Good Sunday afternoon from Seattle . . . For those of you who follow American football, Happy Superbowl Sunday (apparently the number one sports betting day of the year). Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, February 6, 2026, is below. This week’s Update features a new story from the Technology Travel
FTC Disclosures Still a Focus in Interactive Media
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) advertising disclosure rules for “material connections” are not new. The FTC has long required that advertising contain clear and conspicuous disclosures of endorsements and other material connections to ensure that consumers are not misled by hidden commercial relationships.[i] The longstanding expectation is simple: brands, influencers, and endorsers must make
High stakes: Traversing the legal terrain of Milano Cortina 2026™
The upcoming Olympic Winter Games™ (6-22 February 2026) and Paralympic Winter Games™ (6-15 March 2026) will be spread across Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo and the Alpine landscape of northern Italy (“Milan Cortina” or the “Winter Games”). Over 3,500 athletes from 93 countries will compete for 195 medals across 16 Olympic disciplines and six Paralympic sports.
It
Accor Makes Its Move in AI Travel With a New Booking Experience in ChatGPT
Good Sunday afternoon from Manson, Washington . . . Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, January 30, 2026, is below. Accor garnered much of the travel industry’s attention this past week as it became the first lodging supplier to announce the launch of its own ChatGPT mobile app. Other headlines underscore
The Growing Role of AI Agents in Online Travel and ChatGPT’s Ad Plans
Good evening from the ALIS Conference in Los Angeles . . . Our travel-shortened Online Travel Update for the week ending January 23, 2026, is below. This week’s Update features a wide variety of stories, including updates on two stories we featured last week – Airbnb’s evolving hotel aspirations and investigations into Trip.com’s allegedly anti-competitive
A Defining Start to 2026 for Online Travel: China Probes Trip.com, Airbnb Expands Its Hotel Ambitions and Google Unveils Its Agentic Booking Protocol
Good Sunday evening from a sunny Seattle . . . Our first Online Travel Update for 2026 is below. This week’s Update features new stories on China’s possible crack down on Trip.com, an update on Airbnb and its plans for hotels and the latest from Google and its rapidly evolving agentic platform. I hope you
Crystal Ball Time – What Are the Regulatory and Policy Issues Broadcasters Should Be Expecting to Deal With in 2026?
It’s the start of another year, so it is time to dust off the crystal ball and look at what we expect to be the big regulatory and legislative issues facing broadcasters in the new year. Looking back on our forecast for 2025 that came out just over a year ago, I was surprised to
The Next Thing Knocking at Real Estate’s Door: Quantum Computing
The world has not yet fully explored the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), and yet another major technological wave is already forming on the horizon: quantum computing. While the transition from acknowledged potential to established, practical application of new quantum technologies remains underway, stakeholders in the real estate industry may soon see growing demand for
The FTC Walks Back Its Rytr Enforcement Action, Signaling a Shift in Federal AI Regulation
In a rare course correction, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reopened and vacated its 2024 consent order against Rytr LLC, a generative AI-powered company. The unusual move reflects a significant strategic reset of how federal regulators will approach AI technology, especially when alleged harms are hypothetical rather than concrete.
In 2024, the FTC filed
The Next Phase of Travel Distribution Rekindles Pricing and Parity Debates
Happy Monday evening from Seattle . . . Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, December 19, 2025, is below. This week’s Update features a heavy concentration of important legal updates on local Chinese efforts to investigate the practices of OTAs, the FTC’s newly announced investigation into Instacart and its alleged surveillance