Alphabet tips

Google advertising, search and other revenue revenue grew 2 percent year over year in the first quarter, pushed upwards by increases in revenue from travel and retail ads.

The European Union’s Digital Markets Act, designed to ensure fair competition and protect consumers, became effective Thursday, and the EU Travel Tech association claimed Google is not complying with the new law.

It’s not without its tensions, but Google and Booking Holdings have long had a mutually beneficial relationship: Google gets billions of dollars from Booking’s ads, and Booking benefits from all of the customers Google sends along.

Google teamed up with South Africa’s tourism department Monday to boost travel marketing efforts after a government inquiry concluded in July that Google’s practices impede competition.

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.

Especially heavy layoffs at Google Flights, including senior managers and engineers who joined Google with the ITA Software acquisition in 2011, could signal strategy shifts in the company’s multifaceted airline business, Skift has learned.

While Alphabet, Google’s parent, saw advertising revenue tick down 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter, travel and retail revenue increased.

In the past week, the European Commission has issued two separate statements of objections to Google and Booking Holdings over antitrust concerns.

Tripadvisor is currently attempting a turnaround under a new CEO hired in 2022, and one of the reasons it needs one is Google had used its market power to divert users to sponsored ads and take back the free traffic Tripadvisor benefited from.

Has travel been downgraded a tad at Google? This much is clear: Executives don’t talk about travel as among the company’s highest priorities.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, July 28. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Three key Trivago executives rejoined the company in May just as Google was launching a new advertising unit to attract hotel bookings. Trivago didn’t advertise in the new product, unlike brands such as Booking.com, Priceline, Expedia and Homewood Suites, and Trivago’s absence negatively impacted its second quarter financial results.