This week’s Update features two stories on the growing (temporary?) phenomenon of using hotel guest rooms and other public spaces for those seeking an alternative arrangement to working from home and how those new remote work...more
10/19/2020
/ Airlines ,
Cookies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Office Space ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Popular ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Remote Working ,
Rental Property ,
Search Engines ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including the big three industry players, Trip.com, Expedia and Booking.com; the always insightful update on the current status of airline distribution; and details on...more
10/5/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Algorithms ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Subscription Services ,
Travelers
This week’s Update features a number of stories on short-term rentals, which is a trend that we will likely see continue as interest continues to grow over Airbnb’s long-awaited IPO. Enjoy....more
9/28/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Hotels ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE) ,
Vacation Rentals
Pandemic, protests and riots and now wildfires. To say 2020 has been a challenging year is an understatement.
As I anticipated, with summer now officially behind us, things have again picked up in the distribution world....more
9/18/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Delta Airlines ,
Expedia ,
False Advertising ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update includes Google prominently featured in the news and a new agreement for Choice Hotels. Enjoy....more
8/31/2020
/ Advertising ,
AirBnB ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Collection ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Popular ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers
Parity Commitments Extended by Expedia and Booking.com -
(“Expedia, Booking.com voluntarily extend 'price parity' antitrust commitments, Aug 14, 2020 via MLEX Insight)
While the European Commission continues its...more
8/24/2020
/ Airlines ,
Asia ,
Booking.com ,
Collaboration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
E-Commerce ,
European Commission ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Refunds ,
Rental Property ,
Search Engines ,
Travelers ,
Traveling Employee
Below is an abbreviated version of this week’s OTA &Travel Distribution Update. Enjoy....more
8/14/2020
/ Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Direct to Consumer Sales ,
Financial Distress ,
Foreign Relations ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Revenue Growth ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s Update takes a deep dive into all things Expedia, and includes several stories regarding Expedia’s recent disastrous quarterly earnings release, an actual copy of the release as well as a copy of a complaint...more
8/11/2020
/ Advertising ,
AirBnB ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Earnings Reports ,
Economic Downturn ,
Expedia ,
Financial Distress ,
Google ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Refunds ,
Rental Property ,
Revenue ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
Trivago
It was a relatively quiet week on the distribution front. This past week, Airbnb garnered a lot of attention from the usual suspects and the not so usual…Enjoy. ...more
7/24/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Marketing ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
Unions
Several themes emerged in this week’s stories, including the bullish return of short-term rentals and the continued direct booking efforts by airlines and the metasearch sites seeking to serve them. Enjoy....more
7/17/2020
/ Airlines ,
Booking.com ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Expedia ,
Health and Safety ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Mobile Devices ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Popular ,
Rental Property ,
Singapore ,
Surcharges ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
Perhaps it was Canada Day or the Fourth of July holiday weekend, but last week was relatively quiet in the distribution world. Enjoy....more
7/10/2020
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Booking.com ,
Domain Name Registration ,
Domain Names ,
Expedia ,
Generic Marks ,
Hotels ,
Lanham Act ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Partnerships ,
Popular ,
Rental Property ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor ,
United States Patent and Trademark Office v Booking.com BV ,
USPTO
In this week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update, we cover TripAdvisor’s busy week, including the announcement about its new travel advisor referral service, Reco. Enjoy....more
7/6/2020
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Expedia ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
We cover the gamut of distribution topics in this week’s Update – OTAs, GDS, search, short-term rentals and wholesalers. Enjoy....more
This week’s Update again features more stories than usual. With so many in the lodging industry using the current downturn as an opportunity to question “business as usual,” we want to be as inclusive as possible. Enjoy....more
6/2/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Booking.com ,
Censorship ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Donald Trump ,
Executive Orders ,
Expedia ,
Google ,
Health and Safety ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Social Media ,
Travelers ,
Yelp
In this week’s Update, we’ve highlighted another story on a lodging industry leader who is taking the necessary precautions to prepare itself, other industry members and, ultimately, travelers for the post COVID-19 world....more
4/27/2020
/ Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cruise Ships ,
Expedia ,
Health and Safety ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers
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)
What a week it has been. For those of you working around the clock to retain some semblance of your business and the travel industry together, we stand alongside you. Each day that passes brings with it a wave of new...more
3/30/2020
/ AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Cancellation Rights ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Startups ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
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
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
Need a Recipe? Ask Airbnb -
(“Introducing ’Cooking‘ on Airbnb Experiences,” Hospitality Net - Latest Industry News on Nov 26, 2019) -
Last Monday, Airbnb introduced “Cooking” on Airbnb Experiences. The new category of...more
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
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 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 week’s Update features a variety of topics – OTAs, short-term rentals and loyalty. Enjoy....more
7/22/2019
/ AirBnB ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Keyword Search ,
Marriott ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rental Property ,
Short-Term Lease ,
Travelers