News on Travel Technology, Distribution and the Digital Economy

News / Online

Trip.com Group hit with $763M penalty from Chinese regulators

By Morgan Hines July 27, 2026

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation found that Trip.com Group violated anti-monopoly laws. Read More

News / Online

TravelAI acquires Sonder brand, relaunches Sonder.com

By Abby Crotty July 27, 2026

Last November, Sonder announced a wind down of operations and filed for bankruptcy after Marriott ended its licensing agreement with the STR specialist. Read More

Interview / Startups

Startup Stage: Waltru wants to replace generic travel itineraries

By Abby Crotty July 27, 2026

The app is in beta in Barcelona, with plans to expand to Madrid, London, Rome and Paris.... Read More

News / Technology

Agoda CPO Ittai Chorev on the push into real-time travel updates, AI search

By Arvindh Yuvaraj - WiT July 24, 2026

The OTA expanded language support for flight-related chat queries to include Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Thai, Indonesion and support for Hong Kong-based users.... Read More

News / Technology

PhocusWire's travel tech news briefs: American Airlines, Spotnana, Hostaway and more...

By PhocusWire July 24, 2026

Keep up with all the latest people, partner and product news from around the global travel industry.... Read More

News / Online

Visiting Media, HotelPORT partner to help hotels improve content across digital channels

By Abby Crotty July 23, 2026

The companies plan to audit OTA listings, brand websites, event content and immersive experiences to identify opportunities for improvement. ... Read More

In Phocus Podcast

Final episode of Season 6 - May 6, 2026

Listen to all episodes

Top investors in travel tech 2026

News / Startups

News / Technology

Digital IDs in air travel move beyond government tests at the last mile

The technical foundations for seamless travel are largely in place, and focus is shifting toward... Read more

News / Technology

AI's success in travel hinges on human involvement

Behavioral science plays into how travelers and travel company teams take to AI, and a human touch is... Read more

Opinion / Online

Booking Holdings' 'connected trip' vision never materialized, and AI is the latest threat

According to Mario Gavira, the AI wave is increasing pressure on the OTA to deliver the connected... Read more

News / Technology

EU digital ID initiatives gather momentum, user familiarity lags

By the end of 2026, countries in Europe must provide an EUDI Wallet to citizens. Are consumers and the... Read more

News / Online

BizAway acquires Netherlands-based TMC Uniglobe Alliance Travel

Uniglobe Alliance Travel has five offices in the Netherlands and will continue to operate under its... Read more

News / Online

AI risk to OTAs is margin squeeze, not disintermediation

The risk of OTAs being disintermediated by AI might have been exaggerated as pressure on margin is... Read more

Presenting the Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2026

News / Startups

From Our Partners

PhocusWire's travel tech news briefs: American Airlines, Spotnana, Hostaway and more...

News / Technology

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