EDITOR'S COMMENT
• 'Competition' is a word I used in my editorial comments about digital 'gatekeepers' a week ago and that appears to be a root cause of Expedia Group's termination of its vacation rental and hotel supply partnership with Canadian rival Hopper.
Expedia Group first accused Hopper of "exploiting consumer anxiety and confusing customers" through its fintech products, "leading them to purchase services they neither need nor fully understand". Hopper's riposte was swift, claiming that its rival had made the decision because it saw the booking app as "a significant competitive threat".
Whatever both say and wherever one stands in the debate, the impact of the breakdown of the relationship could be significant to both companies. Both OTAs have a heavy core base in the United States and they are competing for similar demographics across travel verticals - and while Hopper will lose inventory supplied through Expedia Group's Rapid API, it maintains the disruption will have no impact at all on its business. Expedia's strategic focus on building loyalty among its main app users is understandable but it would be naive to dismiss the competition from Hopper and its ambitions to become a travel 'super app'.
The timing just so happens to coincide with the imminent launch of Expedia Group's
long-anticipated travel rewards program One Key, which is set to roll out initially in the United States this month. As Expedia Group promises to provide added flexibility for bookings, it exemplifies the intensifying battle for customer / guest loyalty in the short-term rental space, as OTAs look to navigate the fluctuations in supply and demand for the foreseeable future.
• It has certainly been a packed first half of 2023 for the IHM team, which is why I'm thrilled to see the work of my IHM colleagues being recognised with a number of promotions across our editorial and marketing / events teams.
Editor-in-chief George Sell will take on the additional role of editor - living, Boutique Hotel News editor Eloise Hanson will now oversee BHN and Serviced Apartment News [SAN] as editor - hospitality, and my job title will now read as editor - short-term rentals at IHM. In addition, our colleague Danique van Oort has been appointed as marketing and event executive. Congratulations to all my colleagues!
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