Editors Pick

Top Travel Tech Weekly News

Bookings slightly up, revenue slightly down for Booking Holdings in Q1 2019
By Mitra Sorrells | May 9, 2019
Revenue was down but gross bookings were up for Booking Holdings in the first quarter of 2019, including a more than 10% increase in room nights sold. Read More
Airbnb on being smart, technology and standing up for sustainable travel
News / Online
Airbnb on being smart, technology and standing up for sustainable travel
By Linda Fox | May 9, 2019
In Igualada, a small town near Barcelona, Airbnb held its first New Destinations Summit - an event about building sustainable tourism in locations with few hotels. Read More
Google uses car rental booking to demo next phase of voice assistant tech
News / Technology
Google uses car rental booking to demo next phase of voice assistant tech
By Kevin May | May 9, 2019
A fairly significant step up in voice technology was unveiled by Google this week - with car rental featured in an example of how personalization will be used by the assistant. Read More
TripAdvisor sees experiences and restaurant revenue up as investment continues in new areas
News / Distribution
TripAdvisor sees experiences and restaurant revenue up as investment continues in new areas
By Linda Fox | May 8, 2019
TripAdvisor reports a slight decrease in revenue for Q1 2019 while revenue for its experiences and restaurants units is up almost a third. Read More
Amadeus closes in on €1.5B in revenue during Q1 of 2019
News / Distribution
Amadeus closes in on €1.5B in revenue during Q1 of 2019
By Kevin May | May 8, 2019
Amadeus secured revenue of over €1.4 billion in the first quarter of this year, following an increase of 15% over the same period in 2018. EBITDA up by 11%, too. Read More
Using tech to overhaul one of the most troublesome parts of the travel experience
News / Technology
Using tech to overhaul one of the most troublesome parts of the travel experience
By Mitra Sorrells | May 8, 2019
Dubai Airports' Michael Ibbitson explains how the facility is using technology to provide exceptional customer service for the nearly 90 million passengers that pass through it each year.   Read More
Why Europe is a microcosm of wider trends in online travel
News / Online
Why Europe is a microcosm of wider trends in online travel
By PhocusWire | May 7, 2019
Three broad trends illustrate the prowess of the region in the current online travel scene - but, equally, demonstrate how fragile the growth of the sector can be when one particular brand or market... Read More
tourlane-series-c
News / Startups
Tourlane quickly adds $47M, plans international expansion and product development
By Linda Fox | May 7, 2019
The business offers customers the expertise of travel agents combined with online booking - and it's now raised a total of $81 million in funding. Read More
Booking.com opts for partner route to expand tours and activities
News / Distribution
Booking.com opts for partner route to expand tours and activities
By Kevin May | May 6, 2019
A year after buying FareHarbor to spearhead its move into tours and activities, Booking.com is adopting an additional approach and working directly with rival software vendors. Read More
Latin America part 1 overview
News / Online
Latin America, part 1: Mobile, social drive travel forward despite lingering challenges
By Mitra Sorrells | May 6, 2019
For the first piece in our series on Latin America, we explore some of the region's characteristics impacting the travel industry. Read More
Sounding Off: Is tech innovation enough to fix business travel?
Interview / Technology
Sounding Off: Is tech innovation enough to fix business travel?
By PhocusWire | May 3, 2019
Investors are (finally) backing the business travel sector with big bucks - but perhaps the processes that govern it are not as broken as many believe. Read More
Expedia Q1 earnings 2019
News / Online
Q1 growth slows for vacation rentals as Expedia Group realigns business for long-term
By Mitra Sorrells | May 2, 2019
Expedia Group bookings were up 8% in the first quarter of 2019, but only 5% in its vacation rental businesses, now consolidated under the Vrbo brand. Read More
Datalex CEO Aidan Brogan quits as financial probe continues
News / Technology
Datalex CEO Aidan Brogan quits as financial probe continues
By Kevin May | May 2, 2019
Troubled airline retail technology specialist Datalex installs temporary boss after the sudden resignation of the CEO. Read More
Investment bubble or the reality of the private accommodation sector?
News / Online
Investment bubble or the reality of the private accommodation sector?
By Linda Fox | May 2, 2019
Headlines position recently funded brands as the next hospitality "unicorns" with big rounds coming in and eye-watering valuations. Read More
OYO Rooms acquires European rental brand @Leisure Group for €360M
News / Online
OYO Rooms acquires European rental brand @Leisure Group for €360M
By Kevin May | May 1, 2019
The acquisition marks the first big international investment by India-based OYO and puts it feet first in the Europe marketplace for private accommodation. Read More
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