Happy New Year! We are once again providing a roundup of some of the major developments and trends in the online travel industry that caught our attention this past year. Wishing everyone a successful 2024....more
This week’s Update features one of several stories published this past week regarding the escalating fight between renegade airline Ryanair and several of the large online travel platforms. We’ve also included a few stories...more
This past week was dominated by stories regarding AI’s application and use in the travel industry (we’ve included only one of those stories) and recent activity on resort fees (two stories this week). Some highlights...more
Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending December 1, 2023, is below. This week’s Update features of variety of stories – resort fees, potential new EU traveler regulations and Ryanair’s continued pursuit of OTAs....more
This week’s Update features updates on several recently featured stories, including Booking.com’s ongoing payment and fraud challenges and new legislative efforts to limit junk fees....more
11/2/2023
/ Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Citibank ,
Fees ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Ryanair ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
From the number of announcements this past week by travel industry members detailing their new online small and medium business initiatives, someone must have deemed last week “small and medium business week.” We’ve included...more
Resort fees garnered most of the industry’s headlines this past week as California’s governor signed legislation prohibiting hidden fees and the Federal Trade Commission finally released its proposed federal trade regulation...more
This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including the latest on Hopper and its apparent ongoing transition. Enjoy....more
10/12/2023
/ Airlines ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Asia Pacific ,
B2B Organizations ,
Booking.com ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Priceline ,
Travelers
This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including the latest news on the new cottage industry of resort fee litigation and Amazon’s growing (yet understated) significance in the travel industry. Enjoy....more
8/30/2023
/ Airlines ,
Amazon ,
American Airlines ,
Class Action ,
Fees ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Hyatt ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Travelers
This week’s Update features two stories on Booking Holdings’ pending acquisition of eTraveli, which remains under EU review. Enjoy....more
After several slow weeks in the industry, this past week featured a number of important updates, including earnings releases and calls from Booking Holdings and Expedia Group. Transcripts from the two companies’ earnings...more
8/8/2023
/ Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Expedia ,
Fees ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Ryanair ,
Travelers ,
Trivago ,
VRBO.com ,
Wal-Mart
This week's Online Travel Update is below. As evidenced by the number of stories in this issue, it was a busy week in the online travel world, ending with what appeared to be a distributor dogpile on competitor Hopper. Enjoy....more
This week’s Update features a wide variety of stories, including two on the growing influence of fintech products and their suppliers...more
6/21/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Expedia ,
FinTech ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Popular ,
TikTok ,
Travelers
Welcome to our weekly Online Travel Update. Expedia’s many announcements at its Explore 23: Connect conference this past week garnered most of the industry headlines, while Uber moved closer to becoming a full online travel...more
Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, May 5, 2023, is below. We hope you enjoy...more
5/9/2023
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
American Airlines ,
EU ,
Fees ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Travelers
This week’s Update features two anti-trust / competition law updates from the EU (the Netherlands) and South America (Chile). Enjoy....more
3/28/2023
/ Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Social Media ,
South America ,
TikTok ,
Travelers
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 February 3, 2023, is below. This week’s Update features of number of stories detailing the Biden Administration’s growing efforts to address “unfair” fees, including hotel...more
2/7/2023
/ Advertising ,
Airlines ,
Biden Administration ,
Credit Cards ,
Fees ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Travelers
Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Sunday, January 27, is below. This week’s Update provides updates on both DOT’s and FTC’s recent rulemaking efforts around “hidden” industry fees. Enjoy....more
1/31/2023
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Airlines ,
Antitrust Conspiracies ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Google ,
Hidden Fees ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Travelers ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending December 23, 2022, is below. As our short list of stories highlights, last week was a relatively quiet week in the online distribution world. Enjoy....more
As you can see from the list of stories, it was a relatively quiet week in the world of online travel, with Booking.com garnering most of the attention. From my perspective, as Booking.com gets closer to delivering on Glenn...more
This week’s Update covers a variety of topics, including persistent rumors regarding a possible Sabre sale and proposed new federal regulations governing airline fee disclosures that may one day serve as a foundation for...more
This week’s Update includes stories on fintech’s continued growth and rumors regarding Sabre’s possible future. I hope you enjoy....more
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
Happy Labor Day to those of you in the U.S. celebrating our last gasp of summer. Last week’s Online Travel Update features several stories regarding Google’s recently announced plan to wind down entirely its “Book on Google”...more