Duff on Hospitality Law

Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, May 5, 2023, is below. We hope you enjoy:

• • Airbnb Releases Summer Update.  Airbnb garnered much of the industry’s attention this past week with a series of announcements related to its release of its latest (summer) update.  The update includes a number of important changes to the platform and the booking experience, including (i) a renewed focus on individual (cheaper) private rooms (“Airbnb Rooms”) with each listing featuring additional information about the room’s host, (ii) the addition of new, streamlined check-out instructions that are displayed prior to booking, (iii) “transparent” pricing (more on that later), (iv) discounted rates for longer lengths of stay or direct debit payments and (v) improved customer support.  In a likely effort to address growing calls for regulation limiting the use of mandatory fees (i.e., cleaning fees), Airbnb’s release includes pricing toggles that allow users to view the total price (rate plus mandatory fees, excluding taxes).  As many of us know, these types of toggles are used today by several major lodging operators and thus far have not satisfied regulators’ call for pricing transparency.
    
    
  • EU Gatekeeper Process to Begin.  For those of you who read our earlier stories about the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), you’ll likely recall the significance of the DMA’s “gatekeeper” designation.  Under the DMA, gatekeepers, which are large online platforms whose size allows them to act as private rule makers, will be prohibited from engaging in certain behavior.  Of particular interest to our readers is whether Booking.com will receive the designation.  If it does receive the designation, Booking.com, among other things, will be prohibited from requiring any form (narrow or broad) of rate or availability parity from its suppliers throughout the EU.  Potential gatekeepers have until July 3 to provide required details about their core services to the EU Commission.  The Commission then has until September 6 to decide whether the company satisfies the gatekeeper requirements.  Designated gatekeepers will have 6 months to comply with the DMA’s requirements.
    
    
  • American Airlines Seeks to Shut Down Use of Re-shopping Technology.  Over the years we’ve included a number of stories detailing re-shopping services – automated services that continuously monitor previously booked fares and rates and then automatically cancels and re-books flights and accommodations when the fares or rates drop.  American Airlines has apparently had enough with these services.  Last week, the airline announced that advisors that use the services after June 1 will be subject to debit memos or have access to certain American Airlines content cutoff.  Additional penalties might also include suspension or termination of advisors’ authority to sell the airlines’ fares.  Terms and conditions of the policy were distributed to advisors via an addendum to the advisors’ agency agreement and added to customers’ contracts of carriage (which applies to all customers). 
  • Resort Fees and Other Mandatory Charges.  Changes are coming.  With Marriott’s rollout of display changes later this month, expect the change by Marriott (which many view as the gold standard on issues such as these) to be followed by noticeable changes by other industry suppliers in their display of rates.  What about OTAs, you ask?  Perhaps changes by Marriott and other industry members might finally force aspiring attorneys general and regulators to take a hard look at OTAs.  Maybe.  Let’s hope.