The Buzz, An Economic Development Podcast | Episode 83: Duane Parrish, S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism
Good Sunday morning from Seattle . . . Our Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, August 8, 2025, is below. For several weeks now, we’ve all seen and read the many headlines regarding American Airlines planned use...more
Saudi Arabia is ambitiously working towards its 2030 goals, striving to be investor-friendly while upholding transparency, accountability, and creating more opportunities for its local population. This vision has brought...more
During the Los Angeles City Council’s meeting on November 20, 2024, the council discussed whether to approve proposed amendments to the Living Wage Ordinance and the Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance. The amendments would...more
On November 4, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed legislation to ensure hotel safety that will mandate a comprehensive licensing system for hotels to operate in New York City, implement several consumer safety...more
New York City's hotels are a critically important component of the city's tourism and business industries. However, on July 18, 2024, 26 members of the New York City Council introduced Int. 991-2024 (Int. 991) without meeting...more
This week’s Update features a variety of topics including the latest on Indonesia’s efforts to regulate OTAs, Spotnana’s new “event” travel booking tool and new record marketing spending by the largest OTAs (no surprise)....more
By Jonathan H. Freiberger This Blog has recently written on the issue of contractual limitations of liability. [Here] Proving that timing is everything, Jonathan H. Freiberger, one of Freiberger Haber LLP’s founding members,...more
This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including updates on Ryanair’s attempts to stop platforms’ scraping of fares and other content from its website. We will continue to keep monitor Ryanair’s claims against...more
This week’s Update features stories on Hopper and its latest fintech offering, Agoda’s new “eco” oriented discount program and Expedia Group’s Peter Kern’s summer travel plans (watch the video). Enjoy....more
This week’s Update features two stories detailing fintech’s growing influence on online travel. Regular readers of our Update know that we’ve featured a number of fintech and payment related stories this past year, with...more
This week Kara Gormley Meador and Tushar Chikhliker, co-hosts of The Buzz, discuss tourism after the height of the pandemic with the Director of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, Duane Parrish...more
Last week’s Update features a variety of stories, including updates on several platforms that we don’t routinely cover – Kakao, Agoda and Trip.com. Enjoy....more
This week’s Update features stories on Kayak, Hopper (again) and Shiji, and includes an important privacy update from California on loyalty programs....more
Der Deutsche Tourismusverband hat eine umfassende FAQ zum "Elektronischen Meldeschein" veröffentlicht. Sie wurde in Zusammenarbeit mit AVS und Spirit Legal erstellt und soll Hoteliers Orientierung zur Einführung und Umsetzung...more
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending Friday, May 15, 2020 contains a wide variety of stories – from the tried and true to the truly bizarre. I hope you enjoy....more
California recently modified its Stay-at-Home Order (Executive Order N-33-20) as of May 8, 2020, to allow manufacturing and certain retail businesses to re-open for curbside business. This modification of the Stay-at-Home...more
This week’s Update features a number of updates on previous stories, including our recent story on Expedia’s apparent abandonment of indirect and direct channel rate parity provisions in Australia. Enjoy....more
Due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the hospitality industry is potentially facing its worst crisis since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In response to the continuing outbreak, major companies have announced...more
We lead off this week’s Update again with a story regarding ongoing regulatory activity in the EU. Enjoy....more
As Super Bowl fans arrive in the Miami area, final preparations are underway from Hard Rock Stadium to Bayfront Park to the Miami Beach Convention Center, and everywhere in between. But it’s the progress over the past decade...more
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
Welcome to the latest of edition of our Short-Term Rental Update. You may have heard that Garvey Schubert Barer merged with Foster Pepper effective October 1st. We are pleased to continue to deliver the latest STR industry...more
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
Airbnb poised for a reprieve in the EU - ("Why Airbnb Could Escape the Uber Trap in Europe," Fortune Magazine on Apr 30, 2019) The Court of Justice of the European Union is considering whether Airbnb was breaking the...more
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