Our cruise industry friends make an appearance in this week's Update, one of their first appearances in some time. Enjoy.
South Korean Regulators Re-Examine OTA Practices
("Online hotel booking sites to come under heightened
scrutiny from South Korean regulator," October 28, 2021 via
MLEX Insight) (subscription may be required)
By now, readers are well aware of South Korea's previous
investigation into the major online travel agencies (OTAs)'
contracting practices (specifically, rate parity requirements) and
the resulting "corrections" announced by OTAs (Booking.com, Agoda,
Expedia and
By now, readers are well aware of South Korea's previous
investigation into the major online travel agencies (OTAs)'
contracting practices (specifically, rate parity requirements) and
the resulting "corrections" announced by OTAs
(Booking.com, Agoda, Expedia and Hotels.com) earlier this year. These
corrections mirror the compromises reached in several other
countries where OTAs agreed to remove availability and indirect
channel rate parity, but retained direct channel parity
requirements (e.g., hoteliers must continue to provide OTAs with
rates equal to or better than the rates on the hoteliers' own
websites). With the travel industry expected to rebound quickly in
Korea as the threat of COVID subsides, the Korea Fair Trade
Commission (KFTC) announced last week plans to re-examine the
OTAs' current contracting practices and their effect on the
market. Separately, the KFTC announced that an investigation into
OTAs' advertising practices, specifically whether OTAs provide
adequate notice regarding display advertising's effects on sort
order, was already underway.
Cruise Moves Online
("Online cruise bookings leave many travel advisors
behind," October 27, 2021 via PhocusWire)
For years I've asked our cruise industry clients why the
industry was slow to move more of their bookings online (relying
instead on traditional offline distribution channels). While the
answers varied, the most common response I received was that the
complexity of cruise offerings (e.g., hundreds of cabin types,
rates, etc.) made it difficult for most travelers to book online.
Times may be changing. In a recorded video to travel advisors,
Royal Caribbean Group CEO, Richard Fain, reported that while demand
for the company's cruise offerings was rebounding, the revival
was coming largely through online channels. Is this simply because
of travelers' reaction to moving their other purchases online
during COVID? A reflection of the massive layoffs that occurred at
travel agents and advisors? For an industry that has relied so
heavily through the years on travel agents and advisors, this will
be an interesting trend to watch.
Fairfly to Offer Hotel Solution
("FairFly to Debut Hotel Solution," October 25,
2021 via Business Travel News)
Last week, re-shopping platform, Fairfly,
announced that it would be launching a hotel re-shopping platform
in early 2022. The platform will allow Fairfly clients to reshop
(e.g., automated cancellation of current bookings and rebooking at
lower available rates) their hotel bookings through the
platform's use of multi-channel data and artificial
intelligence. Hotel rate benchmarking and other tools will also be
made available to clients. Fairfly's announcement comes at a
time where other similar fintech-backed travel products and
services (i.e. Hopper's airfare and room rate
freezes) are garnering much of the industries' attention.
Other news:
Marriott to Adopt a Dynamic Pricing System
for Bonvoy Loyalty Program
October 26, 2021 via TravelWeekly
Starting early next year, Marriott will move to dynamic pricing
for its Bonvoy rewards redemption rates, the company announced.
Dynamic pricing - setting flexible prices for products or services
based on market demands - has been used to boost profits for a
range of industries from sporting-event tickets to rideshare
services.
Trivago and China's Huawei Partner for
Smartphone Company's Paid Search
October 26, 2021 via Skift Travel News (subscription may be
required)
The Trivago-Huawei deal is one of several that Trivago is piloting
where it provides backend services to business partners. These
could develop one day into a material revenue stream for the German
company.
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