--- title: "Travel Tech Opens Door to Sharing-Economy Stalwarts" id: "24456" type: "post" slug: "travel-tech-opens-door-to-sharing-economy-stalwarts" published_at: "2014-08-01T21:34:09+00:00" modified_at: "2014-08-01T21:34:09+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/08/01/travel-tech-opens-door-to-sharing-economy-stalwarts/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/08/01/travel-tech-opens-door-to-sharing-economy-stalwarts.md" excerpt: "The Travel Technology Association, once the exclusive domain of Priceline and Expedia, is planning to work with new members known for their disruptive tendencies—particularly Airbnb and TripAdvisor." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "economy" - "Membership" - "Regulations" - "trade associations" - "Travel Industry" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Travel Tech Opens Door to Sharing-Economy Stalwarts ## The Travel Technology Association, once the exclusive domain of Priceline and Expedia, is planning to work with new members known for their disruptive tendencies—particularly Airbnb and TripAdvisor. A lot has changed in the world of online travel since the Travel Technology Association started as the Interactive Travel Services Association [in 1999 (opens in a new tab)](http://traveltech.org/about-us/) . And now the trade group is working to reflect those changes, reaching out to a set of new players with different strategies but the same goal—to make it easier for you to get a good night’s sleep. More details: **About the new members:** Initially counting online stalwarts like Expedia, Priceline, and Orbitz among its ranks, Travel Tech is starting to give some love to the second wave of travel-service startups. Last month, the association announced it had added a few members that are more commonly associated with the sharing economy: [Airbnb (opens in a new tab)](https://www.airbnb.com/) , [TripAdvisor (opens in a new tab)](http://www.tripadvisor.com/) , and [HomeAway (opens in a new tab)](http://www.homeaway.com/) . Each of these firms offers short-term rentals—in the case of TripAdvisor, through its [FlipKey (opens in a new tab)](http://www.flipkey.com/) vacation-rental service. The concept is growing in influence—8 percent of U.S. travelers and 14 percent of international travelers booked a private residence through one of the services in the first quarter of 2014, [according to GlobalWebIndex (opens in a new tab)](http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Whats-Airbnbs-Future-Millennials-Move-Backpacks-Briefcases/1011059) statistics reported by *eMarketer*. **Shared interests:** Travel Tech saw common ground among the Old Guard and the new members—and a way to help out the entire ecosystem. “These are relationships Travel Tech pursued because we saw a convergence on the policy issues faced by all travel intermediaries, whether they’re short-term rental companies, online travel companies, global distribution systems, or other dynamic innovators that connect travel suppliers and travel consumers,” Travel Tech spokesperson Philip Mindari [told Travel Weekly (opens in a new tab)](http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Online-Travel/Airbnb-TripAdvisor-HomeAway-ally-with-OTA-trade-group-Travel-Tech/) . **Potential leverage?** The companies joining Travel Tech are feeling increasing regulatory pressure, with large cities going after Airbnb renters in particular over tax liability issues. (Airbnb has worked on its ground game, playing a key role in [launching the advocacy group Peers](http://associationsnow.com/2013/12/share-and-share-alike-a-sharing-economy-nonprofit-builds-steam/) .) Travel Tech emphasizes that it will not change its policies on short-term rental laws—though it will fight for the laws to be made clearer. “As short-term rentals grow in popularity,” Mindari [told Skift (opens in a new tab)](http://skift.com/2014/07/22/changing-of-the-guard-as-airbnb-tripadvisor-and-homeaway-join-travel-tech-trade-group/) , “we will be working with communities, local residents, and short-term rental providers to share information, establish best practices, and advance smart short-term rental regulation that safeguards travelers, assuages community concerns, and provides a framework for ensuring compliance.” The short-term rental services are also facing a battle from the hotel industry. In May, the American Hotel and Lodging Association [reportedly launched a campaign](http://associationsnow.com/2014/05/hotel-group-takes-airbnb-short-term-rentals/) to “highlight the bad, unfair, and in some cases unlawful business practices employed by short-term online rental companies.” (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. 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