Inside Google’s feud with the battered online travel industry

Behind closed doors, Google is engaged in a bitter standoff with the online travel industry. The issue is global but German travel companies have been particularly outspoken. Activity booking platform GetYourGuide, hotel finder Trivago, and Airbnb rival HomeToGo have been feuding with the search giant about their unpaid advertising bills since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Unlike Facebook and Microsoft’s Bing search engine, Google has not been overly accommodating when it came to delaying or reducing unpaid bills. Facebook offered some online travel companies an immediate 60-day delay. Bing immediately offered payment delays of at least 90 days, with ongoing review, should the recovery not start.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has yet to decide whether to investigate the case and it has not offered further comment. 

To read more, click here.