Latest News about Online Travel Booking Sites and OTAs by Skift

TripAdvisor’s Review Investigators Discover a Huge Travel-Robocall Scam

Dennis Schaal, Skift

These fraudulent robocalls touting over-the-top and fraudulent travel deals are a scourge. Maybe a lot of them will stop now — but there are assuredly other scammers out there so travel brands, which are victims in addition to consumers, aren't home free yet.

24 hours ago

TripAdvisor in the Age of Platforms Tries the Full-Service Model

Luke Bujarski, Skift

TripAdvisor’s bold platform approach gives it a leg up on building deeper relationships with its customers, compared to single-use sites. On the other hand, relationships can be hard work and expensive.

2 days ago

Mobile Travel Bookings Will Reach 40 Percent of Online Sales in 2017

Andrew Sheivachman, Skift

Enhanced mobile booking tools and merchandising are resonating with consumers. As it gets easier to book on your phone, mobile could overtake traditional computer bookings as the most popular way U.S. travelers plan and book their trips.

2 days ago

A Timeline of Online Travel Agency Battles With Hotels and Airlines

Dennis Schaal, Skift

There is pomp and circumstance, and plenty of bluster, but most negotiations between online travel agencies, on the one hand, and hotels and airlines, on the other, eventually end up in signed contracts. That's because the two sides usually need each other, like it or not.

2 days ago

Managed Travel’s Future is Seamless and Mobile

Sabre and Chrome River + Skift

The ubiquity of mobile devices, coupled with an array of digital travel booking services, has changed the game for business travelers and their travel managers.

3 days ago

TripAdvisor: Non-Hotel Revenue Could Reach One-Third of Total by 2020

Luke Bujarski, Skift

A successful TripAdvisor transformation into ecommerce would go down as one of the smartest pivots in online travel history.

4 days ago

The Motivations of European Travelers from Generation Z to Baby Boomers

Expedia Media Solutions + Skift

How can marketers target European travelers? The first step is understanding their behavior patterns and preferences across generations.

4 days ago

TripAdvisor Returns to TV Advertising and 5 Other Digital Trends This Week

Sarah Enelow, Skift

This week in digital news, we took a long hard look at TripAdvisor. Our new research report examines how the company can diversify its revenue streams beyond hotels, then a shorter read on TripAdvisor's new TV ad campaign, which will keep rival Trivago on its toes.

6 days ago

Google Critic No Longer Leading Candidate to Head U.S. Federal Trade Commission

Jennifer Jacobs and David McLaughlin, Bloomberg

If European regulators slap Google with a multi-billion dollar fine over its search practices, will the U.S. Federal Trade Commission or Justice Department just sit back and watch the action from a far. Expedia, TripAdvisor, Yelp and many others have a keen interest in the pick to head the FTC.

1 week ago

TripAdvisor Returns to TV Advertising With Bathrobe-Clad Owl as Spokesperson

Dennis Schaal, Skift

TripAdvisor's new ad campaign comes at a momentous time for the company, although TripAdvisor views it as part of a long-term TV advertising enterprise. With $70 million behind it and an empathetic bent it will probably do well. You can expect Trivago to up its game as well.

1 week ago

New Research Report: A Deep Dive Into TripAdvisor’s Competitive Position in Travel 2017

Luke Bujarski, Skift

TripAdvisor has potential to become more than a hotel booking engine, but it needs to get hotels humming and profitable to give management additional runway to fulfill that vision.

1 week ago

Amadeus Hospitality Is Making Bigger Hotel Deals as It Chases a Breakthrough

Sean O'Neill, Skift

Amadeus' hospitality division is creating a back-end booking system for InterContinental Hotels Group. But it's not a foregone conclusion that the tech colossus will win over a swath of other hotels.

2 weeks ago