Duff on Hospitality Law

With summer in full swing, it is no surprise that this past week was another slow week in the online travel industry.  Our recommendation?  Enjoy this week’s Update with a drink in hand by your pool or other favorite body of water.  Enjoy:

• • OpenAI Launches Agent Mode.  On Thursday this past week, OpenAI officially released new functionality (ChatGPT Agent) that can search and book hotels, activities and flights on behalf of its ChatGPT chatbot users.  Pro, Plus and Team users of ChatGPT have or will soon have access to the new agent with Enterprise and Educator users to follow.  According to ChatGPT, the agent can create custom travel plans (using users’ provided destinations and preferences) and itineraries complete with maps and hotel and activities bookings.   Over time, as the agent learns of users’ preferences, the agent will factor those preference into its proposed plans and itineraries.  A demo released as part of the launch shows a user using the new agent to plan and book a trip for an upcoming wedding.  In the demo, the agent uses Booking.com to review hotels’ availability and rates and then book. 
    
    
  • New Intermediary Seeks to Help Hoteliers Leverage AI Platforms.  DirectBooker, a startup backed former TripAdvisor CEO, Steve Kaufer, and ex-Google Travel head, Richard Holden, is building a B2B platform to feed rich (differentiated) hotel content (ARI) to AI platforms directly and allow hoteliers to bypass the emerging content stranglehold held by OTAs.  What’s the business model you might ask?  Early indications from DirectBooker are that they are looking at traditional CPC or CPA models.  Additional details about the startup’s plans are available on the DirectBooker website. 

Google captured most of the online travel industry’s headlines this past week as it seeks to “balance” the competing interests of regulators, on the one hand, and intermediaries and direct sellers, on the other hand. As long as traditional search maintains its outsized influence on online travel, the outcome of these discussions will have a significant effect on the industry. Whether AI makes irrelevant this entire controversy remains to be seen – for now.

• • Closed Door Negotiations Produce No Definitive Solution for Google. This past week the European Commission conducted two days of closed door workshops between Google and online intermediaries and direct sellers from the retail and travel industries. At issue were Google’s latest proposals for presenting search results in compliance with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) (or at least Google’s interpretation of the DMA). Failure to reach a solution will likely lead the EU to impose significant fines against Google.
    
    Two options were presented at the closed door meetings. The first option placed intermediaries at the top of search results where users could open an accordion style listing of the intermediary’s products and services. Under this first option, direct sellers could only place links within the intermediaries’ search results. The second option featured a box (below and separate from the intermediaries) where direct sellers could place links to their products and services. Between the two presented options, direct sellers generally favored the second option though questions around which sellers are featured in the box, how sellers are ranked, how sellers’ content is sourced and how much content can be displayed remain unanswered.
    
    Google’s latest proposals underscore the challenging position that hoteliers find themselves. While Google is understandably motivated to avoid significant penalties under the DMA, its interpretation of the DMA, specifically, the requirement that it not discriminate against competing service providers (e.g., travel intermediaries) is leading it to favor competing intermediaries (e.g., Booking.com / Expedia) over hoteliers, who are owed, at best, an obligation to be treated fairly.

Good Sunday afternoon from Seattle and for those of you celebrating in the United States, a belated Happy Fourth of July . . . A shortened holiday version of our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, July 4, 2024, is below. Not surprisingly, this past week was a relatively quiet week in the online travel world. Enjoy.

• • DMA Under Attack. Anyone hoping to see meaningful change to the largest online platforms as a result of the EU’s Digital Markets Act may soon be disappointed. Ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S. and the EU have reportedly included discussions to allow U.S. companies to influence implementation of the DMA’s requirements. Not surprisingly, small online platforms competing against the DMA’s so-called, gatekeepers, are not happy by the rumored discussions. It is unclear how discussions might affect Booking.com – the European travel platform with a U.S. parent.
  • Additional Details on Planned Class Action Against Booking.com. Consumer groups, the Stichting Consumer Competition Claims Foundation and Consumentenbond, are leading the effort and have formally commenced the action by requesting that Booking.com seek a negotiated solution. The groups claim that Booking.com’s parity provisions (which have been previously determined to be anti-competitive in the EU courts) prevent hoteliers from offering lower rates through Booking.com’s competitors (and ultimately driving hotel prices higher). Further details about the claim and the consumer groups’ pitch to get EU residents to join the potential class action are available here.

Have a great week everyone.

Good Saturday evening from Seattle . . . Our Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, June 27, 2025, is below. This week’s Update features news of yet another claim being brought against Booking.com over its commercial practices and updates on Alibaba’s planned restructuring of its travel platform, Fliggy. Going forward, expect to see more stories on social media and its use as legitimate distribution channel. While the industry (and world) is focused on AI and its influence, don’t overlook the power and influence of social media. I know I have. Enjoy.

• • Dutch Consumer Groups Announce Plans to Bring Claims Against Booking.com. The news of competition authority claims and fines and potential private class actions never seems to end. Buoyed by the EU court’s recent determination that Booking.com’s parity provisions could be anti-competitive (which is the same decision allegedly serving as EU hoteliers’ new claims against Booking.com), two Dutch consumer groups announced this past week that they were seeking affected Dutch travelers to serve as claimants in a claim against Booking.com over its (allegedly) over-inflated hotel prices.
  • Cloudbeds Offers Insight into Hotel AI Visibility. Ever wonder what hotels can do to improve the likelihood of being featured in the recommendations provided by the leading AI platforms – ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity? In a post search / keyword world, I field this question often (or conversely, how do I stop OTAs from being featured). Cloudbeds recently released a report titled, “The Signals Behind Hotel AI Recommendations,” which tries to address that question. A few key takeaways for me . . .
    
    • Branded hotels have far greater visibility than independent hotels.
    • OTAs (Expedia, Booking.com and TripAdvisor) are dominant in AI generated recommendations. Shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone given the number of recently announced partnerships between the leading AI platforms on these three OTAs.
    • Reputation is critical. Recommended hotels all maintained “excellent guest ratings” and a large number of online reviews on the major platforms.
    • Broad online visibility is a quality indicator to the AI platforms. Recommended properties were on You Tube (98%), travel blogs (97%) and Reddit (95%).

As you think about third parties’ competing AI initiatives, keep in mind that OTAs, metasearch sites and tour operators are likely seeking to leverage these same points and may be far better equipped to succeed.

• • Google to Introduce AI Overviews to YouTube. By now, everyone should be familiar with AI Overviews and their widespread use in Google’s traditional search engine results. Google is now testing similar overviews on YouTube (at least for a select group of premium users). According to Google, the new feature will produce a video carousel and short narrative description for premium users searching in the areas of shopping, places or things to do in specific location. A short video demonstrating the new feature is available here.

Finally, for anyone interested in reading a copy of the Booking.com book, The Machine (which I wrote about briefly in a prior Update), our amazing firm marketing coordinator found me a copy of the book available online in English. Let me know if you want the details. I cannot wait to read it. Yes, I’m officially a distribution geek.

Have a great week everyone.

Good Sunday evening from Seattle . . . Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, June 20, 2023, is below. Given summer’s official arrival this past Friday, it should be no surprise that the past week was a relatively quiet week for online travel. Enjoy.

• • Google Hotels Feeling the Pressure. One of the most interesting stories this past week came from Skift. Facing the effects of recent DMA mandated changes and its own AI initiatives, Google’s metasearch engine, Google Hotels, may be struggling – at least a little. And while Google may be struggling to find its footing, other industry players - Expedia, Trivago and TripAdvisor (and newcomer, Super.com) - are taking advantage. With so many changes afoot in the industry, I question how anyone is able to do a long-term distribution deal these days (let alone decide on a long-term distribution strategy). Definitely an interesting time to be part of the industry.

Have a great week everyone.

Good Sunday evening from Seattle and for those of you celebrating, Happy Father’s Day. Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, June 13, 2025, is below. This week’s Update features an update on the DMA and the negative effects that Google’s ongoing compliance efforts are having on travel suppliers. We also include further information on European hoteliers’ plans for a class action against Booking.com over its parity practices. Enjoy.

Have a great week everyone.

Good Sunday evening from Seattle . . . Our Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, June 6, 2025, is below. Like last week’s Update, which featured a number of stories on Booking.com, this week’s Update also includes several Booking.com stories and updates to stories we featured last week. I hope you enjoy.

• • UPDATE: European Hoteliers to Pursue Claims Against Booking.com. Last week’s Update included two stories detailing European hoteliers’ planned class action litigation against Booking.com over its parity provisions. For those of you interested in learning more about the class action and the circumstances that led to hoteliers’ decision to move forward against Booking.com, I’d encourage you to review the helpful Skift story below. For anyone considering joining the class action (or fielding hotel owner questions regarding joining the class action), a little context is important. The hoteliers complaining the loudest in these situations are typically independent hoteliers, most of whom because of the lack of leverage or resources are forced to operate under Booking.com’s standard terms and conditions (including its many varieties of parity). Hoteliers benefiting from global, corporate-wide agreements with Booking.com (or any other large distributor, for that matter), in contrast, operate in a much different environment – an environment that may not be as compelling (and in fact, could be seen as detrimental) in the eyes of competition authorities or European judges. Something to think about . . .
  • Booking Holdings Stays Close to Potential AI Disruptors. Still wondering how the major OTAs view generative AI? Recent comments by Booking Holdings’ CFO, Ewout Steenbergen, provide further evidence of at least one OTA’s perspective (and confirms what we’ve been seeing over the past several months). In an interview at last week’s Bank of America Global Technology Conference, Steenbergen made clear Booking Holdings’ ongoing efforts to remain close to the popular generative AI platforms. According to Steenbergen, “ultimately, those [generative AI platforms] might become more leads-generating platforms, replacing traditional search. And we want to be their really close partners in that.”
  • Hilton’s Contrarian View of AI in Hospitality. Unlike many (dare I say, most) in the industry who are focused on AI and its effects on travel marketing and distribution (I include myself in this group), Hilton is taking a slightly different view and approach to AI. According to Chris Silcock, Hilton’s President of Global Brands and Commercial Services, Hilton would rather focus on how AI can improve guests’ on-property experiences – real time guest feedback, guest messaging and personalized messages and advance room assignments for the most loyal of loyalty program members. If the guest has a better on-property experience at a Hilton-branded property because of these new tools, so the argument goes, the guest will seek out future stays at one of Hilton’s 26 brands.

Have a great week everyone.

Good Sunday morning from Seattle . . . Our Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, May 30, 2025, is below. Booking.com features prominently (again) in our Update this week as investigations into, and claims against, the major online travel agent increase (these things seem to come in waves). I hope you enjoy.

• • European Hoteliers Unite in Claims Against Booking.com. The national hotel associations of 25 European countries announced this past week plans to bring a class action against Booking.com. Seeking to leverage the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) September 2024 ruling that Booking.com’s parity provisions violated EU competition law, the hoteliers seek the recovery of portions of commissions paid during 2004 – 2024. The claims will be led by Stichting Hotel Claims Alliance and are expected to be filed in a Netherlands court. In response, Booking.com has stated that it is unaware of the announced claims and disputed the precedential value of the ECJ’s decision.
  • Greek Authorities Investigating Unnamed Online Hotel Accommodations Booking Service. On Friday, Greek competition authorities announced that it was “prioritizing” an investigation into an “undertaking” operating in the market of online accommodations booking services. The investigation was triggered by a complaint and is reported to be at an “advanced” stage.
  • Hopper Ads UK Bank to HTS Powered Channels. UK bank, Lloyds, announced a new partnership with HTS (Hopper’s B2B division) to power Lloyd’s new travel booking portal, Lloyd’s Travel Booking. The portal, the first by a UK bank, offers cardholders access to flights and accommodations as well as HTS’ other fintech offerings – price protection, price prediction, etc.
  • Generative AI’s Impact on Hospitality. If you’ve not joined one of Phocuswright’s recent webinars (The New Age(nts) Trend Series) on generative AI, I encourage you to do so. This past week’s episode focused specifically on AI and distribution. The recent episode is available here.
  • “The Machine” – Booking.com. Like many of you, I’ve heard many stories of the tell all book about Booking.com’s rise to prominence in the online travel world. Although Skift was kind enough to recently share some of the book’s many highlights, I’m still searching for an English translation of the book. If anyone ever finds an English translation, please let me know.

Have a great week.

Good Monday morning from Seattle . . . For those of you who have served in the armed forces, thank you for your service. Our Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, May 23, 2025, is below. This week’s Update features stories for everyone – leisure, corporate / managed and group. I hope you enjoy.

• • Accor to Launch New Event / Meeting Direct Booking Tool. Accor this past week announced plans to launch a new direct booking tool targeting clients seeking meeting / event space and associated guest room blocks. The initial version of the platform (to be available later this year) will allow bookings of small room blocks (up to 30). The second, more robust version (which be available in 2026), will allow the booking of meeting / event space and larger room blocks. The platform will also allow users to connect with Accor’s loyalty program, ALL Accor.
  • Swiss Regulators Cut Booking.com Commissions. In an unusual ruling, the Swiss Price Supervisor determined that the commissions charged by Booking.com to Swiss hotels are “excessive” and ordered Booking.com to reduce its commissions by up to 25%. The ruling takes effect 3 months after becoming final and will remain in effect for three years. According to the Supervisor, the ruling is intended to improve the competitiveness of Swiss hotels. Not surprisingly, Booking.com has stated that it intends to appeal the determination, arguing that Booking is one of multiple channels that Swiss hotels can choose to use. Note that the ruling has a very narrow application – it applies only to hotels physically located in Switzerland. As much as hoteliers around the world like to see a similar result in their jurisdiction, such a ruling is highly, highly unlikely (maybe impossible).
  • Travel Features Prominently in Google’s Recent AI Announcements. At this past week’s Google I/O 2025 developer conference, Google announced several AI enhancements to its industry-leading search engine and related products. As with most AI announcements, Google’s demos of the new enhancements were heavily oriented to the travel industry. Among its many announcements and demonstrations, Google announced a new AI-enhanced search upgrade – AI Mode. With AI Mode (which expands on Google’s existing AI Overview), users can provide the search engine detailed queries that require the search engine to complete multiple simultaneous searches. Users who wish to receive personalized responses from AI Mode can grant the tool access to their Gmail accounts and prior website searches. Other related announcements included a new AI agent that allows AI Mode to complete web searches on behalf of the user. Initial uses of the agentic tool included event ticket purchases, restaurant reservations and local appointments (all completed via third party partnerships with Ticketmaster, Stubhub, Resy and Vagaro). Hotel bookings were not featured in the demos, but the application is obvious and cannot be too far behind. Google’s new AI Mode is available to U.S. users now, with the agentic tools available later this summer.

Have a great week everyone.

The Canadian Competition Bureau (Canada’s FTC) has initiated an enforcement campaign targeting hotels advertising in Canada. Here’s what you need to know: