Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week is below. And for those mothers out there, we hope you had a great Mother’s Day! This week's highlights...more
5/15/2024
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Price-Fixing ,
Subscription Services ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s Update again features a wide variety of stories, including an important update on the much beleaguered spokesman for metasearch site, Trivago. Enjoy....more
This week’s Update offers two differing industry perspectives on Google’s DMA compliance efforts. We also update the status (demise) of TripAdvisor’s much criticized subscription program, TripAdvisor Plus. Enjoy....more
TripAdvisor’s rumored sale garnered most of this past week’s headlines, though reaction to Expedia’s recent earnings release and in particular, Peter Kern’s announced departure, came in a close second. Salacious headlines out...more
We’ve found fall to be the busiest of all seasons in the online travel world as everyone returns to work from summer breaks and the dates of the major online travel conferences are fast approaching. As you can see from the...more
9/27/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Booking.com ,
Fees ,
Google ,
Hilton ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
As evidenced by the stories in this week’s Update, this past week was a relatively quiet week in online travel. Not surprisingly, many of this past week’s headlines featured the recent report by Phocuswright suggesting that...more
This week’s Update features another heavy dose of earnings-related stories, including details from last week’s Booking Holdings release. If you are interested, we’ve linked below a copy of the transcript from Booking.com’s...more
Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending February 17, 2023, is below. This week’s Update features a number of stories coming out of last week’s quarterly earnings releases by several of the largest online travel...more
2/23/2023
/ Airlines ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Fees ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, November 18, 2022, is below. This week’s Update includes Phocus Wire’s annual listing of its Hot 25 Travel Startups. The list always provides an interesting glimpse...more
Good Sunday afternoon from Seattle . . . Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending November 11, 2022, is below. Booking Holdings features prominently in this week’s Update as its planned acquisition of Etraveli...more
This week’s Update features several stories detailing a recent report by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding mounting consumer credit concerns with buy now, pay later credit products...more
10/4/2022
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Expedia ,
FinTech ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Startups ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
Sonesta Moves Small Group Bookings Online -
(“Sonesta Introduces Hybrid Concierge, a Digital Meeting Planning Service,” September 9, 2022 via Lodging Magazine)
Sonesta announced plans last week to offer groups the...more
With earnings season upon us, it was difficult to limit this week’s Update to just 12 stories. For those of you seeking a deeper dive into the latest on online booking platforms, Expedia Group and Booking Holdings I encourage...more
This week’s Update includes two stories detailed Booking Holdings’ recent earnings release and a surprise story regarding Google’s hotel booking platform. Enjoy....more
This week’s Update features stories detailing recent fourth quarter earnings releases by TripAdvisor, Airbnb, Marriott and Sabre. Enjoy....more
2/28/2022
/ AirBnB ,
Booking.com ,
Call Centers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Mergers ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Strategic Partnerships ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
We begin this week’s Update with the announced acquisition of Getaroom by Booking Holdings. Enjoy....more
11/22/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Airlines ,
Apple ,
Booking.com ,
CEOs ,
Data Privacy ,
Delta Airlines ,
Hotels ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Priceline ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
Skift’s annual Skift Global Forum, which was held this past week, produced a number of newsworthy items for this week’s Update. Enjoy....more
10/4/2021
/ Airlines ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Loans ,
Subscription Services ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vacation Rentals
Russian Authorities Impose Anti-Trust Penalty on Booking.com -
(“Booking.com Faces $17.5 Million Competition Fine in Russia,” August 26, 2021 via Skift) (subscription may be required)
Russia’s federal antimonopoly...more
9/27/2021
/ AirBnB ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Booking.com ,
Fines ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service ,
Search Engines ,
Subscription Services ,
Tax Liability ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
Last week was earnings release week for three of the major online travel platforms – Expedia Group, Booking Holdings and Tripavisor. This week’s Update includes transcripts from the three platforms’ earnings calls as well as...more
9/15/2021
/ Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Capital Raising ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Revenue Growth ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vacation Rentals
It was a relatively quiet week in the online travel world. Booking’s announcement last week about its launch of a new fintech business spurred several additional stories last week, two of which are included in this week’s...more
This week’s Update features details on two recently filed lawsuits — one by American Airlines against Sabre and the other against Southwest Airlines by airfare discounter, Skiplagged. Enjoy....more
7/20/2021
/ Airlines ,
American Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
FinTech ,
Hotels ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Payment Systems ,
Rental Property ,
Search Results ,
Southwest Airlines ,
Subscription Services ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vacation Rentals ,
VRBO.com
This week’s Update features a number of important stories, including details of Tripadvisor’s official launch of Tripadvisor Plus in the United States and an important update on the 1-800 Contacts FTC enforcement action....more
7/2/2021
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Appeals ,
Cruise Ships ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Expedia ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hilton ,
Hotels ,
Keyword Search ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Pricing ,
Trademarks ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vacation Rentals ,
VRBO.com
This week’s Update features two stories detailing the role that online buy now pay later companies hope to have in the travel industry’s recovery. Enjoy...more
6/14/2021
/ Airlines ,
Apple ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Payment Plans ,
Payment Systems ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vacation Rentals ,
Verizon
This week’s Update features a number of stories and perspectives on last week’s earnings releases from Booking Holdings, Expedia Group and Tripadvisor. Enjoy....more
5/14/2021
/ Airports ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Earnings Reports ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Marketing ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports
This week’s Update features a number of stories on the largest online distributors as well as a story on an interesting new player that focuses exclusively on hoteliers’ “beyond bed” ancillaries and experiences. Enjoy....more
5/3/2021
/ Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Occupancy Tax ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Rebranding ,
Sales Tax ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Legislation ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor