Our weekly online travel update for the week ending Friday November 25 is below. This week’s update features (again) several stories about which booking platforms are slated for the rollout of new payment tools. We’ve also included a copy of the legal alert we issued last week regarding the FTC’s planned regulation of resort fees. Interested industry members have a limited opportunity to submit comments to the FTC regarding any proposed rule.
Expedia partners with payment app Afterpay. Expedia and the Buy Now Pay Later payment app, Afterpay, announced last week that Expedia’s flight and hotel inventory will now be available through the Afterpay app. App users will now be able to pay for their reservations in four interest-free monthly installments. According to Expedia, Afterpay is the first of many similar future partnerships. It will be interesting to see how providers react to these new flexible payment options, especially when it comes to discounted rate plans whose terms include prepayment.
Fareportal introduces new cancellation options. Users of Farereportal’s online travel agencies, CheapOair and One Travel, will now be able to cancel their air reservations for any reason, regardless of a carrier’s cancellation policy (purchasers of non-refundable tickets may receive a refund of up to 80% of the ticket price). Launched earlier this year (June) on CheapOair, the service is now available on One Travel and will soon be available on CheapOairCanada. Fareportal plans to announce more fintech products and services in the coming months.
Have a great week everyone.
Expedia partners with Buy Now Pay Later Afterpay app
November 21, 2022 via Skift
Travelers booking flights and hotels with Expedia in a co-branded feature of the Afterpay app can now choose to pay in four interest-free payments over six weeks, Expedia announced. “Expedia Group is proud to become Afterpay’s first major travel partner in the United States,” said senior vice president of media and brand partnerships, Christian…
Fareportal unveils cancellation for any reason on CheapOair and OneTravel OTAs
November 21, 2022 via Ottawa Citizen
Customer confidence in travel planning bolstered by new fintech product New York, NY, Nov. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Travel technology is steadily advancing in the industry’s quest to give customers what they need need and want in travel planning and booking. The last few years have made the cancellation of flights a major topic, …
Airbnb is considering removing cleaning fees as a separate fee
November 20, 2022 via Skift (subscription may be required)
Skift Take hosts can sabotage their own reservations by charging excessively high cleaning fees. This discourages many people from Airbnb, which is a concern for the company. Dennis Schaal Among the options Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is considering to remedy what he said is a “huge…
HotelTonight Founder Sam Shank Leaves Airbnb After Extended Stay
November 18, 2022 via Skift (subscription may be required)
Skift Take HotelTonight is the fastest and probably the most exquisite and feisty hotel reservation app available. Regardless of his future with Airbnb, he created dozens of imitators and set the standard. HotelTonight Founder and CEO Dennis Schaal, Sam Shank, helped create the fastest, easiest-to-use hotel reservation service…
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