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
This week’s Update features yet another story about Hopper as well as an important update on the future of keyword restrictions. Enjoy....more
11/1/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Hotels ,
Keyword Advertising ,
Keyword Search ,
Marriott ,
Mergers ,
Online Reviews ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Travelers ,
Virus Testing
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
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
This week’s Update provides several updates on stories we featured previously, including details on Expedia’s recent settlement of false advertising claims that we first detailed back in 2016. Enjoy....more
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
It was another relatively quiet week in the online travel world as evidenced by our stories below. Expedia Group’s introduction of its Fast Track program designed to recruit unhappy Airbnb hosts and its rollout of AI-enabled...more
4/13/2021
/ Airlines ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Commodities ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s Update features several stories on the big online travel newsmakers of last week – Google and Kayak. Enjoy....more
This week’s Update features stories on Google’s recently announced online third-party tracking changes, the (permanent) nature of virtual experiences, growth of “digital” kitchens and important updates on what group events...more
3/15/2021
/ AirBnB ,
Amazon ,
Booking.com ,
Cookies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Rental Property ,
Subscription Services ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s Update features a number of stories highlighting last week’s Skift Online Travel and Distribution Summit, as well as Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson’s incredible impact on Marriott and its view on online travel. Enjoy....more
3/1/2021
/ Airlines ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Refunds ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Subscription Services ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
United Airlines ,
Vacation Rentals
For readers who have been following our Online Travel Updates since its inception, we thank you for your continued support. In this year of 2021, June will mark our six-year anniversary of publishing these weekly updates...more
2/19/2021
/ Airlines ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Passports ,
Refunds ,
Rental Property ,
Startups ,
Travelers ,
Trivago ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Vacation Rentals ,
VRBO.com
Unlike our short Update last week, this week’s edition is filled with several important stories....more
2/15/2021
/ Amazon ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Discount Pricing ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vacation Rentals
This week’s Online Travel Update features updates to a number of stories that we covered previously – online vaccination records, Apple’s privacy policy and the many challenges associated with regulating online platforms’...more
2/5/2021
/ Advertising ,
Airlines ,
Apple ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Expedia ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Passports ,
Privacy Policy ,
Television Commercials ,
Travelers ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Virus Testing ,
Web Tracking
This week’s Update contains something for everyone – currencies and payments, infringement claims and acquisitions. Enjoy....more
1/25/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Breach of Contract ,
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Hotels ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Southwest Airlines ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Trivago ,
Unjust Enrichment
This week’s Update features a variety of stories (all of which pale in comparison to the tumultuous events last week in Washington, D.C.), including two stories about the recent antitrust claims brought by Fareportal against...more
Happy New Year. Our inaugural 2021 Online Travel Update is below. In addition to sharing a new story about Expedia Group, we are once again providing a roundup of some of the major developments and trends that impacted the...more
1/8/2021
/ AirBnB ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Expedia ,
FinTech ,
Google ,
Health and Safety ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Marketing ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Targeted Digital Advertising ,
Travelers
We end 2020 with a heavy dose of antitrust/competition stories (which is a theme likely to continue into 2021), including updates from Russia, Croatia and the European Union. Those of you with properties in those markets may...more
12/31/2020
/ Anti-Monopoly ,
Booking.com ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Payment Systems ,
Russia ,
Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service ,
Transparency ,
Travelers
Last week’s news headlines were dominated with a major milestone in the short-term rental industry as Airbnb’s long-awaited IPO finally arrived. While many will continue to debate Airbnb’s initial valuation, one thing is...more
This week’s Update features a heavy dose of short-term rentals as the long-awaited Airbnb IPO finally arrives and many hoteliers seek to capitalize on growing (COVID-induced) traveler demand in this segment. Enjoy....more
12/15/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Hotels ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
International Tax Issues ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Startups ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Litigation ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vacation Rentals
This week’s Update features our next PhocusWire Hot 2021 Startup, Volara. For those of you who have implemented (or considered implementing) voice-activated guest solutions, Volara is likely a familiar name. Enjoy....more
Beginning with this edition, we’ve rebranded the name of our weekly Update from “OTA & Travel Distribution Update” to “Online Travel Update.” Why, you ask, did we change the name that has served us so well these past five...more
11/25/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
B2B Transactions ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Hotels ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Startups ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals