Google to Debut Hotel Ad Tool to Streamline Campaigns ... On YouTube and Search

Airbnb was the top-spending travel brand on U.S. national TV during the first 11 months of 2022 at an estimated $86.5 million, but it was merely the ninth most-seen among travel websites, hotels and motels, resorts and theme parks, cruise lines and airlines.

Google is one of the undisputed heavyweights in online travel. So when one of the key masterminds behind all of its travel platforms and products talks about where the search giant is heading, it’s worth paying attention to.

Airbnb thinks it’s unfair that the European Commission is proposing increased data-sharing requirements on short-term rental providers across the zone, but Google seemingly is escaping the clampdown.

Although some advertisers reined in their budgets for some Google products, the company’s travel and retail verticals led Google’s search and other revenues in the third quarter.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, January 26. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Google made changes to Google Flights and Hotels related to transparency in hotel reviews and pricing under pressure from the European Commission — but stopped short of making those modifications elsewhere in the world.

Five years ago, Airbnb toyed with the idea of launching a a “superguest” loyalty program, but CEO Brian Chesky seemed to shoot down the notion of a rewards program a couple of weeks ago.

Booking Holdings officials have spoken for years about their aim to take market share in rival Expedia Group’s stronghold, namely the U.S., and Booking appears to be delivering on that goal.

This week Executive Editor Dennis Schaal stepped back from the earnings buzzsaw that has been the last month and took a longer look at three brands he covers a lot: Airbnb, Expedia, and Booking. In the case of Airbnb, he looked at what it and Booking may do with their piles of cash, as well as what it should expect from Expedia’s Vrbo. These are two stories that would not have been possible to write this time last year when Airbnb didn’t have a year behind it as a public company.

In the perennial quest to turn bargaining-hunting travelers with little brand loyalty into customers making bookings and generating revenue through paid advertising, Airbnb widened its already substantial advantage in 2022 over rivals Booking Holdings and Expedia Group.

New York City is in the process of getting all the pieces in place to clamp down on illegal short-term rentals pending a July deadline when fines against both hosts and platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com for any non-compliance would begin.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, March 30. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.