Philadelphia's City Council just rejected a proposed hotel tax increase that would have pushed the city's total hospitality tax burden to 17.5%, the highest on the East Coast. The fact that it got as far as it did should worry every operator in a major metro.
Expedia beat every Q1 estimate, hit a 15.8% EBITDA margin, and grew revenue 15%... then lost 9% of its stock price because it refused to raise full-year guidance. If you're an operator watching OTA dynamics, the cautious part is the part that matters to you.
Uber is now selling hotel rooms through Expedia's inventory to its 100 million airport riders, with 10% cash back and 20% discounts for subscribers. If you think this is just another OTA with a car service, you're not paying attention to where your next booking is going to originate... and what it's going to cost you.
Accor's new partnership with Uber lets loyalty members earn hotel points on rides and food delivery across seven countries. The question brand-side veterans should be asking isn't whether members will link their accounts... it's who's actually paying for those points when they get redeemed at your property.
Uber's new hotel booking feature, powered by Expedia's inventory of 700,000 properties, turns a ride-hailing app into a distribution channel your revenue manager never planned for. The question isn't whether guests will book hotels through Uber... it's what happens to your channel mix when they do.
Airbnb dropped a $120 million tax refund claim against San Francisco, settling for zero and releasing funds the city had locked in a litigation reserve. The interesting question isn't why they settled... it's what the classification dispute tells you about how municipal tax codes are about to treat every platform touching your market.
Marriott just improved its KrisFlyer miles-to-points conversion rate by 50% and raised the annual transfer cap to 250,000 miles. The question is whether "less terrible" is really a loyalty strategy or just a press release dressed up as progress.
