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E L L I O T T' S TRAVEL NOTES
Travel news, opinion and analysis

April 13, 2004

Online Hotel Wars Heat Up
Later this year, if Hilton Hotels Corp.'s plan goes as expected, travelers won't see room rates posted on travel sites such as Hotels.com or Expedia lower than what Hilton advertises on its own Web site. "You don't let the customer see a rate less than a rate you sell yourself," Hilton CIO Tim Harvey says. "At that point, you lose trust of the brand, and whoever is selling the room gains that trust." But customer loyalty isn't the only thing hotel chains and operators stand to lose to the growth in third-party online bookings. In an era when consumers are more likely to make travel plans based on the best rates on the Internet rather than what a particular hotel brand has to offer, hotels have found their relationships with third-party sites have resulted in inflexible pricing practices and lost profits. InternetWeek | Posted 11:30 a.m.
-- AP: Online travel bookings take off
-- US News: Online booking, take 2.0

• The surprising thing about the latest shifts in the online marketplace is how quietly they've happened. In many ways, it's as if they haven't happened at all. Send us your comments.

British DVT Case Moves Ahead
British Airways breathed new life into a previously crippled case brought against it by victims of DVT or economy class syndrome, saying it would pick up the legal bill if the claimants failed. The BA decision will allow victims of the condition -- typified by sometimes-fatal blood clots, which many blame on long flights and cramped seats -- to take their case to the country's highest court, the House of Lords. The potential cost of further court action had been prohibitive for the claimants -- in Britain the losing side is typically responsible for the legal costs incurred by the winner. Reuters | Posted 11:20 a.m.
-- ICW: DVT litigants' costs are waived

American Investigated for Data Issues
The Department of Homeland Security's chief privacy officer has launched an investigation into a disclosure by American Airlines that it turned over 1.2 million passenger records to the Transportation Security Administration in June 2002 without the passengers' knowledge or permission. American is the third airline to acknowledge that it turned over passenger information to the government. The airline said it acted out of a desire to help in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. CNN | Posted noon.

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• And finally ... thank you, Sheraton. I've spent the better part of the last four days trying to find a reliable Internet connection here Alaska (tip: don't even try to get anything high-speed unless you're in Anchorage, and Wi-Fi is iffy everywhere). Thanks to Sheraton and its partner, Wayport, I'm able to bring you today's blog. Posted 12:45 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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