This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending Friday, May 15, 2020 contains a wide variety of stories – from the tried and true to the truly bizarre. I hope you enjoy....more
5/20/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Financial Stimulus ,
France ,
Hong Kong Competition Commission (HKCC) ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Tourism ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vacation Rentals
This week’s Update features a number of stories detailing the disastrous effects of COVID-19 on some well-known distributors. No one is immune from this current downturn....more
5/12/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Hotels ,
Mergers ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Transportation Industry ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Trivago ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Vacation Rentals
This week’s Update features a number of updates on previous stories, including our recent story on Expedia’s apparent abandonment of indirect and direct channel rate parity provisions in Australia. Enjoy....more
5/5/2020
/ Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Contract Termination ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Investors ,
Layoffs ,
Merger Agreements ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Refunds ,
Startups ,
Tourism ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Vouchers
This week’s Update contains updates on several fronts, but begins with a story that I found thoroughly depressing, but summarizes, perhaps better than any other story I’ve seen in recent weeks, the current state of the travel...more
This past week, we saw a number of stories (including the one listed below) describing Booking.com’s potentially precarious financial position, which reveals just how broad of an impact this pandemic is having on the travel...more
4/20/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Health and Safety ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Travelers ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
In this week’s Update, I’ve again included a larger than normal number of stories given the interesting updates we are seeing. Not all the updates may be directly related to traditional distribution, but there is a...more
4/13/2020
/ Advertising ,
AirBnB ,
Booking.com ,
Business Travel ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Relief Measures ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
While this week’s Update does not include stories about Coronavirus and its potentially disastrous effects on the lodging and travel industries, I’m sure it will only be a matter of time. We are already hearing stories of...more
3/16/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data-Sharing ,
EU ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Marketing ,
National Security ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Trump Administration
Our (travel-abbreviated) weekly OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending February 28, 2020 is below. I’ll be back next week with our regular format. ...more
Russian Investigators Looking into Booking.com’s Practices -
(“Russian competition watchdog opens investigation into Booking.com,” Reuters on Dec. 30, 2020)
On Monday, December 30, Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly...more
2/3/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Anti-Monopoly ,
Bodily Injury ,
Booking.com ,
Fees ,
Google ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Russia ,
Third-Party Liability ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
With 2020 now upon us and 2019 in the rearview mirror, I thought this would be a good time to take a look back at the stories (and the themes that the stories represent) we covered in 2019 that I believe will have the largest...more
1/7/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Amazon ,
Booking.com ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals ,
Wholesale
Our holiday-abbreviated OTA & Travel Distribution Update is below. Happy Holidays....more
12/31/2019
/ Booking.com ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Data Privacy ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Governor Brown ,
Hotels ,
New Legislation ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Travelers
South Korean Competition Authority Takes a Hard Look at Parity -
(“Comment: Use by online-travel agencies of MFN clauses under study by South Korean antitrust watchdog,” MLex Insight on Dec 5, 2019)
South Korea’s Fair...more
12/23/2019
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Booking.com ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Expedia ,
Fair Trade Commissions ,
Hotels ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Price Transparency ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
South Korea ,
Travelers ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Startup Seeks to Turn Traditional Group Booking Upside Down -
(“Booking Startup Stayker Makes Room Blocks Less Risky for Planners,” Skift Travel News on Nov 20, 2019)
Launched last Thursday, Stayker seeks to disrupt...more
11/27/2019
/ AirBnB ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Startups ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
Algorithms Under EU Scrutiny -
(“Algorithms might raise collusion concerns, Franco-German study says,” MLex Insight on Nov 8, 2019)
As many of you probably already know, algorithms are the heart and soul of most online...more
11/19/2019
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Division ,
Booking.com ,
Competition ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Joint Venture ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Trademarks ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
Japanese distributor Rakuten leads off this week’s Update with a story detailing the circumstances leading to the distributor’s recent commitment to abandon all contractual parity requirements. Enjoy....more
11/4/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Financial Analysts ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals ,
Wyndham
This week’s OTA Update leads off with stories about two of the largest OTAs seeking to diversify their offerings through the addition of flights. As each of these travel platforms continues to evolve and seek to add more...more
10/28/2019
/ AirBnB ,
Booking.com ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Rental Property ,
Tourism ,
Vacation Rentals
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update features a number of stories on recent changes at Google with regard to the way in which it displays vacation rentals and the market’s response to those changes. Enjoy....more
Consumer protection concerns are a re-occurring theme in this week’s Update.
Proposed Legislation Targets Resort Fees -
("House Bill Would Halt Undisclosed Resort Fees," Benzinga.com on Sep 27, 2019)
This past...more
10/7/2019
/ Booking.com ,
Expedia ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
FTC Act ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Property Owners ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Travelers ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Websites
Fall has definitely arrived here in the Pacific Northwest. This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update is below and features stories on TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Vacasa and the soon-to-be-effective, Strong Customer...more
9/16/2019
/ Booking.com ,
Fake Reviews ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
National Competent Authorities (NCA) ,
Online Reviews ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Rental Property ,
Tourism ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vacation Rentals
This week’s Update features a story on relative newcomer to third party distribution (Southwest Airlines) and includes, yet again, another update on the on-again/off-again saga of Booking.com commissions. Enjoy....more
8/19/2019
/ Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Fees ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Retail Installment Sales Contracts ,
Sales Commissions ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s Update features a wide variety of stories, including an update on our own Northwest-based short-term rental management company, Vacasa, which is growing by leaps and bounds. Enjoy....more
8/12/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Booking.com ,
Capital Raising ,
European Commission ,
Hotels ,
International Travel ,
Joint Venture ,
Mergers ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Startups ,
Vacation Rentals
This past week was relatively quiet in the distribution world as evidenced by the few stories below. Enjoy....more
This week’s Update includes additional background information regarding the ongoing resort fee saga, which many of you requested. Enjoy....more
7/29/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Appeals ,
Booking.com ,
Expedia ,
Fake Reviews ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Scams ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s travel-shortened OTA & Travel Distribution Update features two stories detailing two recently announced unique partnerships, one between Accor and Air-France-KLM and the other between Expedia and Lufthansa. We...more
7/16/2019
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Amazon ,
Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Fees ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Lufthansa ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Sales Commissions ,
Travelers
This week’s Update highlights two additional countries’ efforts to investigate alleged abuses by powerful global online platforms, including widely used online travel platforms. Enjoy....more
7/5/2019
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Booking.com ,
CEOs ,
Competition ,
E-Commerce ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Sales Commissions ,
Startups ,
Travelers