Good Sunday morning from somewhere over Colorado . . . Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, June 21, 2024, is below. It was another relatively quiet week in the online travel space, except, that is, if...more
Last week was a relatively quiet one for the online travel industry. Hopper garnered most of the headlines with its recent funding round (and accompanying $1 billion valuation). Enjoy....more
Luxury-Goods Makers Making the Case for Permissible Distribution Controls -
(“New EU online-sales rules should step up fight against free-riders, luxury-goods makers say,” MLex Insight on Jan 31, 2020)
Why, you might...more
2/11/2020
/ Airlines ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Hotels ,
Luxury Goods ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
South Korea ,
Travelers
This week’s Update features a number of stories on important developments in the EU. Enjoy....more
4/29/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Contract Disputes ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Parliament ,
Expedia ,
Germany ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
New Rules ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Travelers ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms ,
Unfair Competition ,
Venue
U.S. Circuit Court Deals a Blow to Short-Term Platforms -
("Airbnb Loses Major Fight Over California City's Rental Law," Bloomberg Quint - Stories, March 13, 2019)
In somewhat of a surprise ruling issued last week, the...more
3/25/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
AirBnB ,
Appeals ,
Communications Decency Act ,
Free Speech ,
Google ,
Homeaway ,
Hotels ,
Local Ordinance ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Legislation ,
Technology Sector ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
Sales Principles Introduced for Online Booking Sites in the UK -
("Hotel Booking Sites Get Consumer-law Compliance Principles from CMA," MLex, March 1, 2019) (subscription required)
By September 1, 2019, hotel booking...more
3/11/2019
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hotels ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Reviews ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Price Transparency ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Travelers ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Yelp
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
2/19/2019
/ Advertising ,
Booking.com ,
Client Retention ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Investigations ,
Mergers ,
Millennials ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Ticket Pricing ,
Travelers ,
Trivago ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United Airlines ,
Websites
The week’s Update features an update on one of the many pending EU and EU member states’ ongoing investigations into the practices of OTAs. Enjoy....more
This week’s Update features two interesting stories on distribution in the airline and cruise industries, which caused us to question what, if any, lessons can be drawn for those in the lodging industry. Enjoy....more
1/28/2019
/ Air Carriers ,
Airlines ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Cruise Ships ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Distribution ,
Partnerships ,
Price Transparency ,
Technology Sector ,
Transportation Industry ,
Travelers
Despite a Change in Name and Business Model, Priceline is Back -
("Remember Priceline? After a Comeback and a Name Change, It’s Betting Big on China," Wall Street Journal - Business, December 28, 2018)
Booking Holdings...more
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
As the days of summer come to an end, activity in the distribution world has begun to pick back up again. I hope you enjoy....more
9/4/2018
/ Airlines ,
Asia ,
Booking.com ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Retailers ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers
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
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 May 25 is below. This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including one of our first (of many more likely to come) on the changing world of airline...more
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending May 18, 2018, is below. This week’s Update features our fourth installment in our 6-part series on alleged anti-trust abuses by hoteliers arising from their...more
5/29/2018
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Class Action ,
Expedia ,
Facebook ,
Hotels ,
Japan ,
Keyword Search ,
Marriott ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Platforms ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Tourism ,
Tourists ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Trivago
My OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending Friday, May 4, 2018 is below. Not a lot of news this week, hence the abbreviated Update. ...more
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
This week’s OTA & Distribution Update for the week ending February 23, 2018 is below. Other than Airbnb’s much publicized rollout of its 53 new product lines (an exaggeration, but not by much), last week was a relatively slow...more
3/5/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Hotels ,
Name Changes ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Priceline ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Websites
Our weekly OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending February 16, 2018 is below. Loyalty and direct booking make an appearance again in this week’s Update after an extended absence....more
2/26/2018
/ Blockchain ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Event Tickets ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Layoffs ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Smartphones ,
Travelers ,
Wyndham
This week’s rather short OTA & Travel Distribution Update is below....more
2/12/2018
/ Airlines ,
Dividends ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Payment Systems ,
Priceline ,
Travel Delays ,
Travelers ,
Wells Fargo
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update is below and features a number of stories on Airbnb and its many recent announcements. There seems to be no end to the news coming out of Airbnb these days as it prepares for an...more
2/5/2018
/ AirBnB ,
American Express ,
Apartments ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
China ,
Class Action ,
Hilton ,
Hotels ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Websites ,
World Economic Forum
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending January 19 is below. This week’s Update includes a heavy dose of short-term rental stories as well as details on Italian regulators’ recent efforts against...more
1/29/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
European Commission ,
Expedia ,
Fines ,
Homeowners ,
Italy ,
Local Ordinance ,
Mobile Payments ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Priceline ,
Registration Requirement ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Trivago ,
Websites
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending Friday, January 12, is below. This week’s Update features stories predominantly on OTAs....more
1/22/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Car Rentals ,
China ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Generation Z ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Distribution ,
Priceline ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Tax Penalties ,
Travelers ,
Travelocity ,
Websites