Booking Holdings

Diller is one of the godfathers of online travel and Expedia is probably among the top two travel advertisers in Google. Whether his comments will lead to lobbying or business practice changes, is today's multibillion dollar question.

An Expedia acquisition of Thomas Cook? While problematic on many fronts, including buying all of those offline agents, it isn't out of the question. Consider that Expedia would gain access to a customer base in Europe that it hardly touches. Expedia's Barry Diller has made a ton of acquisitions. He and Okerstrom are hardly done yet.

Both TripAdvisor and Booking.com are newly emphasizing tours and activities in their TV advertising. You can expect a lot more of this from myriad players in the years to come. There will be variations, though. While these two companies push mainstream, touristy attractions, Airbnb will likely highlight curated experiences, although that could change, as well.

The Booking Holdings CEO is taking the long view, which can be difficult for the leader of a public company to accomplish while growing stock value. The opportunity is there, though, for the online booking leader to improve its offerings with data-based personalization.

Well, well, well ... if Booking Holdings is cutting brand marketing spending, what does it mean for the Momondo name going forward?

Suddenly those seemingly free-spending online travel agencies, which have made Google rich, are toning down their big-spending ways. Google shouldn't be too worried: Expedia and Booking Holdings are still spending billions of dollars on search-engine marketing, but they've just become a bit more stingy. And, they hope, wise.

The India outbound travel market is poised to boom in a matter of years. The global travel industry needs to make itself aware of this market and why it matters now, so they’re not scrambling to catch up later.

This move signals Sabre's eagerness to remain a powerhouse for travel agents in a changing landscape where alternative lodging, driven by the popularity of Airbnb, takes off. Come 2019, Sabre aims to be more of a one-stop shop for agents. Some agents applaud the move; others couldn't care less.

Booking sites are offering more types of travel products and services on their platforms. Of these verticals, alternative accommodations are a highly contested space where Booking and Airbnb lead for now.