1. Who are the travel monopolies?

Travel monopolies include the likes of Airbnb.com, Expedia, and Booking.com.



These are platforms that may have been considered “decentralized” in the past, but a further look sees that they are far from it. Before online booking, brick and mortar travel agencies were the most popular way to book flights and accommodations. Big hotel companies had the advantage to plug complete monopolies over particular travel agencies, adding large percentages of commission for the middlemen who would book everything.

Online platforms like Expedia.com and Booking.com aren’t much different, but they offer a few more options and have tightened up the ship. Then came Airbnb.com, which made renting spaces easier and more affordable. It single-handedly disrupted the hotel industry giving people another, more p2p option.