Duff on Hospitality Law

Sabre Finally Throws in the Towel
(“Sabre, Farelogix terminate their merger agreement,” May, 2020 via MLEX Insight)
Readers of our weekly Updates are well aware of the ongoing saga involving Sabre’s controversial purchase of airline distribution startup, Farelogix. With the U.S. federal district court agreeing ultimately with Sabre and allowing the purchase to go forward, we thought the story had come to a close, but then the UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) stepped in. Two weeks ago, the CMA put a stop to the merger citing competition concerns. With this announcement, Sabre and Farelogix announced last Friday that they were terminating the merger agreement. Something tells me that this may not be the last time we include a story about Farelogix or its disruptive “direct connect” distribution technology.

European Travel Associations Urge Use of Vouchers Over Refunds
(“Ectaa urges EU-wide action on travel refunds,” May, 2020 via Travel Weekly (UK) – News)
In an effort to improve the liquidity of European travel intermediaries and other industry members, several European industry associations, including EU Travel Tech (representing OTAs and other travel technology providers), are urging legislators to amend existing EU regulations to permit the issuance of travel vouchers instead of cash payments for canceled travel. Cancelation policies have no doubt been added to the growing list of topics that will take on new significance in the post-COVID-19 travel distribution world.

TripAdvisor Makes Difficult Workforce Reductions
(“Tripadvisor lays off 25% of workforce,” Apr, 2020 via travelweekly.com)
On the heels of announced austerity measures by Expedia, Booking.com, Kayak and OpenTable over the past few days and weeks, TripAdvisor is the latest distribution platform to announce company-wide efforts to survive the pandemic. On Thursday, CEO Steve Kaufer announced that roughly 25 percent (900) of the platform’s employees had been laid off (on top of countless other employees previously furloughed), and that most remaining salaried employees had been put on reduced schedules with a temporary reduction (20 percent) in salary.

Investors Still Show Interest in Travel Industry Startups
(“Travel Startups Still Managed to Raise $1.4 Billion During One Turbulent Quarter,” Apr 30, 2020 via Skift Travel News)
Ever hear of Turo? Familiar with Gtriip? These companies are just two of the 57 travel startups to close investment rounds in the challenging first quarter of 2020. While more than half of the $1.4 billion in private equity investments went to Oyo Hotels and Homes ($807 million), a number of much smaller startups benefited from the many investments. Is it a sign of things to come for the remainder of 2020? It may be unlikely given investors’ need to focus first on streamlining the operations of existing portfolio companies to preserve cash (see story above) and the practical challenges of conducting needed due diligence or negotiations remotely. That said, diversity often serves as the catalyst for never-before-seen products and services, including some familiar names in the travel industry (Airbnb). It will be interesting to look back five years from now and identify what revolutionary travel companies began in the midst of the current pandemic. 

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