Travel Planning

News / Online

How purchasing trends, trip motivations and booking behaviors differ across four markets

By Phocuswright Research | August 31, 2018

It's critical for travel companies to understand the consumer behaviors and preferences that influence purchase decisions. Commissioned by Google, Phocuswright recently published a series of reports on... Read More

News / Online

Bleisure on the rise among Indian business travelers

By Mitra Sorrells | August 31, 2018

Business travelers from India are increasingly investing time and money to add leisure experiences to their work trips. Read More

Opinion / Online

The impact of influencer marketing on the booking journey

By Angharad Miller - Swayy | August 30, 2018

Let’s set the scene. Up until the digital revolution, traditional marketing and word-of-mouth were the only real ways to grow consumer awareness at a notable scale. Read More

News / Startups

Surveying the travel startup landscape, part 4: Exit strategy

By Mitra Sorrells | August 28, 2018

For the final piece in our month-long series on startups, we gathered learnings from three companies that have been purchased in recent years. Read More

News / Technology

QOTW: Something about not moving fast enough

By PhocusWire | August 24, 2018

Quote from Terry Jones, chairman of WayBlazer, in an article on PhocusWire this week. Read More

News / Technology

New app aims to boost tourism in Puerto Rico, nearly one year after Hurricane Maria

By Mitra Sorrells | August 24, 2018

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company is partnering with hotel operations platform ALICE and Roca Marketing to bolster tourism on the island by enhancing communications between hotels and tourists. Read More

Opinion / Online

Online travel agency moves harming profitability: What hotels need to know

By Max Starkov - HEBS Digital | August 24, 2018

Two recent events in hotel distribution created a mild media buzz, but unfortunately were ignored by some hoteliers and quickly forgotten by the industry: Expedia’s Add‐On Advantage and Booking.Basic. Read More

Opinion / Online

Revenue and loyalty for vacation rentals in the age of Amazon and Google

By Mike Putman - Custom Travel Solutions | August 23, 2018

The accommodations market has expanded over the past decade, in part due to the growing vacation rental sector. However, nobody quite knows how vacation rentals will fit into the larger travel ecosystem... Read More

Opinion / Technology

WayBlazer postmortem: Why did travel's highest-profile AI company fail?

By Arnie Weissmann - Travel Weekly | August 21, 2018

Among the reasons many of us were surprised last month by the demise of WayBlazer, travel's highest-profile artificial intelligence initiative, was that we had become habituated to the success of... Read More

Opinion / Online

The secret to direct bookings? Consider hotel website conversion rates

By Max Starkov | August 17, 2018

A key imperative for hoteliers in 2018 is preventing travel planners from becoming distracted by digital noise and serving them content at the correct time in order to convert them into bookings. Read More

News / Startups

FunNow raises $5M to expand tours and activities in Southeast Asia and Japan

By Mitra Sorrells | August 16, 2018

FunNow, a Taiwan-based instant booking app for entertainment and leisure activities, has raised $5 million Series A funding led by Alibaba Entrepreneur Fund. Read More

News / Technology

Egencia, Yapta, Traxo and more product news from GBTA

By Mitra Sorrells | August 15, 2018

The Global Business Travel Association’s annual convention wraps up today at the San Diego Convention Center. Read More

Interview / Startups

STARTUP STAGE: Vacaryx ticks high-touch and blockchain boxes for rental platform

By Mitra Sorrells | August 14, 2018

Vacaryx is a vacation rental platform that aims to add transparency to the booking process by facilitating communication between hosts and guests. Read More

News / Distribution

Dnata acquires German tour operator Tropo

By Mitra Sorrells | August 13, 2018

Dnata, a Dubai-based provider of ground handling, cargo, travel and flight catering services for 300 airline customers in six continents, has acquired German tour operator Tropo. Read More