Blink and you'll miss it. As usual we've looked through the last seven days of travel news and picked out the stories you need to know. This week you get a bonus article so make sure you read to the end:
BOOKING.COM ALLOWS HOTELS TO OFFER CHEAPER PRICES THROUGH OTHER ONLINE TRAVEL AGENTS
Another week, another rate parity story. This time a big one. On Wednesday a settlement was reached with French, Italian and Swedish authorities for booking.com. It will free up hotels to charge cheaper prices through other online travel agents. First indications are that this is good for competing OTAs, bad for hotels. Two things are important here:
- The cheaper rates can't be offered through the hotel website
- Other markets may soon follow suit in opening up parity
Head to Hotels News Now to find out what this means for hotels in the longer term.
THE CASE FOR BOOKING DIRECT IS GETTING STRONGER
So says Brian Hicks, InterContinental Hotel Group's VP for Revenue Management for Europe and AMEA. There is little transparency around pricing and according to Hicks, there is much to be done about educating consumers. Tnooz is where you'll get the lowdown and this is something we'll be keeping a close eye on over the coming months.
SELFIE SATISFACTION?
According to a Future Foundation report, 'appetite will be ravenous for moments of shareable wish-fulfillment'. In plain speak: we go on trips that will give us the best selfies. Hotels need to be made for sharing and so if you're looking for practical tips, read our post on how selfie sticks sell hotel rooms.
WE HIT A SIX!
This one's for the cricket and booking engine fans out there. Perhaps a small market. This week we announced our partnership with six of the biggest booking engines out there. All of our partners can be found here.
That's all from the week! Same again in seven days...