Latest News

Latest News

Stay up to date with the latest travel technology news, startup updates, and industry developments from across the global travel ecosystem.

Entertainment Benefits takes on Peek and Viator with Plum merger
News / Distribution
Entertainment Benefits takes on Peek and Viator with Plum merger
By Nick Vivion | April 2, 2014
Specialized distribution specialists Entertainment Benefits Group has announced a merger with local New York competitor Plum Benefits. Entertainment Benefits is not often in the news; it primarily... Read More
Forecast: Global travel boom to outpace global GDP growth during the next decade
News / Distribution
Forecast: Global travel boom to outpace global GDP growth during the next decade
By Sean O'Neil | April 2, 2014
Global travel has proved resilient, steadily growing during economic doldrums and geopolitical turmoil. If you go by one economic forecast, it will continue to climb through the clouds over the next d... Read More
Tansler picks PayPal exec, GoEuro hits Benelux, Funder gets funded - April 2014
News / Online
Tansler picks PayPal exec, GoEuro hits Benelux, Funder gets funded - April 2014
By PhocusWire | April 2, 2014
This is a roundup of product news and announcements for travel STARTUPS in tourism and hospitality for April 2014. Friday 4 April 2014: VacationFutures appoints Simon Lehmann to its advisory boa... Read More
TripAdvisor rental service Holiday Lettings gets tough on owners who take a booking privately
News / Online
TripAdvisor rental service Holiday Lettings gets tough on owners who take a booking privately
By Kevin May | April 2, 2014
Holiday Lettings, the vacation rental brand owned by TripAdvisor, has struck off more 2,100 properties from its system this year for bad service. The company says 1% of its total portfolio of renta... Read More
Japanese tours and activities service Catarizm raises $2 million
News / Technology
Japanese tours and activities service Catarizm raises $2 million
By Karthick Prabu | April 2, 2014
Catarizm, the company that runs Asoview, a Tokyo-based online booking service for tours and activities, has raised $1.93 million from Globis Capital Partners and Jafco Ventures. The company will us... Read More
Hot Hotels brings funding total to $1M, plans international expansion
News / Technology
Hot Hotels brings funding total to $1M, plans international expansion
By Karthick Prabu | April 1, 2014
Last-minute mobile-only hotel booking service Hot Hotels has received a seed investment from Axon Partners Group. Prior to the injection of capital, the Spain-based company had received some financ... Read More
Airbnb's Shared City initiative spawns paid hotel taxes in Portland, San Francisco
News / Distribution
Airbnb's Shared City initiative spawns paid hotel taxes in Portland, San Francisco
By Nick Vivion | April 1, 2014
Accommodations booked through hosts on Airbnb will soon be charged hotel taxes in both Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, California. The announcement comes on the heels of CEO Brian Chesky's ove... Read More
Instagram continues to thrive under Facebook, showing massive surge in 2013
News / Technology
Instagram continues to thrive under Facebook, showing massive surge in 2013
By Nick Vivion | April 1, 2014
Instagram has enjoyed a massive surge in the United States, the latest stats from eMarketer show. In 2013, the photo platform thrived under Facebook's umbrella, seeing a spike of 35% in US-based us... Read More
How to pull back the sheets on Hotel Tonight and its performance
News / Technology
How to pull back the sheets on Hotel Tonight and its performance
By Sean O'Neil | April 1, 2014
Like many private companies, Hotel Tonight, a pioneer of last-minute booking apps, is coy about the effectiveness of its e-marketing effort. But clues to its performance can be found in a sample of... Read More
A deep dive into Asia-Pacific low cost carriers, GDS channels and collaboration
News / Distribution
A deep dive into Asia-Pacific low cost carriers, GDS channels and collaboration
By Karthick Prabu | April 1, 2014
As competition increases among low cost carriers across Asia-Pacific, some are adopting GDSs for the first time or collaborating with other airlines. Abacus, the APAC-based travel technology soluti... Read More
Six mobile trends to boost sales of travel products
News / Technology
Six mobile trends to boost sales of travel products
By Pamela Whitby | April 1, 2014
With mobile bookings becoming mainstream and roaming charges falling, could 2014 be the year of in-trip services? NB: This is a report by Pamela Whitby, editor for EyeforTravel. For the past few... Read More
How one company wants a divorce from Facebook
News / Online
How one company wants a divorce from Facebook
By PhocusWire | April 1, 2014
SOCIAL: Facebook has evolved (reasonably fast) from being a network for privileged kids at US Ivy League universities to a global phenomenon.  For brands which have used the site as a canny marketin... Read More
TripScanner gets in with Hickory, Hipmunk tackles multi-devices, and more
News / Online
TripScanner gets in with Hickory, Hipmunk tackles multi-devices, and more
By PhocusWire | March 31, 2014
This is a roundup of product news and announcements for travel STARTUPS in tourism and hospitality for March 2014. Mondcay 31 March 2014: TripScanner and Hickory Global Partners partner for mana... Read More
Twitter co-founder's Jelly gels into full Q&A app with a travel use case
News / Technology
Twitter co-founder's Jelly gels into full Q&A app with a travel use case
By Nick Vivion | March 31, 2014
Text-based Q&A keeps on coming, with yet another pivot into the space; this time by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone's Jelly. The app, which is 3 months old, found little traction as a photo-based... Read More
Digital love-in: Why Twitter, Facebook, Google and Amazon want to be each other
News / Distribution
Digital love-in: Why Twitter, Facebook, Google and Amazon want to be each other
By PhocusWire | March 31, 2014
SOCIAL: Gone are the clear boundaries between a retailer like Amazon and a search engine such as Google. Add some social media into the mix and the two major networks are also changing their stripes... Read More