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.

Garmin goes after Google Maps with twist on turn-by-turn directions
News / Technology
Garmin goes after Google Maps with twist on turn-by-turn directions
By Nick Vivion | June 19, 2014
Garmin, which has long been done for its in-vehicle navigation systems, has released a new mobile app for navigation. The app is called viago and expands from the more basic StreetPilot app, which... Read More
Global Video Index shows growing imperative to deliver on digital video
News / Technology
Global Video Index shows growing imperative to deliver on digital video
By Nick Vivion | June 19, 2014
Video revenue specialist Ooyala has released the first quarter's video trends in its Global Video Index. While the research is focused on the internet on the aggregate, there are some interesting t... Read More
Lessons for travel startups from Uber and OpenTable: Disrupt, fix or make money
News / Distribution
Lessons for travel startups from Uber and OpenTable: Disrupt, fix or make money
By Alex Bainbridge | June 19, 2014
The last few weeks have seen two major travel startup new stories, perhaps giving hope to countless young businesses in the sector. Firstly, OpenTable "exited" to Priceline for a cool 2.6 billion d... Read More
Priceline's acquisition of Buuteeq brings it right behind the hotel front desk
News / Distribution
Priceline's acquisition of Buuteeq brings it right behind the hotel front desk
By Viewpoints | June 19, 2014
Acquiring Buuteeq says a lot about how Priceline sees direct hotel bookings. It’s the future, it wants in but at what cost? NB: This is a viewpoint from Thibault Lecuyer, vice president, ecommerce... Read More
GetGoing says its B2B pivot is profitable
News
GetGoing says its B2B pivot is profitable
By Sean O'Neil | June 18, 2014
In summer 2012, San Francisco startup GetGoing left the famed Y Combinator accelerator as a consumer-focused company. In May 2013, GetGoing (TLabs, here) came out of beta with its product. A consum... Read More
Tujia, the Asian vacation rental site, raises $100 million
News
Tujia, the Asian vacation rental site, raises $100 million
By Sean O'Neil | June 18, 2014
It's a big day for entrepreneurs Melissa Yang and Jun Luo China's largest holiday rental site Tujia netted $100 million in Series C funding yesterday, according to the Wall Street Journal. Past... Read More
Hot heads the only downside of Google Glass for Copenhagen Airport
News / Technology
Hot heads the only downside of Google Glass for Copenhagen Airport
By Linda Fox | June 18, 2014
Hot on the heels of its Google Glass trial with Virgin Atlantic, SITA has unveiled a second pilot scheme, this time at Copenhagen Airport. SITA Lab wanted to take the wearable technology and give i... Read More
How mirror marketing by online travel agencies dramatically increases PPC costs
News
How mirror marketing by online travel agencies dramatically increases PPC costs
By Viewpoints | June 18, 2014
In most industries Google's Pay Per Click advertising model represents one of the most cost-effective and scalable drivers of direct business. But, unlike other industries, hotels encounter a huge... Read More
TripAdvisor to let hotels chat directly with travellers before a trip via Q&A system
News / Online
TripAdvisor to let hotels chat directly with travellers before a trip via Q&A system
By Kevin May | June 18, 2014
TripAdvisor is testing a new service so that hotels can take queries about a property from potential guests before they travel. The Questions & Answers system will be available on a hotel's mai... Read More
Is iBeacon the cure for airport madness?
News / Technology
Is iBeacon the cure for airport madness?
By Linda Fox | June 18, 2014
SITA is working to deploy beacon technology at 10 airports in the next 12 months. Its largest deployment so far is with American Airlines at Dallas Fort Worth where a pilot is about to begin using... Read More
Analysis: Centralised vs decentralised corporate travel booking process
News
Analysis: Centralised vs decentralised corporate travel booking process
By Karthick Prabu | June 18, 2014
Nearly 70% of European companies that are present in only one country centralise their travel bookings with "travel arrangers" compared to just 40% of companies with multi-country presence, reveals a... Read More
Ostrovok raises $12 million in latest round, brings total to $50 million
News
Ostrovok raises $12 million in latest round, brings total to $50 million
By Kevin May | June 18, 2014
Russian online hotel booking agency Ostrovok has added to its investment coffers with a further $15 million in capital. The latest injection was led by Vaizra Capital Russia and sees the co-founder... Read More
Chinese Airbnb-type service Xiaozhu raises $15 million
News / Online
Chinese Airbnb-type service Xiaozhu raises $15 million
By Karthick Prabu | June 17, 2014
Xiaozhu, a peer to peer accommodation rental marketplace, has raised $15 million in a Series B round led by Legend Capital. Previous investor Morningside Capital has followed up contribution to the... Read More
Delta social media giraffe gaffe offers reminder for rest of World Cup
News / Online
Delta social media giraffe gaffe offers reminder for rest of World Cup
By Nick Vivion | June 17, 2014
As far as learning and recovering, unforced errors are most useful at the start of the game. The ability to recover from a potential systems or process oversight is much easier to overcome if the team... Read More
RealPage acquires vacation rental technology provider Kigo for $32 million
News / Distribution
RealPage acquires vacation rental technology provider Kigo for $32 million
By Kevin May | June 17, 2014
More activity behind the scenes in vacation rental technology as Spain-based Kigo is snapped for $32 million by property management company RealPage. Kigo's is a provider of scheduling software, ch... Read More
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