Articles tagged “regulation”

For any regulators listening, Booking.com is a powerful force in the European hotel industry. So is Google. There's no way around it, despite the spin from the CEO.

Booking.com's message to European regulators? Don't lump us in with Google when you go after Big Tech. It's so rare to see any public dustup between Google and Booking.com even though there have long been competitive tensions behind the scenes.

Special purpose acquisition company, direct listing or an initial public offering — Airbnb's choice mostly matters to big-name investors and employees, past and present. But nothing is ever certain about a stock market listing — especially during a pandemic.

Google is bending somewhat to intense regulatory pressure in Europe. But its answers in travel to date aren't very meaningful.

Margrethe Vestager has been a thorn in the side of Google in the past. Will she use her next term to go after the technology giant's travel vertical?

Is the Boston-Airbnb settlement, which calls for short-term regulatory platforms to comply with a city ordinance, a model for future agreements? Too soon to tell but what's clear is that the alternative accommodations industry will one day transition from outliers to regulated entities.

Some are too scared to say so publicly, but much of the travel industry would welcome a diminution of Google's vast market power. If a U.S. regulatory probe gets going against Big Tech, it is a very open question how far-reaching a remedy might be in the offing.

The momentum is certainly building for a renewed look into Google's business practices as they relate to antitrust issues. As part of that, a wide swath of travel businesses would welcome such a probe.

Over the last couple of years, rumors have been flying around that the European Union wanted to take a closer look at Google's travel tools. For now at least, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Going down the rabbit hole and considering the effect of a big tech crackdown in travel, Google and global distribution systems have perhaps the most to lose. It's likely, though, that few, if any, of Elizabeth Warren's proposed restrictions will ever become U.S. law.