I am a firm believer that rate parity for publicly available rates benefits hoteliers in the current “one-to-many” revenue management practices in hospitality, in which hoteliers come with pricing tiers for different categories of guests: corporate transient managed, corporate transient unmanaged, corporate group, SMERF, leisure transient, weekend, etc.

When I've started to work in the online distribution in 1999 by my boss and guru Pancho Mazza (r.i.p.) told me: the customer on the Internet is transitional. This is still THE thing.

Education always helps, but I think the problem lies a little deeper. Lack of imagination. Hotels are brick and mortar businesses that deal with people. Technology isn't exactly on the top of the list when it comes to making a great hotel and guest experience.

A great question to pose and one that I will take a slightly different view on. Yes, it is obvious that Google is moving deeper into the travel space, but let's not forget their track record of monetizing consumer-led products and services is not exactly stellar.

2018 is almost a thing of the past and as I prepare to head out to Las Vegas early December to attend the Expedia Partner Conference Explore 18 for a third year in a row, allow me to reflect on what may most likely (or not) impact travel brands in the upcoming year when it comes to digital marketing.