Good Sunday evening from Seattle and for those of you celebrating, Happy Father’s Day. Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, June 13, 2025, is below. This week’s Update features an update on the DMA and the negative effects that Google’s ongoing compliance efforts are having on travel suppliers. We also include further information on European hoteliers’ plans for a class action against Booking.com over its parity practices. Enjoy.
Have a great week everyone.
EU Airlines See Drop in Website Traffic Due to DMA
June 12, 2025 via MLex
EU airlines are seeing a decrease in approximately 10 to 20 percent of traffic on their website since the implementation of Digital Markets Act, an industry representative told a conference today. Lobbyists for the hotel and retail sectors also complained of the negative impact of the law, due to Google having to tweak its search feature to give more visibility to other platforms.
Global Study Finds Majority of Travelers Ready for AI to Book Trips
June 9, 2025 via PhocusWire
Accenture's survey of 18,000 consumers in 14 countries found that 80% of travelers are now using generative AI tools and most would trust agents to plan and book trips.
Apple’s Travel Upgrades: New Digital Passport, Live Translation for Messages and Calls
June 9, 2025 via Skift
Apple is testing its own version of live translation through calls and texts, but not for face-to-face conversations through wearable devices. Summarize Story Share Select a question above or ask something else Digital U.S. passports and live translation — those were the biggest travel upgrades Apple announced during ...
Google’s AI Shift: Travel Marketing Disruption Is Coming Fast
June 9, 2025 via Skift
At Skift Research, we think travel leaders need to be a little Google-obsessed. It’s one of the most important drivers of bookings, and our data shows Google is undergoing a real-time AI transformation with massive implications for the industry. Share Google has been a critical part of the ...
NI Hotels Join Compensation Action Against Booking.com’s ‘Anti-Competitive’ Practices
June 9, 2025 via Belfast Telegraph
The Northern Ireland Hotels Federation (NIHF) has added its support to a landmark action against online hotel booking website Booking.com. The action — involving more than 25 European countries and which could cost Booking.com millions of euros — follows the judgment by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on September ...
