Articles tagged “commissions”

Expedia is trying to press its advantage in business-to-business programs. It's ahead of Booking Holdings in this area, and Airbnb doesn't have one.

Flight Centre Travel Group is a global travel agency so it should be able to handle Air New Zealand and Qantas getting around to slashing travel agent commissions two decades after Delta Air Lines kicked off the trend in the U.S. It won't be without some pain, however.

Convincing travel companies to take less commission is a tall order, especially coming out of the pandemic. But Niarra Travel believes that getting more money into the hands of local communities requires bold steps and immediate action. The severe downturn in tourism revenue and its impact on Africa's wildlife and communities means that the time is now.

China's Trip.com Group is entering the content and advertising spheres to address longstanding weaknesses in its transaction business. It joins a plethora of travel businesses that are remaking themselves, whether they are launching financial services or subscription offerings, during the pandemic.

Tripadvisor is trying to become a much larger transaction site again. But here are two challenges: Will the benefits be so superior to discounts you can get for free booking on HotelTonight or elsewhere? And hotels will get a break on commissions, but do they really want to train guests to book on Tripadvisor?

Trivago has big structural problems, such as two online travel agencies being responsible for three-quarters of its referral revenue, but it appears to be managing costs and pumping out product changes during this down time. Give the company credit for maintaining a pulse.

Trivago was glad to see that Booking Holdings kept on advertising, however modestly, and upped its bidding in Trivago auctions while many other partners went silent. If Booking is gaining a bit of market share, it is far from seeing a clear path to recovery as travel demand's trajectory remains a crapshoot.

Tripadvisor is trying to squeeze more revenue and profits out of its newly restructured tours and activities business. There's a danger, though, that well-funded rivals might undercut Tripadvisor's efforts.

Independent shore excursions are proliferating, enabling passengers to avoid the crowds and travel advisors to earn commissions. With competition more intense, some cruise lines are attempting to improve their excursion offerings as a result.

Travel advisors need to further diversify their revenue beyond commissions. That's for sure.