TripAdvisor Drama and 7 Other Digital Trends This Week

Throughout the week we post dozens of original stories, connecting the dots across the travel industry, and every weekend we sum it all up. This weekend roundup examines digital trends.

For all of our weekend roundups, go here.

>>Making things predictable — such as train ticket confirmations, airport security lines, mobile phone data fees, how to get from point to point, and the effect of events on hotel demand — is a theme of this batch of startups: 5 New Asian Travel Startups Incubated by Amadeus

>>Expedia got a lot of buzz for its 2015 buying binge, but over the last two years China's Ctrip has been on an equal footing with Expedia in terms of acquisition activity. At the same time, TripAdvisor is stockpiling dining-related sites, having bought five and invested in two others: Booking Site Acquisitions: Who Bought What and Who Was Shut Out in 2016

>>The intent to grow Facebook advertising is clear from both the hotels and online travel companies. As conversion continues to improve, Facebook will grow its market share: Facebook’s Strong Growth Among Travel Brands Will Not Hurt Google

>>Hafner once called metasearch a lousy business with slim margins. What's clear is some of the same dynamics making life difficult for TripAdvisor, including Google Hotel Ads and Trivago's substantial marketing spend, are also proving challenging for Kayak: Skift Forum Europe: Kayak CEO on Rivals, Leadership and Strategy

>>Facebook has quickly gone from the experimental phase for many travel companies to a growing part of the advertising budget with its own line item: Adding Up Facebook’s Competitive Advantages in Travel

>>Greg Maffei made no mention of TripAdvisor playing the long game with its Instant Booking transition. Instead, he almost informally invited bids to acquire TripAdvisor: TripAdvisor Chairman’s Takeover Comments Not a Vote of Confidence

>>Let's hope that GuestToGuest's bet on home-swapping ends better than General Catalyst's $15 million investment in Couchsurfing did: GuestToGuest Gets $35 Million: Travel Startup Funding This Week

>>The key question for travel marketers is no longer "Does location-based marketing work?" but "When does this start to get creepy? Measuring the Value of Location Data — Digital Marketing News This Week