Travel Booking

News / Technology

OpenAI wants to inspire European cities to use GenAI for tourism

By Mitra Sorrells | March 6, 2024

OpenAI is partnering with the city of Dublin to create an itinerary planner built on GPT-4 and to host a workshop in the fall for leaders of other tourism destinations across the EU. Read More

News / Online

Booking Holdings' Fogel calls for "smart regulations" in Europe

By Linda Fox | March 6, 2024

The company has had decisions from European lawmakers go against it in recent months, from its blocked acquisition of Etraveli to the threat of being tagged a digital gatekeeper under the looming... Read More

News / Online

Plusgrade gets investment from General Atlantic to fuel growth, M&A

By Mitra Sorrells | March 5, 2024

Founded in 2009, Plusgrade provides ancillary revenue solutions and loyalty expertise for travel suppliers, with more than 200 customers across a variety of sectors. Read More

News / Technology

Kayak launches image recognition tool to compare flight prices from a screenshot

By Derek Catron and Morgan Hines | March 5, 2024

Extensive training of ChatGPT’s AI model on Kayak’s database of billions of consumer travel queries helped produce the metasearch site’s new features. Read More

News / Startups

Life House reaches "amicable resolution" with departing founder and CEO Rami Zeidan

By Mitra Sorrells | March 4, 2024

Zeidan told PhocusWire he is “incredibly proud of what Life House has achieved ... and is looking forward to applying [his] learnings towards his next company.” Read More

News / Technology

Despegar debuts GenAI travel assistant for trip inspiration and booking

By Mitra Sorrells | March 4, 2024

Customers can use the "Sofia" tool through text or voice or by clicking on visual options and can return to chats even days later with the interaction saved in the system. Read More

News / Online

Airbnb removes 100,000 listings, expands listing verification

By Morgan Hines | March 4, 2024

As part of its “spring update,” Airbnb shared news of de-listings, verification, highlights and more. Read More

Interview / Technology

CEO Spotlight: Jacob Messina of Stayntouch

By Mitra Sorrells | March 4, 2024

Prior to becoming CEO in April 2023, Messina had been SVP of technology and innovation at MCR Hotels, the third-largest hotel operator in the United States and the parent company of Stayntouch. Read More

News / Online

TravelAI relaunches Casai website with focus on luxury short-term rentals

By D.J. Catron | March 1, 2024

After acquiring the domain name of the Latin American short-term rental startup, TravelAI will use the site to target travelers interested primarily in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Read More

News / Online

Tripadvisor Plus is shutting down after three years

By Morgan Hines | March 1, 2024

In remarks at the Phocuswright Conference in November, Tripadvisor CEO Matt Goldberg said the company would focus on the benefits of free membership versus trying to build the paid subscription program. Read More

News / Distribution

Sabre, Mastercard join Travalyst mission to drive sustainable travel choices

By Linda Fox | March 1, 2024

The coalition, which also counts Booking.com, Expedia Group and Trip.com Group as partners, aims to help inform consumer travel choices by making sustainability information mainstream. Read More

Opinion / Startups

Cabana founder on lessons learned from failed startup

By Scott Kubly | March 1, 2024

Founded in 2019, Cabana offered a “hotel-on-wheels.” It had raised more than $17 million, had $2 million in annual revenue, and its more than 4,000 customers had booked 20,000 nights. Read More

News / Technology

Amex GBT looks to drive AI across organization and beyond

By Linda Fox | February 29, 2024

The AI initiative is seeking to adopt AI technologies and will work across four areas of the company: traveler care, finance, engineering and enabling a modern workplace. Read More

News / Technology

AI check-in: Trip.com seeks to create “perfect trip for a better world” with TripGenie

By Morgan Hines | February 29, 2024

In the past year, users engaging with TripGenie used the Trip.com app for a "remarkable" 20 minutes or more - double the length of app users not engaging with the tool. Read More