Articles tagged “litigation”

Sabre had tried the unorthodox legal tactic of pursuing its $360 million acquisition of Farelogix, an airline tech vendor, without waiting for approval from U.S. antitrust watchdogs. But it apparently didn't count on federal attorneys claiming they have text messages between Sabre executives acknowledging the anti-competitive nature of the deal.

Resort fees are embedded into many hotels' business models, so it would take a lot to upend them. But the prospect is picking up a lot of momentum.

United has leverage in its contract dispute with Expedia as each side maneuvers for position in the run-up to their contract expiration on September 30.

It is relatively rare that contract disputes between online travel agencies and airlines reach the public domain unless they are at a breaking point. We'll undoubtedly hear more about this soon.

It isn't clear precisely by what terms American Airlines and Expedia settled their trademark infringement lawsuit. What is known is that Expedia's Add-On Advantage program, the subject of the dispute, remains operational.

Online travel agencies have been vehemently opposed to detailing the components of the taxes and fees they collect on prepaid hotel bookings because it would expose the wholesale rates they obtain from hotels and the markups that the booking sites impose. This lawsuit could potentially impose changes in Expedia's financial relationship with its affiliates.

The Miami settlement could have broader implications for Airbnb when other big landlords take it to task for hosts violating their apartment leases. And, it isn't a bad thing for Airbnb to resolve its issues with various regulators and to erase some of these legal irritants when it will likely solicit investors for a 2019 initial public offering.

Ryanair says it gets 99 percent of its bookings from its website in a distribution model that has some parallels to how Southwest Airlines does business. Expedia doesn't offer Southwest's flights to consumers, but apparently thinks it can get away with scraping the website of a foreign airline, Ryanair.com.

There are literally only so many ways you can appeal to Millennials in hotel design, and copycats are inevitable. That's why hospitality really can be a “me too” industry, as hotelier Ian Schrager so often laments.