Top Stories
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Travelocity sells off its corporate travel unit, focusing on consumer brand
DigitalAtlanta-based BCD Travel, one of the largest corporate travel agencies, acquired Travelocity’s business travel arm, Travelocity Business for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition gives BCD Travel some additional digital acumen, and clients of Travelocity Business now get access to corporate travel services on a more global scale. At the same time, but in a separate [...]
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Foursquare’s real value lies in building maps made of people
DigitalTo hear investor Fred Wilson tell it, Foursquare’s heavily-publicized struggles have nothing to do with their product or their ability to raise funds. The real problem? Foursquare hasn’t done a good job communicating its killer use case: “maps with people in them.” “It’s not really about the check-in anymore. It’s about ‘maps with people in [...]
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NYC tests free mobile-charging stations at 25 spots this summer
DestinationsNot so long ago, we featured a Pensa concept that we called a rest stop for the urban age–a system called Street Charge that could attach to any sign, then top off cellphone batteries through a solar panel (all while providing a convenient ledge for your coffee). Following the concept’s release, Pensa received a lot [...]
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Russian hotel-booking giant Ostrovok tries to find its footing after slashing staff
DigitalSerge Faguet, co-founder and CEO of Russia hotel-booking site Ostrovok, concedes that the company didn’t always manage its growth efficiently, leading to its announcement this week that it was firing about one-third of the staff. That’s not the greatest signal to be sending to the world just three months after raising $25 million in a Series B [...]
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Can iris scans help slash airline boarding times?
TransportPassengers could be using iris recognition to check in for their flights within two years following the world’s first successful trial of the technology at Gatwick Airport. The initiative could cut up to half the time needed to get from the check-in to boarding the aircraft. While a saving of around two minutes a person [...]
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Naspers may buy India’s RedBus booking service for $140 million
DigitalNaspers, the South African media and internet conglomerate which has a global portfolio of digital acquisitions, is now close to another one: it is buying India’s biggest bus booking service RedBus.in, for a reported price of between $100 million to $140 million, according to two reports in Economic Times and NextBigWhat. The talks are still in advanced [...]
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Airports look to holograms, not humans, to help visitors
Transport… The holographic announcer I met is named Carla. She is a product by Tensator, a “queue control and management solutions” brand. Installed in June of last year, an aviation trade publication reported she cost the airport only 26,000 dollars. The avatar runs 24 hours a day and is portable so she can be moved [...]
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Five travel startups attempt to commoditize spontaneity
DigitalTo dream of a journey, be motivated to save months for a trip, or discover a hidden local gem — this is the magic of travel and more difficult to capture on a website than most startups think. The problem with many travel inspiration startups is not clumsy UX, ugly designs, or foolish founders, but [...]
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Travelocity wins hotel-price fixing lawsuit skirmish
DigitalA federal judge in Dallas ruled that plaintiffs suing Travelocity over allegations that it engaged in price-fixing with hotels would have to take their claims to arbitration in Tarrant County, Texas, where the online travel agency is headquartered. U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle ruled June 15 that the provisions of Travelocity’s user agreement of February [...]
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Meetings and conventions bookings sluggish compared with trips for vacations
DigitalWith the economy on the rebound, Americans once again are cracking open their pocketbooks to take family vacations and other leisure trips. But corporate managers in charge of spending for business conferences and conventions remain tightfisted with their money.
