Expedia’s Barry Diller on Artificial Intelligence and 6 Other Digital Trends This Week

Every week we post hundreds of stories across various sectors in travel, connecting the dots across various global trends, and in these weekend posts we highlight the stories that tackle these trends. This one looks at top digital trends.

For all of our trends roundups, go here.

>>Barry Diller’s intelligence is not artificial at all: Expedia Chair Barry Diller: Artificial Intelligence Will Be Travel’s Next Big Thing

>>Many cash-strapped independent hoteliers have been relatively laid back about this: How Booking.com Profits Handsomely From Bidding on Hotel Names

>>From Skift’s new trends report, The Rise of Lifestyle Branding in Travel: Building a Lifestyle Brand With Instagram, Digital Media and a Small Budget

>>This 137-page Skift deck curates data from every sector of travel: New Skift Deck: The State of Global Travel 2016

>>Many travelers are still committed to making their European trips as planned: 4 Charts Showing Brussels Attacks’ Impact on European Travel Bookings

>>The direct-booking wars are acute in China: China Eastern Becomes Third Major Airline to Pull Its Flights From Qunar

>>Expect more travel brands to use Facebook’s 360-degree videos in the coming year: Facebook’s 360-Degree Travel Videos Offer Destinations a New Path to Marketing