This week’s Update features a variety of stories covering search, short-term rentals, wholesalers and traditional OTAs. This week's highlights include...more
11/12/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Booking.com ,
Contracts Clause ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Investigations ,
Japan ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Keyword Advertising ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Popular ,
Rebranding ,
Rental Property ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Ridesharing ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Startups ,
Trademarks ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
This week's Update includes a story detailing yet another state’s efforts to close existing tax loopholes so that it may collect proper sales/occupancy taxes from OTAs. I hope you enjoy....more
11/2/2018
/ Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Occupancy Tax ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Sales Tax ,
Short-Term Lease ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Legislation ,
Technology Sector ,
Tourists ,
Travelers
And You Thought Today’s Health and Safety Requirements Were Tough -
("China Prepares Unprecedented Online Tourism Regulation," Stories, September 28, 2018)
Those of you who have negotiated online travel agency...more
10/8/2018
/ Booking.com ,
China ,
Expedia ,
Facebook ,
Health and Safety ,
Hilton ,
Hotels ,
Innovation ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marketing ,
New Regulations ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Tourism ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
Agoda Homes Seeks To Gain Ground -
("OTAs Booking Holdings’ Agoda Takes a Distinctive Approach on Short-Term Rentals," Skift Travel News on September 21, 2018)
For some time now, Agoda has featured short-term rentals on...more
10/1/2018
/ Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Blockchain ,
Booking.com ,
E-Commerce ,
Hotels ,
Investigations ,
Online Reviews ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Popular ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s Update is one of the largest in some time....more
9/24/2018
/ Brand ,
Business Travel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cruise Ships ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Hotels ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Investment ,
Online Reviews ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Websites
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
This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including a story on an unique approach to loyalty. Enjoy....more
This week’s Update is heavily focused on the EU and its recent enforcement activities....more
7/30/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Android ,
Booking.com ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Fines ,
Google ,
Integration ,
Investment ,
Manufacturers ,
Mobile Apps ,
On-Demand Services ,
Online Platforms ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Rental Property ,
Search Engines ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Surcharges ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Travelers
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 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
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
Australian Authorities Confirm Renewed Interest in Parity Provisions -
("Online Booking Clauses Still Cause for Concern for Australian Competition Authority," MLex, April 11, 2018) (subscription required) -
Speaking...more
4/20/2018
/ Airlines ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Austria ,
Booking.com ,
Competition ,
Expedia ,
Forum Selection ,
Hotels ,
Investigations ,
Ireland ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Online Platforms ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Singapore ,
Suppliers ,
Travelers ,
Web Scraping
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
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update is below and features a variety of stories – EU regulation, AI-powered chatbots, direct booking, connectivity and taxes....more
2/19/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Appeals ,
Denial of Rehearing ,
EU ,
Expedia ,
Germany ,
Hotel Tax ,
Hotels ,
Municipalities ,
Online Platforms ,
Priceline ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Social Media ,
Stock Prices ,
Trivago
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
The first installment of our weekly OTA & Travel Distribution Update for 2018 is below. A mix of stories in this week’s Update....more
1/15/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Apartments ,
Class Action ,
Communications Decency Act ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Hotels ,
IBM ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Patent Infringement ,
Section 230 ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Tenants ,
Travelers ,
Video
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending December 22, 2017 is below. An interesting mix of stories in this penultimate Update for 2017. I hope everyone has a great holiday and successful 2018....more
This week’s Update for the week ending December 15, 2017 is below. Nothing too earth shattering this week....more
12/22/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Collusion ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Hotlines ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rewards Programs ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Virtual Reality
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update is below and features stories on both traditional OTAs and short-term rentals. Enjoy....more
11/27/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Big Data ,
Booking.com ,
Disabilities ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Hotels.com ,
Japan ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Raids ,
Refunds ,
Rental Tax ,
Residential Leases ,
Sexual Assault ,
Short-Term Lease ,
South Korea ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
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
11/20/2017
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Expedia ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Homeaway ,
Hotels ,
Investigations ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Priceline ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Trivago ,
Twitter ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Websites
Our weekly OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending, Friday, November 3, is below. The week’s update features a variety of stories, including a potentially landmark purchase by Airbnb....more
11/13/2017
/ Affordable Housing ,
AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Orbitz ,
Pending Legislation ,
Property Tax ,
Search Engines ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals ,
Wall Street Journal ,
Wyndham
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending October 20, 2017 is below. Short-term rentals feature prominently is this week’s Update...more
10/30/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Apartments ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Governor Walker ,
Hong Kong ,
Hotels ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Resident's Rights ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals