Tuesday, January 7, 2025 — The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech), the voice of the travel technology industry and advocate for public policy that promotes transparency, competition, and innovation, filed comments in response to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) joint request for information (RFI) on Competition in Air Transportation.
In its comments, Travel Tech details how the services its members and other intermediaries provide are essential to promoting airline price competition to benefit consumers. It also discusses current airline practices and policies about what pricing information can or cannot be conveyed to intermediaries, undermining price transparency. Travel Tech calls on the DOT and DOJ to address practices in the industry that result in a distorted marketplace.
“Ensuring transparency and competition in the travel industry is essential for empowering consumer choice and maintaining a fair marketplace,” said Laura Chadwick, President & CEO of Travel Tech. “Travel Tech encourages DOT and DOJ to maintain and enhance measures that support transparency across all sales channels to ensure consumers have access to full information about fare options and services.”
Travel Tech’s comments also address the impact of airline consolidation over the last two decades, which has resulted in far fewer airline choices in smaller cities. With no alternatives, the single airline is free to charge consumers more for the price of a ticket on a specific route while also negating the need for price comparison tools.
The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) empowers traveler choice by advocating for public policy that promotes marketplace transparency and competition. Travel Tech represents the leading innovators in travel technology, including online travel agencies, metasearch engines, short-term rental platforms, global distribution systems, and travel management companies.
To schedule an interview with a Travel Tech spokesperson, contact Bradford Williamson of Glen Echo Group at 202.870.3234 or bwilliamson@glenechogroup.com.
December 18, 2024 – Today, Laura Chadwick, President and CEO of the Travel Technology Association, released the following statement in response to the issuance of the Federal Trade Commission’s final Junk Fee rule and the inclusion of S.2498, the Hotel Fees Transparency Act in the Continuing Resolution to be passed by Congress by the end of the week:
“Travel Tech applauds both the Federal Trade Commission and Congress for advancing policies that set a national standard for price transparency for consumers seeking overnight stays. Consumers will now see an up-front and consistent total service price for lodging – including nightly room rate and mandatory fees – no matter where they live or how they shop for lodging options, either directly on hotel websites or through online travel comparison tools and services.”
“Travel Tech and its member companies worked tirelessly to educate policymakers about the complex and multilayered information flow from hotels to different types of intermediaries,” said Chadwick. “As a direct result of our advocacy, both the FTC rule and S.2498 include provisions that ensure accurate mandatory fee information is relayed to consumers through both direct and indirect channels.”
“We are grateful for Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) in championing S.2498, along with Representatives Young Kim (R-CA-40) and Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), who introduced H.R. 6543, the House companion bill. Travel Tech calls on Congress to finalize passage of the Continuing Resolution without delay.”
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The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) empowers traveler choice by advocating for public policy that promotes marketplace transparency and competition. Travel Tech represents travel technology innovators ranging from dynamic startups, small, and midsize businesses to leading online travel agencies, metasearch engines, short-term rental platforms, global distribution systems, and travel management companies.
To schedule an interview with a Travel Tech spokesperson, contact Bradford Williamson of Glen Echo Group at 202.870.3234 or bwilliamson@glenechogroup.com.
Wednesday, December 4, 2024 – Today, Laura Chadwick, President and CEO of the Travel Technology Association, released the following statement following the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Permanent Investigations hearing titled, “The Sky’s the Limit—New Revelations About Airline Fees.”
“Travel Tech thanks the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for holding a hearing focused on ensuring transparency and fairness in airline fee ancillary fee practices. Transparent pricing is essential to empowering travelers with all the information they need to make informed choices.
“Travel Tech’s mission is to empower traveler choice by advocating for transparency and competition. These principles ensure that consumers benefit and travel service providers can thrive in a fair, open marketplace. We look forward to working with policymakers to address these important issues.”
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The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) empowers traveler choice by advocating for public policy that promotes marketplace transparency and competition. Travel Tech represents travel technology innovators ranging from dynamic startups, small, and midsize businesses to leading online travel agencies, metasearch engines, short-term rental platforms, global distribution systems, and travel management companies.
To schedule an interview with a Travel Tech spokesperson, contact Bradford Williamson of Glen Echo Group at 202.870.3234 or bwilliamson@glenechogroup.com.
Tuesday, October 22, 2024 —The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech), the voice of the travel technology industry advocating for public policy that empowers consumer choice through marketplace transparency and competition, has hired Brandon Palumbo as its new Director of Policy and Government Relations. In this role, Palumbo will support the association’s work with the federal government.
Palumbo joins Travel Tech from Michael Best Strategies, where he worked on government relations, policy research and legislative affairs. Prior to his work at Michael Best Strategies, he served as a legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) and previously for U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA).
“I am pleased to welcome Brandon to the Travel Tech Association,” said Laura Chadwick, President and CEO of Travel Tech. “Brandon will bring a depth of experience, passion for policy expertise, and understanding of tech policy issues impacting traveler choice to the role.”
“I’m excited to join Travel Tech to support its mission of empowering traveler choice,” said Brandon Palumbo. “I’m looking forward to applying my eight years of experience on and off Capitol Hill to support both policymakers and Travel Tech’s members.”
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The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) empowers traveler choice by advocating for public policy that promotes marketplace transparency and competition. Travel Tech represents travel technology innovators ranging from dynamic startups, small, and midsize businesses to leading online travel agencies, metasearch engines, short-term rental platforms, global distribution systems, and travel management companies.
To schedule an interview with a Travel Tech spokesperson, contact Bradford Williamson of Glen Echo Group at 202.870.3234 or bwilliamson@glenechogroup.com.
Thursday, September 19, 2024 — Earlier this week, the Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) hosted a virtual webinar featuring experts from Wiley Rein, LLC to offer information and insights about the FTC’s final rule on combatting fake and deceptive reviews and what it means for travel technology companies.
The panelists provided an overview of the FTC’s final rule, focusing on what constitutes a deceptive practice and the enforcement actions the government is taking to combat AI-generated fake reviews. The panelists also covered the rule’s prohibitions on buying positive or negative reviews, the new standards of liability for review sites, and best practices for spotting and reporting deceptive reviews.
The panelists also noted Travel Tech’s involvement in the final ruling, highlighting how the FTC adopted the Association’s recommendations as part of comments filed in response to the FTC’s then-proposed rule, urging the Commission to revise its “known or should have known” standard to avoid unduly burdening review platforms.
“Ensuring the integrity and reliability of reviews is critical to preserving consumer trust and confidence as they plan their travel, no matter the occasion or destination,” said Laura Chadwick, President and CEO of Travel Tech. “Travel Tech is pleased the FTC adopted our recommendations and is proud to continue working with our member companies to protect the integrity of their platforms and reviews.”
Panelists from Wiley Rein included Stephen Conley, Associate in Telecom, Media, and Technology; Duane Pozza, Partner; and Kathleen Scott, Partner and featured remarks from Laura Chadwick, President and CEO of the Travel Technology Association.
The webinar recording is exclusively available to Travel Tech members. For more information about membership, please reach out to Bethany Reitsma.
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The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) empowers traveler choice by advocating for public policy that promotes marketplace transparency and competition. Travel Tech represents travel technology innovators ranging from dynamic startups, small, and midsize businesses to leading online travel agencies, metasearch engines, short-term rental platforms, global distribution systems, and travel management companies.
To schedule an interview with a Travel Tech spokesperson, contact Bradford Williamson of Glen Echo Group at 202.870.3234 or bwilliamson@glenechogroup.com.
Thursday, September 12, 2024 — Earlier this week, Travel Tech CEO Laura Chadwick participated in panel discussion organized by the National Consumers League (NCL) about Flight Delay Compensation in the U.S. The panel was led by moderator John Breyault from the NCL. The panel also included Michael Negron, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy at the White House, Teresa Murray from the Public Interest Research Group, and Tomasz Pawliszyn from AirHelp, a Travel Tech Advocate member company. At the event, U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) provided remarks about his efforts to eliminate hidden fees and expand travelers’ rights.
The panel discussed the prospect and impact of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) proposing rules requiring airlines to compensate passengers of disrupted flights, bringing the U.S. in line with policies found in the E.U., Canada, and other and other jurisdictions.
Travel Tech President & CEO Laura Chadwick’s remarks centered on keeping the responsibility for flight delay compensation, should these policies be proposed and adopted by the DOT, on the airlines and no other entity, including ticket agents.
“When it comes to flight delay compensation, only airlines should be held responsible for controllable flight delays, like crew shortages, scheduling errors, or aircraft maintenance issues. The same principle applies when travelers are bumped by airlines from their flights and no one else; the same should apply here,” said Chadwick.
Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of Travel Tech member company Airhelp, discussed how flight delay compensation works in the European Union and how Airhelp helped over 4 million passengers last year, putting money back in the pockets of travelers.
“We see that families are the ones who apply for compensation more than anyone else because then you have the whole family with you and you have to cover the cost of four or five people, and you are missing work and the kids are missing school and you have to rent a car to go back to the hotel maybe for another night, and so that’s why the compensation is there and why it was brought into Europe and other countries…for the families and people with a smaller wallet,” Pawliszyn said.
In May 2023, the DOT announced plans to initiate a rulemaking to require U.S. and foreign air carriers to adopt and adhere to customer service plans identifying essential services (meals, rebooking, hotel, transportation to or from hotel, timely customer service) and compensation which airlines would be required to provide to mitigate passenger inconveniences when the cause of a cancellation or delay for flights to, within and from the United States due to circumstances within the airline’s control. To date, the DOT has not yet released this proposed rule but does maintain a online dashboard to hold airlines accountable to passengers when airline-caused delays or cancellations occur.
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The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) empowers traveler choice by advocating for public policy that promotes marketplace transparency and competition. Travel Tech represents travel technology innovators ranging from dynamic startups, small, and midsize businesses to leading online travel agencies, metasearch engines, short-term rental platforms, global distribution systems, and travel management companies.
To schedule an interview with a Travel Tech spokesperson, contact Bradford Williamson of Glen Echo Group at 202.870.3234 or bwilliamson@glenechogroup.com.
Travel Tech Participates in the Flight Delay Compensation Lunch Briefing on Capitol Hill
Wednesday, January 15, 2025 — The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech), the voice of the travel technology industry and advocate for public policy that promotes transparency, competition, and innovation, wrote a letter of support for the nomination of former Congressman Sean Duffy as the next U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Today, the U.S. Commerce Committee held […]
