This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including updates on Sabre’s attribution sales efforts and the growing importance of Booking.com’s mobile application in the U.S. Enjoy....more
Last week’s Update features stories on two less frequently used social media platforms – Instagram and Snapchat – and details the brewing battle among banking companies for travel industry legitimacy. I hope you enjoy....more
6/13/2022
/ Advertising ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Booking.com ,
Capital One ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Instagram ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Rental Property ,
Snapchat ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
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 Online Travel Update features a variety of stories, including a follow up story on Uber’s ongoing transition from ride hailing app to super app. Enjoy....more
4/25/2022
/ Advertising ,
Airlines ,
Anti-Monopoly ,
Booking.com ,
Capital Raising ,
Car Rentals ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Marketing ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Russia ,
Travelers ,
Uber
After a few quiet weeks, last week produced a number of stories that caught our attention and made it into our weekly Update, including two interesting stories on customer reviews. Enjoy....more
4/12/2022
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Booking.com ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Competition ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Defamation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Expedia ,
Google Maps ,
Health Inspections ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Libel ,
Marketing ,
Online Reviews ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tortious Interference ,
Travelers ,
Yelp
As the short list of stories below reveals, last week was another quiet week in the online travel world. Enjoy....more
What a week it has been watching the horrible events unfold in Ukraine. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those in Ukraine or with family in Ukraine....more
3/14/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Russia ,
Ryanair ,
Travelers ,
Uber
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
Our first Update of 2022 includes a number of stories on the evolving marketing tactics of both hotels and their distribution partners. Enjoy....more
1/24/2022
/ Advertising ,
Booking.com ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Marketing ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Southwest Airlines ,
Travelers ,
VRBO.com
With the holidays rapidly approaching and the yearend only one week away, it is no surprise that the last week was fairly quiet. The one notable exception, however, was Trip.com, which released its financials on Thursday,...more
Despite what the calendar might say, winter has definitely arrived in the Pacific Northwest. This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including a story or two on online travel agencies (OTAs), and stories on Vacasa’s...more
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
Last week was earnings week for many of the public online travel companies, and we’ve included stories summarizing those releases for several of the largest – Expedia Group, Airbnb, Booking Holdings and Sabre. We’ve also...more
11/15/2021
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Amazon ,
Booking.com ,
Competition Act ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
India ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Ryanair ,
Surcharges ,
Travelers
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 variety of stories, including details on the recent change in leadership at Booking.com in the Asia-Pacific region. Enjoy....more
7/6/2021
/ Airlines ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Booking.com ,
Competition Authorities ,
Cookies ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Travelers
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 contains a variety of stories, including details of a recent court win for German hoteliers and the recent musings of the always entertaining, Barry Diller. Enjoy....more
6/2/2021
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Booking.com ,
Competition Authorities ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Germany ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
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 growing short-term rental industry, including Sonder’s recently announced plan to go public. Enjoy....more
5/7/2021
/ AirBnB ,
Booking.com ,
Business Valuations ,
Capital Raising ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Property Management Companies ,
Rental Property ,
Search Engines ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Travelers ,
Trivago
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
While the debate around health care passports continues, our latest Update offers Booking Holdings’ CEO’s perspective on the growing controversy. We also take a look at two major distributors’ plans for public offerings – one...more
4/20/2021
/ Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection Authority ,
Expedia ,
Failure to Notify ,
Fines ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Travelers ,
Vaccine Passports