Skift

Skift Research recently examined more than 20,000 hotel listings on Google to discover which online travel agencies and direct sites compete for bookings. Senior Research Analyst Pranavi Agarwal explains the major findings from Skift Research’s report.   Agarwal notes that Booking.com is the dominant brand across Google’s sponsored results, paying to appear the most often in every region. However, Skift Research found Expedia.com is investing heavily in ad dollars to be the top-of-the list option in Google’s sponsored results, especially in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa.  In addition, Agarwal reports Google actively prioritizes direct sites over OTAs even though they are far from being the cheapest price.  Next, the Biden administration has unveiled a set of rules that would require airlines to tackle junk fees, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi.  Maharishi reports the Department of Transportation is requiring airlines to disclose junk fees upfront. Airlines and ticketing agencies would