enjoy....more
6/2/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Booking.com ,
Censorship ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Donald Trump ,
Executive Orders ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Health and Safety ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Social Media ,
Travelers ,
Yelp
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
5/5/2020
/ Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Contract Termination ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Investors ,
Layoffs ,
Merger Agreements ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Refunds ,
Startups ,
Tourism ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Vouchers
In this week’s Update, we’ve included a greater number of stories than usual given the quantity and variety of available stories pertaining to COVID-19.
Stay safe and healthy. Together, we will get through this. ...more
This week’s Update again features number of stories on Google, including an update on last week’s story detailing Google’s recent addition of direct links to competitors’ travel sites.
Last but not least, as most of you...more
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
This week’s Update features a recent Skift story that tries to answer a question that I know many of you have asked...What’s Barry Diller’s next move with Expedia? Enjoy....more
Russian Investigators Looking into Booking.com’s Practices -
(“Russian competition watchdog opens investigation into Booking.com,” Reuters on Dec. 30, 2020)
On Monday, December 30, Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly...more
2/3/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Anti-Monopoly ,
Bodily Injury ,
Booking.com ,
Fees ,
Google ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Russia ,
Third-Party Liability ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor