Top Travel Tech Weekly News

News / Startups

European on-demand car service Virtuo raises $96M

By Mitra Sorrells | May 20, 2021

Paris-based Virtuo, a startup positioning itself as an alternative to car ownership, has raised $96 million in a combination of Series C financing and pan-European asset-based financing. Read More

News / Online

Brazil drags Despegar earnings down as COVID spike hits

By Linda Fox | May 19, 2021

Despegar, the Latin American online travel agency, reported a $20 million loss in EBITDA for Q1 2021 as the second COVID-19 wave hit. Read More

News / Online

Expedia, Booking.com and Airbnb differ on marketing tactics as recovery begins

By Kevin May | May 19, 2021

Three giant brands in online travel are attempting to capture the pent-up demand for trips as lockdowns ease in some markets around the world. Read More

News / Online

Trip.com Group points to "full recovery" in domestic travel

By Kevin May | May 19, 2021

The company, operator of the Ctrip, Skyscanner and Trip.com brands, says the group's overall revenues were mainly due to a "strong recovery" in March 2021. Read More

News / Online

Black hospitality employees disproportionately lost jobs during COVID, remain under-represented in leadership

By Jill Menze | May 19, 2021

According to a study from the Castell Project, Black employees lost share of hospitality industry employment and remained under-represented in leadership over the past year. Read More

News / Technology

Can technology help hospitality labor shortages?

By Linda Fox | May 18, 2021

Hotels are dealing with huge staff shortages because of the pandemic, technologies are emerging to help and some say it's a short-term issue. Read More

News / Online

GetYourGuide survey finds caution being replaced by eagerness to travel

By Mitra Sorrells | May 18, 2021

According to a survey of nearly 7,500 people in six countries, 56% are "eager" to travel, compared to just 40% in 2020. Read More

News / Online

VIDEO: Research Spotlight - Middle East travel report and recovery progress

By PhocusWire | May 18, 2021

Online travel bookings fell by 64% in the Middle East during 2020 - a signal that the region faired somewhat better than others around the world. Read More

News / Online

Gojek and Tokopedia merge to create GoTo Group

By Linda Fox | May 18, 2021

The combined Gojek-Tokopedia entity is tagging itself the "go to" ecosystem for daily life. Read More

News / Technology

Travel recovery and responsibility: A chance to do the right thing

By PhocusWire | May 17, 2021

With the COVID-19 pandemic putting the industry's operations on hold for over a year, some might hope that companies have used this time to think seriously about their role in climate change and other... Read More

News / Technology

Airports must lose check-in desks, reduce touchpoints

By Linda Fox | May 17, 2021

The aviation industry has missed past opportunities to create a more automated passenger journey. Read More

News / Online

Short-term rental demand surpasses 2019 levels

By Jill Menze | May 17, 2021

In the U.S., April marks the first month since the start of the coronavirus pandemic to surpass 2019 performance, though other regions lag behind. Read More

News / Online

Rental car firms face shortage as travel demand revs back up

By Christina Jelski - Travel Weekly | May 17, 2021

Experts predict the car rental shortage will get worse as summer travel picks up. Read More

Interview / Online

Sounding Off: Travel is an emotional experience - now more than ever

By PhocusWire | May 14, 2021

Travel brands will do well to consider the different types of emotions that people currently have, even if there is zero chance of them getting a booking from them this year. Read More