Interesting People mailing list archives
Google-Hotel Travelopoly
From: "Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>
Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2017 19:08:32 +0000
---------- Forwarded message --------- From: the keyboard of geoff goodfellow <geoff () iconia com> Date: Thu, Dec 28, 2017 at 1:56 PM Subject: Google-Hotel Travelopoly To: E-mail Pamphleteer Dave Farber's Interesting People list <ip () listbox com
*Google-Hotel Travelopoly* *The search giant works with hotels to hurt travel competition.* https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-hotel-travelopoly-1514419414 excerpt: More than 100 million Americans are expected to travel during the holidays, and many will search for lodging online. But travelers may unknowingly pay more and fail to see all of their options because some major hotels have ganged up with Google to undercut competition. Online travel agencies like Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity have replaced brick-and-mortar agents by offering consumers more choice and convenience at a lower price. These OTAs purchase inventory from wholesalers and then market rooms at a discount to consumers in addition to flights, rental cars and travel packages. Many also have agreements with companies like American Express, Costco and Delta to market their inventory. OTA websites let travelers sift through hotel offers based on price, brand, location, amenities and guest rating, among other search filters. OTAs earn a roughly 20% commission from hotels for each reservation they book, which covers their cost of marketing, inventory acquisition, customer support and payment processing. As hotels get squeezed by Airbnb and home rental sites, they have begun complaining that OTAs are eating into their profits. Several major hotels are now trying to use Google as a counterweight, while Google is exploiting its search dominance to steer consumers to its travel service. Some 60% of travelers begin trip-planning on Google. The search giant’s travel business is worth an estimated $100 billion and will generate $14 billion in revenue this year, according to Skift Research. Google makes money on travel in two ways. First, it auctions ads that appear above generic search results. Businesses can bid on key words such as “Hotels in Houston” or “Houston Hilton.” Google selects auction winners based on the maximum price a business is willing to pay for each ad click and the likelihood a user will click on the ad. Google also operates its own “meta” hotel search that appears below auction ads and above generic search results. If users search for a hotel, a box displaying offers from hotels and OTAs will pop up. Travellers may benefit from being able to use Google’s meta-search to compare offers from hotels and OTAs on a single interface. Competition from Google’s meta-search could also spur OTAs to improve their services. The problem is that Google is working with hotels to stifle competition. [...] -- Geoff.Goodfellow () iconia com living as The Truth is True http://geoff.livejournal.com This message was sent to the list address and trashed, but can be found online. <https://www.listbox.com/login/messages/view/20171228135645:D7EC1028-EC00-11E7-B4EC-F6AFB475B879/> ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/18849915-ae8fa580 Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-aa268125 Unsubscribe Now: https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-32545cb4&post_id=20171228140850:87B32CF2-EC02-11E7-9361-9B634815739A Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
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