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Five travel startups hack roaming fees, restaurants and hotel bookings
DigitalInnovate, innovate, innovate is the mantra running through the minds of entrepreneurs entering the travel startup space today. It makes no difference to today’s founders whether there’s already an incumbent successfully handling their proposed problem or a tried and true solutions to their users’ most common pain points; and that’s a good thing. This week’s [...]
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Rocketmiles raises $2 million to turn hotel stays into airline miles
DigitalRocketmiles, a Chicago-based startup that offers travelers airline miles for hotel bookings, announced it raised $2 million in its first round of external funding today. Atlas Venture led the round and was joined by Link Ventures, Peterson Ventures, and several angel investors in the travel and loyalty industry. TripIt co-founder Scott Hintz and Jetsetter co-founder Drew [...]
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Air France looks to Asia for growth and Gulf airlines for ideas
DestinationsIt is no secret that the action in the airline industry is taking place in Asia. By just looking at passenger growth rates in Asia, it is clear that Asian airlines are doing relatively better than their global peers. Population growth in Asia is the highest and so is economic growth. Furthermore, businesses in Asia [...]
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Brazil’s Gol airline using IPO for its loyalty program to raise $565 million
TransportSmiles SA, the frequent-flier program for Brazil’s Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, is raising as much as 1.13 billion reais ($565 million) in an initial public offering. Smiles and its shareholders are selling as many as 52.2 million shares in the primary offering for the Sao Paulo-based company at 21.70 reais each, according to a [...]
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Hotel chains devalue loyalty points and make free stays harder to get
RoomsFor frequent flyers and business travelers, the last few weeks have brought discouraging news. Amid ever-increasing belt-tightening trends, several hotel chains and a major airline have decided to scale back on customer loyalty programs, sparking anger among many customers. Since earlier this year, Marriott International, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, and Starwood Hotels [...]
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InterContinental Hotels commits to free Internet for all loyalty program members
RoomsInterContinental Hotels Group says it is the first chain to commit to free Internet access for all members of its loyalty program. Elite members are to get the free access beginning in July 2013, and the free Internet will extend to all loyalty program members during 2014, the company says. Current Wi-Fi rates for guests [...]
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PointsHound closes seed round as it offers airline miles for hotel stays
TransportPointsHound, a startup that awards travelers airline miles when they book hotel stays, picked up $425,000 in funding in a seed round that included former executives from Expedia, Hotwire and Travelocity. Funders included Erik Blachford, former CEO of Expedia; Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow and co-founder of Hotwire.com; and Paul Nelson, former president of Travelocity Global [...]
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American Airlines maps award flights so travelers can visualize redemptions
TransportIf you thought Apple Maps on iOS had navigation problems, try plotting a strategy for booking a flight with your frequent flyer miles. But, American Airlines made it easier for AAdvantage members to find and book flights using their miles by making the options searchable on a Bing map. The new tool, Award Map, enables program [...]
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Hotel chains hike number of loyalty points needed to book a free room
RoomsHere’s another sign the economy is stronger: Several major hotel chains are significantly raising the number of loyalty reward points needed to book a free room. It’s a simple matter of supply and demand, said Joe Brancatelli, who writes an online column on business travel. An improving economy has spurred more travel, prompting hotels to [...]
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Loyalty points giant reports strong earnings and brings Southwest onboard
TransportA provider of e-commerce solutions to airlines and hotels, Points International released its fourth quarter results March 6, indicating the company is in growth mode. For the fourth quarter, Points International, which operates the Points.com consumer site, saw its net income increase 166% to $5.6 million, compared to the year-ago period. That increase was largely tax-related, [...]
