This week’s Update features a number of stories on important developments in the EU. Enjoy....more
4/29/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Contract Disputes ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Parliament ,
Expedia ,
Germany ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
New Rules ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Travelers ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms ,
Unfair Competition ,
Venue
This past week was relatively quiet on the distribution front. Have a great week everyone....more
This week’s Update includes a heavy dose of TripAdvisor updates. Once the dust settles a bit on this past week’s big news – the announced acquisition of Hotel Tonight by Airbnb – we’ll update everyone on the acquisition and...more
This week’s Update includes a report on the EU Commission’s widespread examination of online platforms’ pricing practices and an update on the much-publicized standoff between United and Expedia. Enjoy....more
3/4/2019
/ Amazon ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Joint Venture ,
Online Platforms ,
Partnerships ,
Price Transparency ,
Rental Property ,
Technology Sector ,
Travelers ,
United Airlines
We begin this week’s Update with some good news on the direct booking front. Enjoy....more
2/22/2019
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Belgian Competition Authority ,
Belgium ,
Contract Terms ,
Dismissals ,
E-Commerce ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hilton ,
Horizontal Agreements ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Price Manipulation ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Technology Sector ,
Travelers ,
Unfair Competition
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
Regulation of Large Online Platforms is Coming to Japan -
("Online platforms may face stricter rules, enforcement in Japan, panel says, MLex, November 5, 2018)
Following up on a story (and prediction) included in last...more
11/19/2018
/ Booking.com ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Hyatt ,
Japan ,
Merchants ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Vacation Rentals
This week’s Update features a variety of stories covering search, short-term rentals, wholesalers and traditional OTAs. This week's highlights include...more
11/12/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Booking.com ,
Contracts Clause ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Investigations ,
Japan ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Keyword Advertising ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Popular ,
Rebranding ,
Rental Property ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Ridesharing ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Startups ,
Trademarks ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
Booking Holdings, Expedia Group and...Kiwi?
("Online Travel Agency Kiwi Has a Plan to Fight the Giants," Skift Travel News, October 18, 2018)
Conventional wisdom says that start-ups in the online travel agent space...more
Travel Agency Hit With TCPA Class Action Over Cuba Texts -
Law 360 - Cybersecurity & Privacy on Aug 10, 2018 (subscription required)
An online travel agency that arranges trips to Cuba got slapped with a proposed class...more
8/20/2018
/ Amazon ,
ATDS ,
Class Action ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Smart Devices ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages ,
Travelers
Our weekly OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 22, 2018 is below. This week’s Update features not one, but two stories (offering perspectives from both the hospitality and technology industries) on...more
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 15, 2018 is below. Hometown favorite, Amazon, features heavily in this week’s Update.
...more
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 8, 2018 is below. This week’s Update is a lengthy one and includes our sixth and final installment of our series in anti-trust challenges to hoteliers’...more
6/18/2018
/ Airlines ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Google ,
Homeaway ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Keyword Search ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Technology Sector ,
Travelers
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending Friday, January 12, is below. This week’s Update features stories predominantly on OTAs....more
1/22/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Car Rentals ,
China ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Generation Z ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Marriott ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Distribution ,
Priceline ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Tax Penalties ,
Travelers ,
Travelocity ,
Websites
Happy New Year from Seattle... I hope all of you enjoyed the holidays. Our final, year-end OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending December 29, 2017 is below. ...more
1/8/2018
/ AirBnB ,
Argentina ,
Asia ,
Booking.com ,
China ,
Collusion ,
Competition Authorities ,
Expedia ,
Finland ,
Food Supply ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Hotels.com ,
Investigations ,
Keyword Advertising ,
Mergers ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Technology Sector ,
Trademarks ,
Travelers
Navigating Disruptive Climates, hosted by Washington Hospitality Association, was held on October 22-24, 2017 at the Tulalip Resort Casino in Tulalip, Washington. My presentation at the conference, "The War Rages: Hotels vs....more
11/13/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Booking.com ,
Contract Terms ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Expedia ,
Facebook ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Microsoft ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Orbitz ,
Priceline ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
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 Friday, October 13, is below. This week’s Update features stories on short-term rentals (or should I say hotels?), OTAs and loyalty. I hope you enjoy....more
10/23/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Apartments ,
China ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Hyatt ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Ticket Pricing ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals ,
Wyndham
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending September 29, 2017 is below. This week’s Update is a lengthy one and contains a number of stories that, although not directly associated with distribution, I...more
10/9/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Hilton ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Tourists ,
Travelers
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending September 22, 2017 is below. This week’s Update features a wide variety of stories on distribution, short-term rentals and loyalty programs....more
10/3/2017
/ Accounting Standards ,
AirBnB ,
Amazon ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Delta Airlines ,
Expedia ,
Hilton ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Travelers
Our weekly OTA & Distribution Update for the week ending September 15, 2017 is below. The week’s short Update features a heavy dose of OTA stories...more
This week’s update features a number of traditional “distributor” stories and updates on short-term rentals. We elected not to include a story involving the much-publicized leadership changes at Expedia (and Uber) as I’m sure...more
9/18/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Blockchain ,
China ,
Distributors ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Injunctions ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Operating System Developers ,
Priceline ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Vacation Homes ,
Vacation Rentals
Our weekly OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending August 25, 2017 is below. This week’s Update once again shows that August shaped up to be a relatively quiet month in the distribution world....more
9/11/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Expedia ,
Hilton ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
India ,
Online Distribution ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
This week’s Update for the week ending August, 18, 2017 is below. Short-term rental regulation is featured prominently in this week’s Update...more
8/28/2017
/ AirBnB ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Hotlines ,
Hyatt ,
Landlords ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Income ,
Rental Property ,
Search Engines ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travel
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending August 11, 2017 (where has summer gone) is below. Compared to recent weeks, this past week was relatively quiet on the distribution front...more
8/21/2017
/ AirBnB ,
China ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Distributors ,
E-Commerce ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
International Travel ,
Joint Venture ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Priceline ,
Rental Property ,
Super Bowl ,
TripAdvisor