Top Travel Tech Weekly News

News / Technology

Google's new Hangouts Chat launches with Kayak chatbot

By Mitra Sorrells | March 1, 2018

Google has released Hangouts Chat – a collaboration tool widely called Google’s competitor to Slack – and Kayak is one of several companies that have built bots that are integrated with the Chat... Read More

News / Online

Airbnb exec takes key role at Booking.com

By Kevin May | February 26, 2018

Booking.com will take an apparent fight it now faces with Airbnb head-on after hiring one of the private accommodation sharing giant's high profile figures. Read More

News / Technology

Decoding blockchain, part 4: Cross-border payments

By Mitra Sorrells | February 26, 2018

Most of the headlines about blockchain have been about the implications of this emerging technology on the financial sector – the potential for it to change banking, share trading, insurance, payments... Read More

News / Online

Interview: Airbnb CEO says it's now "100%" battling online travel agencies

By Jill Menze | February 23, 2018

Airbnb views itself going all-in with a plan to compete with the giants of the accommodation world - online travel agencies. Read More

News / Technology

QOTW: Something about binding travel together

By PhocusWire | February 23, 2018

Quote from Niklas Andreen, senior vice president and managing director of hospitality and digital at Travelport. Read More

News / Technology

Travel management cos must embrace high-tech while maintaining high-touch services

By Mitra Sorrells | February 22, 2018

The role of travel management companies is evolving, driven by the rise of new technology and the changing demands of business travelers. Read More

News / Technology

Q&A: Trust, truth and transparency at the heart of TUI Group’s blockchain work

By Mitra Sorrells | February 21, 2018

TUI Group was one of the first travel brands to make headlines for its adoption of blockchain. Read More

News / Technology

Decoding blockchain, part 3: Flight data management

By Mitra Sorrells | February 19, 2018

Data sharing is a complicated - and sometimes disjointed - process in the air transport industry. The creation and storage of information for each flight is handled by multiple entities, at minimum the... Read More

News / Startups

Top reasons why startups end up in the deadpool

By Kevin May | February 16, 2018

The travel industry is littered with the remains of startups that came and went quicker than you can say "great, but please tell us how you're going to make money". Read More

TripAdvisor 2018 strategy hotels attractions mobile

News / Online

TripAdvisor bets on TV advertising, improved UX to restore profit in hotel segment

By Mitra Sorrells | February 15, 2018

TripAdvisor will expand its television advertising spending to $100 to $130 million for its hotel segment during 2018, with new creative and new markets, while simultaneously reducing online marketing... Read More

News / Distribution

Google, Airbnb and the evolving distribution landscape

By Mitra Sorrells | February 15, 2018

Airbnb and Google made notable announcements in the first week of February – the former opening its platform to hotel distribution and the latter rolling out updates to expand and simplify travel... Read More

News / Online

Why small property owners see OTAs as a "necessary evil"

By Jill Menze | February 15, 2018

The codependent nature of small property owners and their booking partners has its upsides, but primarily, it’s viewed by the underdogs as a “necessary evil.” Read More

News / Technology

Duetto raises massive $80 million to push hotel tech platform

By Kevin May | February 14, 2018

Duetto can boast $143.2 million in funding rounds to date after landing a huge Series D investment of $80 million this week. Read More

News / Technology

Q&A: How blockchain is helping Webjet improve efficiency, cut costs for hotel bookings

By Mitra Sorrells | February 14, 2018

When Microsoft announced in November 2016 that it was working with Australia-based online travel agency Webjet to build a blockchain proof-of-concept solution, the term “blockchain” was still relatively... Read More