Trippy, Kayak, MyTab, Tui Travel, and China's airlines all appear in our roundup of the stories making news and driving opinion on 17 October.
SOCIAL COMMERCE
Nicknamed as a "Pinterest for travel" Trippy has let go of some top executives and its full marketing team, according to sources. Tnooz's requests for comment from three employees went unanswered yesterday, though the site is still functioning and its Twitter feed and its CEO are still tweeting. The startup is funded by Sequoia Capital, True Ventures, and SV Angel.
US-based travel gift and planning platform myTab claims it has reached more than 100k visitors a month. Other stats for the year-old startup include a 38% return rate and an average 5.5minutes spent on myTab. Top purposes in order: Study abroad, family trips, vacation, business. Average gifting $50 per person, average saving $20 per user. [Tnooz has profiled myTab.]
DISTRIBUTION
Between now and 2015, Tui Travel is rolling out "flat pricing" across its distribution channels. The company will also add service charges for consumers (at less than 1% of the price of the vacation) who choose to book through an in-store staff person. Tui Travel hopes the fees will move consumers to book online, where no fee will be charged.
DIGITAL MARKETING
Kayak has sorted through a year's worth of data, or about 1.2 billion queries. Its advice for consumers? "Book domestic US trips 21 days before departure" and "book international trips 34 days before departure." Former editor of the Washington Post's travel section, K.C. Summers, interviewed the metasearch company about its findings of "the best days" to book travel for an article in AARP magazine.
AIRLINE TECH
About 20% of Chinese airlines will offer in-flight wi-fi by the end of next year. Chinese officials say "the rest of the Chinese fleet will be covered by the end of 2015."
THANKS!
Tnooz hopes you have an effective day. Feel free to e-mail us your tips, theories, and ideas for social travel startups that will be profitable.
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