Good Sunday morning from Seattle... Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, July 19, 2024, is below. This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including news on the latest fines to be levied on Booking.com. Enjoy.
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- Recent Prime Day Travel Offerings Re-Kindle Amazon Rumors. Regular readers of our weekly Update will recall the multiple stories we’ve featured over the years regarding Amazon’s rumored Interest in travel. Hailing from Seattle (like Amazon), I am asked often about Amazon’s interests at industry events and conferences. As we noted in last week’s Update, Amazon again this year featured a limited offering of travel services as part of its annual Prime Day sale. Unlike prior years, this year’s offerings enjoyed their own dedicated “Prime Day Travel Deals” website page. Is this the beginning of a dedicated effort in travel? Only time will tell. In my opinion, absent a major acquisition by Amazon of an existing industry player, Amazon will only continue to play on the industry sidelines for the foreseeable future.
- Kayak Adds Features to Its Business Booking Platform. As competition in the corporate / managed travel space continues to escalate (see last week’s story on Marriott’s latest offering), Kayak announced this past week improvements to its Kayak for Business platform. Users of the business platform will now have access to certain airline offerings (via API integration) and use of payment functionality. Participating airlines include American, United and Southwest.
- Hungry Levies Record Fine on Booking.com. The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) announced last week that it had imposed a record fine on Booking.com for its failure to promptly cease certain previously identified commercial violations. The fine arises out of proceedings that commenced in 2018 when the GVH questioned Booking.com’s commercial practices – misleading free cancellation promises, psychological sales tactics and inaccurate payment information. In some instances, Booking.com took over four years to implement the required changes.
- Recent Prime Day Travel Offerings Re-Kindle Amazon Rumors. Regular readers of our weekly Update will recall the multiple stories we’ve featured over the years regarding Amazon’s rumored Interest in travel. Hailing from Seattle (like Amazon), I am asked often about Amazon’s interests at industry events and conferences. As we noted in last week’s Update, Amazon again this year featured a limited offering of travel services as part of its annual Prime Day sale. Unlike prior years, this year’s offerings enjoyed their own dedicated “Prime Day Travel Deals” website page. Is this the beginning of a dedicated effort in travel? Only time will tell. In my opinion, absent a major acquisition by Amazon of an existing industry player, Amazon will only continue to play on the industry sidelines for the foreseeable future.
Have a great week everyone. Only two Updates remain before my upcoming departure.
Could Amazon become a major player in travel?
July 19, 2024 via Phocus Wire
There has been speculation for years about how and when Amazon might enter the travel sphere - and if it would be successful in that kind of venture. Amazon's Prime Day travel deals beg the question once again.
Groupize Acquires The Vendry
July 17, 2024 via Business Travel News
Self-service meeting sourcing and planning platform Groupize has snapped up startup meetings marketplace The Vendry, adding more than 70,000 venues and independent vendors to the Groupize's existing global marketplace of 190,000 hotels.
Kayak for Business Adds Air APIs, Payment Tech to Enterprise Tool
July 17, 2024 via Business Travel News
Kayak for Business has added new features in an update to its Enterprise tool, including integration of airline APIs and the launch of a payment function, the company announced.
Amadeus Execs on the AI Evolution with Microsoft
July 15, 2024 via Skift
Amadeus is working on several generative AI pilots in partnership with Microsoft. Justin Dawes Share Amadeus has learned a lot about AI in the past year. The company has been experimenting with how the latest advancements of AI will define the next generation of its services for travel ...
Booking.com receives record fine in Hungary
July 15, 2024 via Daily News Hungary
The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has imposed a record fine of HUF 382.5 million (EUR 977,000) on Booking.com for failing to fully comply with its obligations to cease previous legal violations. This conclusion was reached following a recent follow-up investigation.
The Latest Numbers Behind Hotel Groups’ Bet on Credit Card Rewards
July 12, 2024 via Skift Travel News
Hotel groups have been expanding the reach of their loyalty programs to include a wider base of consumers while trying to maintain their appeal to frequent travelers. It's a tough trick to pull off. Sean O'Neill Share Hotel chains are doubling down on loyalty programs, and the strategy
PrincipalGreg is Chair of the firm's national Hospitality, Travel & Tourism practice, which is directed at the variety of matters faced by hospitality and travel industry members, including purchase and sales agreements, management ...
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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.
