This week’s Update features two interesting stories on distribution in the airline and cruise industries, which caused us to question what, if any, lessons can be drawn for those in the lodging industry. Enjoy....more
1/28/2019
/ Air Carriers ,
Airlines ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Cruise Ships ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Distribution ,
Partnerships ,
Price Transparency ,
Technology Sector ,
Transportation Industry ,
Travelers
Both regulatory investigations and consumer complaints feature prominently in this week’s distribution news....more
12/31/2018
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Booking.com ,
Class Action ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
International Travel ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Racketeering
Is it just my generally biased view of online travel platforms or are regulators finally taking a hard look at the sometimes questionable practices of these channels? Enjoy....more
12/17/2018
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Australia ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Booking.com ,
Contracting Procedures ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Excessive Pricing ,
False Advertising ,
Fines ,
France ,
French Competition Authority ,
Hilton ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Search Engines ,
Tourism ,
Travelers ,
Trivago
Following last week’s holiday break, we are once again sharing each week what we feel are the most noteworthy stories in the distribution, loyalty program and (occasionally) short-term rental fields/industries. We hope you...more
12/10/2018
/ Airlines ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Booking.com ,
Contract Terms ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Funding ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Startups ,
Travelers
This week’s Update is heavily focused on the EU and its recent enforcement activities....more
7/30/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Android ,
Booking.com ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Fines ,
Google ,
Integration ,
Investment ,
Manufacturers ,
Mobile Apps ,
On-Demand Services ,
Online Platforms ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Rental Property ,
Search Engines ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Surcharges ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Travelers
As our Update reveals, Booking Holdings monopolized the distribution headlines this past week....more
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update is below and features a variety of stories – EU regulation, AI-powered chatbots, direct booking, connectivity and taxes....more
2/19/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Appeals ,
Denial of Rehearing ,
EU ,
Expedia ,
Germany ,
Hotel Tax ,
Hotels ,
Municipalities ,
Online Platforms ,
Priceline ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Social Media ,
Stock Prices ,
Trivago
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending October 27, 2017 is below. This week's Update includes a number of substantive stories on OTAs, particularly, European authorities’ renewed interest in OTAs’...more
11/6/2017
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Competition Authorities ,
Consumer Watchdog ,
Distributors ,
EU ,
Expedia ,
Financial Reporting ,
Germany ,
Homeaway ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Office of Fair Trading ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Price Match Guarantees ,
Priceline ,
Revenue Recognition Standard ,
Travelers ,
Trivago ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Websites
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending August 4, 2017 is below. An important update on the status of rate parity in the EU leads things off in this week’s Update...more
8/14/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Australia ,
Booking.com ,
City of Chicago ,
EU ,
Expedia ,
Fines ,
France ,
Hotels ,
Hyatt ,
Italy ,
New Legislation ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Startups ,
Travel
Integration of Short-Term Rentals Continues [METASEARCH / SHORT-TERM RENTALS] -
("Google Is Testing Vacation Rental Search in Its Hotel Price-Comparison Tool," Skift Travel News, July 20, 2017) -
In what was an...more
7/31/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
AirBnB ,
EU ,
Google ,
Investment Property ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Priceline ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Transparency ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
Our weekly OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 30, 2017 is below. A mix of stories in this week’s update.
Airbnb Continues Its March Toward Mainstream Lodging (SHORT-TERM RENTALS)
("Airbnb signs...more
7/10/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Australia ,
Booking.com ,
Business Travel ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
EU ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Hyatt ,
New Zealand ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Priceline ,
Travel ,
Vacation Rentals
This week’s GSB OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 23, 2017 is below. A variety of stories this week.
Time to Take French Legislative Prohibitions Seriously [OTA/PARITY]
("Expedia fined in France...more
7/3/2017
/ AirBnB ,
EU ,
Expedia ,
France ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
United Airlines
Our weekly client OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 16, 2017 is below. Several interesting stories this week...
Price-Fixing Technology the Subject of EU Regulators [PARITY] -
("Enforcers Must...more
6/27/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Amazon ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Hyatt ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Price-Fixing ,
Travelers ,
Whole Foods
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 9, 2017 is below. This week’s Update features a variety of stories.
Airline Surcharge Challenged [DIRECT BOOKING] -
("IAG Flight-Booking Surcharge...more
6/19/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
EU ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Intermediary Agreements ,
International Travel ,
Japan ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Surcharges
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending April 14, 2017 is below. Additional details regarding last week’s long-awaited report on online travel by the European Commission are featured in this week’s...more
4/24/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Booking.com ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
India ,
Microsoft ,
Occupancy Tax ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Research and Development
Below please find this week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending April 7, 2017. The recently released European Commission’s report on the hotel industry headlines this week’s Update. -
European...more
4/17/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Damages ,
Data Protection ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Occupancy Tax ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Penalties ,
Theft