Booking Holdings has launched Vayo, a personal AI travel service, with plans to invest $100 million in the business. The Seattle-based company opened a waitlist for its free, invite-only private beta on October 14…
read more
By tag
Select Tags:
1.1 million hotel-branded ads linked to ‘predatory OTAs’ in a single month
The run of bad press for artificial intelligence (AI) continues, and this time it’s the turn of “predatory” online travel agencies (OTAs). These are the websites that look like a legitimate hotel website but are far from the real deal…
read more
Booking.com says Europe's hotels don't depend on it
Booking.com's head of public affairs calls Europe's hotel distribution balanced, two weeks after an EU court upheld that Booking dominates online hotel sales
read more
Booking Holdings and Expedia Group Control 85% of European OTA Market, Study Finds
HOTREC’s 2026 European Hotel Distribution Study reports that Booking Holdings and Expedia Group now account for over 85% of online travel agency (OTA) bookings in Europe, highlighting increasing market concentration and raising concerns over…
read more
Google’s Agentic Hotel Booking Push Raises New Questions for Direct Distribution and Guest Ownership
Google has moved another step closer to turning conversational hotel search into an actual booking channel. The company recently confirmed that it has begun a limited U.S…
read more
Trip.com Fined in China Antitrust Case as Price Wars Continue
China’s months-long antitrust probe into Trip.com Group Ltd. ended with a multi-billion-yuan penalty on the nation’s largest online travel agency, but the action does little to ease the fierce price wars gripping the domestic hotel sector…
read more
Booking is copying Expedia's most durable asset
The company is folding Booking.com, Agoda, and Priceline into one B2B entity run by Agoda's CEO — a bet that the most valuable OTA business is the one hotels never see
read more
Direct Booking Hotels: Why Market Share Battles Mask Economic Wins
After a decade-long campaign for direct bookings, major hotel chains have secured better economics and lower commissions despite OTAs maintaining market dominance in 2026.
read more
Amsterdam Court Backs Key Booking.com Arguments in German Hotel Price Parity Case
An Amsterdam court has upheld key elements of Booking.com’s position in a long-running dispute over hotel price parity rules in Germany, a decision that could have significant implications for online travel agency relationships and hotel…
read more
PayPal, Sabre, and Mindtrip Launch Groundbreaking End-to-End AI Experience for Travel Industry
In an era where convenience and personalization are paramount, a groundbreaking partnership between Sabre Corporation, PayPal, and Mindtrip is poised to transform how small businesses engage with the travel industry. This strategic collaboration…
read more
Airbnb makes decisive move into hotels as experts warn of brand shift
Airbnb has officially entered the hotel market, marking a significant strategic shift for a company once defined by spare rooms, local hosts and the promise of “living like a local”.
read more
China's market regulator probes Trip.com over suspected abuse of market dominance
China's market regulator has opened a formal investigation into online travel platform Trip.com Group for suspected abuse of its dominant market position and monopolistic practices, according to an official notice released on Wednesday…
read more
Can the future of hotel reviews be completely AI-generated?
I feel that the scenario is no longer speculative. It is, if anything, the natural extension of where reputation systems are already heading. It is easy to imagine Tripadvisor, Google or any major OTA replacing the old free text box with a short…
read more
Booking.com and hotels increasingly go their separate ways
Hotels are reporting a significant recent drop-off in sales from online travel agencies (OTAs), particularly Booking.com, after “leaning” away from them in recent years, alongside other broader industry trends…
read more
The Five Stages of Rate Parity Acceptance
Rate parity is an evergreen topic. I wrote an article on rate parity for hotels in 2023, and all the way back in 2015. It’s an issue that seems to stir up a lot of concern at the asset management and property levels…
read more
Research: OTAs Dominate as Primary Source in AI-Powered Hotel Discovery
Cloudbeds has released a new report titled The Signals Behind Hotel AI Recommendations. The study is the first in the hospitality industry to examine in detail how generative AI platforms identify and recommend hotels to travelers…
read more
How GDS Commission Shares Impact Global Hotel and Agency Revenue
Part one of this two-part series explores the global landscape for GDS commission shares, which represent tens of millions of dollars in revenue for travel management companies and agencies. A better understanding of gaps by region, country, and…
read more
How to overcome revenue managers’ aversion to the direct online channel?
Recently, a revenue manager reacted to my LinkedIn post about independent hoteliers’ overdependence on the OTAs by stating Even with the best intentions, money and talent, there's no way independents can beat the big OTA's in search and make money…
read more