Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending January 13, 2023, is below. This week’s Update features an interesting update on OTAs’ current loyalty programs and future ambitions and the recent (somewhat concerning)...more
Our first weekly Online Travel Update for 2023 is below. With many still celebrating the recent holidays, last week remained rather quiet in the online travel world. Enjoy....more
Happy New Year! We are once again providing a roundup of some of the major developments and trends in the online travel industry that caught our attention this past year. Wishing everyone a successful 2023....more
1/3/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Biden Administration ,
Booking.com ,
Capital One ,
Climate Change ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Hotels ,
Influencers ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Travelers ,
Uber
Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending December 23, 2022, is below. As our short list of stories highlights, last week was a relatively quiet week in the online distribution world. Enjoy....more
Our holiday-shortened weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, November 25 is below. This week’s Update features (again) multiple stories on booking platforms planned roll out of new payment tools. We’ve also...more
Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, November 18, 2022, is below. This week’s Update includes Phocus Wire’s annual listing of its Hot 25 Travel Startups. The list always provides an interesting glimpse...more
Good Sunday afternoon from Seattle . . . Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending November 11, 2022, is below. Booking Holdings features prominently in this week’s Update as its planned acquisition of Etraveli...more
This week’s Update delves back into resort fees and includes a story detailing planned future regulation of the fees by the FTC. While resort fees may not technically be an “online issue,” potential federal regulation will...more
11/10/2022
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
Booking.com ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Cruise Ships ,
Digital Platforms ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Public Comment ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Travelers
Three of the four stories we feature in this week’s Update detail recent or ongoing examinations by competition regulators of the trade practices of several online travel platforms. Relatedly, we also include again a link to...more
11/10/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Big Tech ,
Booking.com ,
Capital One ,
Competition Authorities ,
Digital Platforms ,
EU ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
India ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Rewards Programs ,
Spain ,
Travelers ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
It was another relatively quiet week in the online travel world, as evidenced by the stories below. The one obvious exception was the European Commission’s final publishing of the much-discussed Digital Markets Act (DMA),...more
As you can see from the list of stories, it was a relatively quiet week in the world of online travel, with Booking.com garnering most of the attention. From my perspective, as Booking.com gets closer to delivering on Glenn...more
This week’s Update covers a variety of topics, including persistent rumors regarding a possible Sabre sale and proposed new federal regulations governing airline fee disclosures that may one day serve as a foundation for...more
This week’s Update features several stories detailing a recent report by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding mounting consumer credit concerns with buy now, pay later credit products...more
10/4/2022
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Expedia ,
FinTech ,
Google ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Startups ,
Travelers ,
TripAdvisor
This week’s Update includes stories on fintech’s continued growth and rumors regarding Sabre’s possible future. I hope you enjoy....more
Sonesta Moves Small Group Bookings Online -
(“Sonesta Introduces Hybrid Concierge, a Digital Meeting Planning Service,” September 9, 2022 via Lodging Magazine)
Sonesta announced plans last week to offer groups the...more
Happy Labor Day to those of you in the U.S. celebrating our last gasp of summer. Last week’s Online Travel Update features several stories regarding Google’s recently announced plan to wind down entirely its “Book on Google”...more
The last unofficial week of summer was relatively slow in the online travel world, though last week did see the release of the European Commission’s report on its recent study into the current status of hotel room...more
This week’s Update features stories detailing several new booking platforms and Choice’s new direct billing product. Enjoy....more
Our “vacation edition” of our weekly Online Travel Update is below. Our regular Updates will resume next week. Have a great week everyone....more
8/22/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
AirBnB ,
Airlines ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Priceline ,
Rewards Programs ,
Startups ,
Subscription Services ,
Travelers ,
Vacation Rentals
It’s earnings season, and this week’s Update for the week ending August 5, 2022, is focused on recent quarterly releases from Booking Holdings and Expedia Group. I’ve also attached second quarter earnings call transcripts for...more
This week’s Update features a story detailing recent progress with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). As the EU prepares for the full implementation of the DMA (and its sister legislation, the Digital Services Act), expect...more
This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including updates on CWT and Booking.com. Enjoy....more
It was another slow week in the online travel industry. Following up on our observations from a few weeks ago, we feature a story on banks’ now undeniable interest in travel. We also include a story on payments. This story is...more
With the Fourth of July holiday falling on Monday, last week was a relatively slow week in the online travel industry. Enjoy....more
The “vacation edition” of our weekly Online Travel Update is below. Our regular Online Travel Update will be back next week....more