Forcing plaintiffs to individually arbitrate their claims of hotel-price-fixing against Travelocity would sabotage the class-action lawsuit if the ruling stands up. There undoubtedly will be further developments in this case.
Online travel agencies now owe Hawaii a huge bill to comply with the state's general excise tax, and Hawaii hasn't even won the battle over hotel occupancy taxes yet. Hawaii, which is such a rich vacation market for the OTAs, is giving them a big migraine.
It sounds as though Travelocity is betting that a new hotel offering, coming in a few months, will be somewhat of a game-changer. The Roaming Gnome's continued antics may depend on it.
Consumers have more options than ever before from fresh-faced startups to familiar search engines so despite OTAs’ legacy in the industry, they’ll have to keep innovating to keep up with the competition.
Operating costs in Indian travel sector have been rising with various fees imposed by airlines on booking sites and government stepping in. Even the once high flyer MakeMyTrip saw its air ticket revenues drop dramatically. Travelocity saw the writing, it seems.
If this is Travelocity’s attempt to attract price-comparison shoppers or increase package bookings, it’ll need to offer more than what is essentially phone support. Plus there are more than a few apps to take of the services it provides.