Google-Hotel Travelopoly

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: the keyboard of geoff goodfellow <geoff () iconia com>
Date: Thu, Dec 28, 2017 at 1:56 PM
Subject: Google-Hotel Travelopoly
To: E-mail Pamphleteer Dave Farber's Interesting People list <ip () listbox com
>


*Google-Hotel Travelopoly*
*The search giant works with hotels to hurt travel competition.*
https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-hotel-travelopoly-1514419414
excerpt:

More than 100 million Americans are expected to travel during the holidays,
and many will search for lodging online. But travelers may unknowingly pay
more and fail to see all of their options because some major hotels have
ganged up with Google to undercut competition.

Online travel agencies like Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity have
replaced brick-and-mortar agents by offering consumers more choice and
convenience at a lower price. These OTAs purchase inventory from
wholesalers and then market rooms at a discount to consumers in addition to
flights, rental cars and travel packages. Many also have agreements with
companies like American Express, Costco and Delta to market their inventory.

OTA websites let travelers sift through hotel offers based on price, brand,
location, amenities and guest rating, among other search filters. OTAs earn
a roughly 20% commission from hotels for each reservation they book, which
covers their cost of marketing, inventory acquisition, customer support and
payment processing.

As hotels get squeezed by Airbnb and home rental sites, they have begun
complaining that OTAs are eating into their profits. Several major hotels
are now trying to use Google as a counterweight, while Google is exploiting
its search dominance to steer consumers to its travel service.

Some 60% of travelers begin trip-planning on Google. The search giant’s
travel business is worth an estimated $100 billion and will generate $14
billion in revenue this year, according to Skift Research. Google makes
money on travel in two ways. First, it auctions ads that appear above
generic search results. Businesses can bid on key words such as “Hotels in
Houston” or “Houston Hilton.” Google selects auction winners based on the
maximum price a business is willing to pay for each ad click and the
likelihood a user will click on the ad.

Google also operates its own “meta” hotel search that appears below auction
ads and above generic search results. If users search for a hotel, a box
displaying offers from hotels and OTAs will pop up. Travellers may benefit
from being able to use Google’s meta-search to compare offers from hotels
and OTAs on a single interface. Competition from Google’s meta-search could
also spur OTAs to improve their services.

The problem is that Google is working with hotels to stifle competition.
[...]


-- 
Geoff.Goodfellow () iconia com
living as The Truth is True
http://geoff.livejournal.com

This message was sent to the list address and trashed, but can be found
online.
<https://www.listbox.com/login/messages/view/20171228135645:D7EC1028-EC00-11E7-B4EC-F6AFB475B879/>



-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/18849915-ae8fa580
Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-aa268125
Unsubscribe Now: 
https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-32545cb4&post_id=20171228140850:87B32CF2-EC02-11E7-9361-9B634815739A
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com