Travel's Double Standard

A closer look at a Google fine reveals a double standard across travel.

GOOD DAY, READERS.

The applause over the European Commission fining Google 460 million euros ($525 million) deserves a closer look, argues Skift founder and CEO Rafat Ali. The Commission penalized Alphabet for favoring its own services in search results covering hotels and transport, and travel groups like Booking, Expedia, Airbnb, and Tripadvisor cheered through their lobby, EU Travel Tech.

But Ali points out that — Airbnb aside — nearly all of them do the same thing in their own marketplaces, charging suppliers to pay for better visibility. Their complaint about Google favoring its own listings is fair, Ali writes, but the same conflict repeats at every level of travel search.

Skift Global Forum

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi joins the CEOs of Booking Holdings, Expedia Group, Hilton, and Accor on stage in New York City, September 22-24.

Every layer of travel search now charges for visibility. North Javits Center is where you put that to the people setting the rules.
Standard pricing ends July 30.

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