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.

Periscope: ten types of users so far
News / Technology
Periscope: ten types of users so far
By PhocusWire | April 6, 2015
Unless home is under a rock without an internet connection, it’s likely you’ve heard of Periscope.... Read More
New Aer Lingus CEO makes a mark with old poke at GDS model
News / Distribution
New Aer Lingus CEO makes a mark with old poke at GDS model
By Kevin May | April 5, 2015
Some fiery comments recently from the new CEO of Aer Lingus, in a bid to mirror the old stance favoured by rival carrier Ryanair. Speaking at the CAPA Conference in Dublin, Ireland, Stephen Kavanag... Read More
Virality in marketing is absolute nonsense
News / Online
Virality in marketing is absolute nonsense
By PhocusWire | April 3, 2015
Everyone wants their product to go viral. Why wouldn’t you? It’s like the holy grail of marketing.... Read More
Startup pitch: Polarsteps automatically tracks and plots worldwide jaunts
News / Technology
Startup pitch: Polarsteps automatically tracks and plots worldwide jaunts
By Nick Vivion | April 2, 2015
As mobile technology evolves, startups are granted new ways to offer travel services - such as Polarsteps, which is leveraging ambient location technology to provide frictionless travel tracking. T... Read More
Airbnb jumps ahead of hotel brands with over 1,000 listings in Cuba
News / Distribution
Airbnb jumps ahead of hotel brands with over 1,000 listings in Cuba
By Nick Vivion | April 2, 2015
Airbnb is the first American accommodation brand to make serious inroads into Cuba, offering over 1,000 homes for rent in Cuba starting today. This sort of speed and scope is one of Airbnb's primar... Read More
The unspoken reality of the online travel agency sector (hello, frenemies)
News / Distribution
The unspoken reality of the online travel agency sector (hello, frenemies)
By Kevin May | April 2, 2015
Should Booking.com and Expedia be worried about the formation of what is being touted as a "shift in the hierarchy" of the online travel agency world in Europe? The short answer: no. The merger... Read More
How data can help uncover the hidden treasure in travel agencies
News / Distribution
How data can help uncover the hidden treasure in travel agencies
By Viewpoints | April 2, 2015
Data is not as complicated as the big data fanatics would like us to think. Quite often, a lot can be achieved by giving more focus to the data you already have. NB: This is an analysis by Riaan va... Read More
Sabre preps for massive acquisition with $530M note offer
News
Sabre preps for massive acquisition with $530M note offer
By Sean O'Neil | April 1, 2015
Sabre Holdings is poised to make its largest acquisition since its ill-fated billion-dollar purchase of LastMinute.com in 2005. The target this year is most likely Abacus, the Asian-Pacific techno... Read More
A closer look at Sabre's new SkyTeam RTW bookings
News / Distribution
A closer look at Sabre's new SkyTeam RTW bookings
By Sean O'Neil | April 1, 2015
Sabre is the first global distribution system (GDS) to launch functionality aiming to streamline the booking of round-the-world airfares from any of the global airline alliances. Sabre has made rou... Read More
Delta to let Chinese buy tickets with Alibaba's Alipay
News / Distribution
Delta to let Chinese buy tickets with Alibaba's Alipay
By Sean O'Neil | April 1, 2015
Delta Air Lines is the first American carrier to offer Alipay payment as an option for Chinese plane ticket buyers. Alipay is a payment platform operated by Ant Financial, a subsidiary of Chinese e... Read More
Flyr nets $3.7M in funding, will add fare forecasting to CheapOair
News
Flyr nets $3.7M in funding, will add fare forecasting to CheapOair
By Sean O'Neil | April 1, 2015
Today, FLYR, a technology startup in San Francisco that predicts airfare and seat availability, said it had closed its seed financing round of $3.7 million. The round was led by Streamlined Ventu... Read More
Hotels need to get the (Facebook?) message
News / Technology
Hotels need to get the (Facebook?) message
By Viewpoints | April 1, 2015
At the recent F8 (Facebook Developer Conference), a considerable amount of time (parts of the first and second day keynotes, at least three sessions) was spent on its efforts to improve the technology... Read More
How to stop the bad bots taking your business for a ride
News / Distribution
How to stop the bad bots taking your business for a ride
By Viewpoints | April 1, 2015
If you are in the online travel business, you’re a bot target. That’s pretty much a fact of life today - airlines, hotels, rental car companies, and online travel agencies are fair game. NB: This i... Read More
HomeAway invests in CanadaStays, fighting Airbnb on northern front
News / Distribution
HomeAway invests in CanadaStays, fighting Airbnb on northern front
By Sean O'Neil | April 1, 2015
HomeAway, the vacation rental giant, said that it had led a C$6 million round of fundraising for CanadaStays, a holiday home platform in Toronto. The 30-employee startup claims to generate vastly m... Read More
Same-day booking scene loses momentum - IN2NITE a high profile victim
News / Distribution
Same-day booking scene loses momentum - IN2NITE a high profile victim
By Kevin May | April 1, 2015
It was a never a "bubble", as some like to call it, but the same-day travel booking sector certainly had started feeling like the the online trip planning market. Led, most would (probably begrudgi... Read More