CMA Seeks to Educate UK Hoteliers [PARITY]
("Competition watchdog urges hotels to take advantage of demise of price parity," The Caterer - Latest Hospitality News, July 5, 2017)
If you recall, one of the key takeaways from the European Commission’s recently released study on the effectiveness of the narrow parity compromise reached by EU competition authorities with Booking.com (and subsequently Expedia) was the fact that EU hoteliers were largely unaware of the compromise or its effects. The UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) released last week a bulletin intending to change that. The CMA issued a single-page overview of the Booking.com compromise advising UK hoteliers of their ability to offer different rates and availability to competing OTAs. For anyone still unfamiliar with the Booking.com compromise, the overview provides a clear and concise summary of the UK’s (and the majority of EU member states’) current approach to parity.
Our weekly OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 30, 2017 is below. A mix of stories in this week’s update...
Airbnb Continues Its March Toward Mainstream Lodging (SHORT-TERM RENTALS)
("Airbnb signs partnership with Flight Centre’s corporate travel brands," Tnooz News Feed, June 29, 2017)
Abnb announced last week its agreement with Flight Centre Travel Group to feature portions of Airbnb’s inventory with Flight Centre’s corporate travel brands FCM Travel Solutions and Corporate Traveler. Although this newly announced partnership applies only in Australia and New Zealand, it is yet another example of Airbnb’s ongoing efforts to grow its presence in the mainstream (and lucrative) business travel market. According to Airbnb’s announcement of the new partnership, at least 10% of Airbnb’s bookings now come from business travelers.
Oregon is poised to become the first state in the country to require larger food service, retail and hospitality employers to provide their hourly workers predictable schedules – or to pay the price. This is the second of two major changes to Oregon employment law. An earlier alert discussed the Equal Pay Act.
Starting July 1, 2018, qualifying employers must post a written work schedule for all employees one week ahead. The requirement expands to two weeks in 2020. Employees may decline any work shifts not included in the advance schedule, and employees may ask (only in writing) for additional shifts during the notice window. The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) will start enforcing the law January 1, 2019.
The legislature passed Senate Bill 828, known by its champions as the Fair Work Week Act, and the bill is heading to the desk of Oregon Governor Kate Brown for her expected signature. To read more about the details of the Act, read our recent Client Update.
Even as Oregon’s minimum wage jumps by $1.50 in the Portland metro area (fifty cents elsewhere in Oregon), the 2017 Legislature has passed two more worker-friendly bills dealing with equal pay and predictable work schedules. (More on the scheduling law in the next alert.)
This week’s GSB OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 23, 2017 is below. A variety of stories this week.
Initiative 124 (aka I-124), the ballot measure approved by voters in November 2016 that establishes several new purported "safety and health" standards for hotel employees in the city of Seattle, opens the door for unprecedented exposures for Seattle's hotel operators. Since its enactment last December, Initiative 124 has given rise to several questions about how, if at all, insurance policies might respond to allegations under the new law.
Our weekly client OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 16, 2017 is below. Several interesting stories this week...
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 9, 2017 is below. This week’s Update features a variety of stories.
This week’s client OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending June 2, 2017 is below. A short update this week...
This week’s OTA & Travel Distribution Update for the week ending May 26, 2017 is below. A short, but significant update this week.
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About the Editor
Greg Duff founded and chairs Foster Garvey’s national Hospitality, Travel & Tourism group. His practice largely focuses on operations-oriented matters faced by hospitality industry members, including sales and marketing, distribution and e-commerce, procurement and technology. Greg also serves as counsel and legal advisor to many of the hospitality industry’s associations and trade groups, including AH&LA, HFTP and HSMAI.
