Duff on Hospitality Law

This week’s Update features a variety of stories, including interviews with two of the online travel industries major influencers, Ariane Goren of Expedia and Drew Pinto of Marriott.  I hope you enjoy. 

• • American Airlines’ War with Tour Operators Continues.  Responding to American Airlines’ newly (on May 13) enacted policies on cancellations and re-bookings, Tauck advised travel advisors this past week that it had stopped booking travel with American Airlines and other Oneworld members (including British Airways, Japan Airlines and Qantas).  The policies in question impose a $50 cancellation fee on cancellations beyond the 24-hour booking window and a $50 cancellation / re-booking (aka churn) fee on two or more churns.  
  • Southwest’s Distribution Evolution Continues – Flights Will Now Appear on Google Flights.  It was just last week that we featured a store detailing Southwest’s new partnership with Chase Travel, the first ever by Southwest to feature its flights on a third-party consumer facing booking platform.  Now, Southwest is moving to Google.  As of Wednesday last week, Southwest’s flights are now featured alongside other airlines on Google Flights.  Flights must still be booked directly with Southwest on the airline’s website.
  • Lotte Card Is the Latest Financial Institution to Launch a Travel Platform.  Joining the likes of Chase and Capital One, Korean card issuer, Lotte Card (9.35 million cardholders), has announced the launch of a new travel portal offering cardholders the opportunity to search and book accommodations, flights and car rentals.  The new platform will be powered by Hopper’s B2B division, Hopper Technology Solutions (HTS).
  • Hoteliers and Real Estate Information Firm Seek Dismissal of Anti-Trust Case.  In one of several algorithmic price-fixing cases targeting the hospitality industry, the defendants (six hoteliers and CoStar) moved last week to dismiss the claims, arguing that there was no evidence that the defendants had conspired to fix prices through the hoteliers’ use of CoStar’s (STR) long-used benchmarking tools.  As we noted in last week’s Update, a similar price-fixing case against Las Vegas casino / hotel operators was recently dismissed.