Travel Industry Earnings Coverage

Just about every travel company — Sonder included — wants more direct bookings because of the lower costs and chance to build customer relationships. Still, Sonder may be at a growth stage where adding distribution channels can be an important hedge against over-reliance on the bigger ones.

Sonder began feeling an adverse impact from the Omicron outbreak in late November 2021, and that spilled over into January and February, hurting its booking numbers. Still, the forecast is for a 2022 revenue jump of 100 to 110 percent as it inks new deals in more lucrative markets.

Amadeus makes a plausible case that it will come out ahead after all the ongoing changes to how airlines distribute their tickets to travel agencies evolve.

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.

It may not have seen the largest profit of major hotel companies last year, but Accor’s swing from a multibillion-dollar loss to a multimillion-dollar profit over the span of 12 months is a major win for a company with significant exposure to Europe and other areas more dependent on international travel.

As part of its "connected trip" and loyalty strategy, Booking Holdings argued it can convince hotels and other partners to offer up substantial discounts and perks, and this would spur incremental bookings. But do hotels really want to be a cog in building the Booking.com brand?

Last year was a rebuilding one for IHG, as the company trimmed off underperforming Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels from its portfolio.

Marriott, Hilton, Choice Hotels, and Wyndham all swung to profitability last year, per earnings reports this week. Even if Hyatt didn't, the other reports mostly amounted to a strong sign of recovery well under way for hotel companies with a significant presence in the U.S.

Whether it is hotel-like commission levels on the online travel agencies, new product features, or market share gains, Tripadvisor was unabashedly selling the virtues of a Viator IPO — or deal. It's not a winner-take-all market, but rivals have narrowed any competitive gap.

Hyatt might have improved performance from a year ago, but having to still report losses while others are touting a return to profits has to sting. Waning Omicron cases in 2022 are pointing to better days. Investors are hoping that's the case.