How Travel Media Missed the Digital Leap and 13 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.

>>Travel’s youngest seedlings — Apply for startup pricing to Skift Global Forum NYC: Startup-Friendly Pricing For Skift Global Forum Announced

>>Who says you can’t dream big — or small? Just don’t ask us to pitch on Shark Tank: Travel Startup Ideas Guaranteed to Be Unicorns — Or Maybe Not

>>TripAdvisor hasn’t abandoned letting customers book on TripAdvisor but it has dramatically downplayed the feature in favor of the more lucrative metasearch option. With Trivago and Google making gains in a hyper-competitive sector, TripAdvisor couldn’t stick with a strategy that wasn’t working: TripAdvisor Scales Back Instant Booking in Strategy Reversal

>>In his first Q&A with Skift, Sean Menke, the new CEO of Sabre, says that his past stints as CEO of Frontier Airlines and as a top executive at Hawaiian Airlines and Air Canada give him vital insight into how to steer the technology giant through tougher-than-usual negotiations with airlines: Travel Tech CEO Series: Sabre Bets on an Ex-Airline Boss to Reboot Its Industry Relationships

>>How we discover, dream, and plan vacations has changed radically as print has given way to digital and desktop gave way to mobile. Lost in much of this are the gatekeepers — legacy print brands on newsstands and in bookstores — which were slow to adapt: How Travel Media Missed the Digital Leap

>>While Travelport is best known as a middleman for selling airplane tickets, its fastest-growing segment is in commercial payments. While payments competitors like Wex and Worldpay don’t have to worry yet, they may have to soon: Travelport’s Bet on a Commercial Payments Business Begins to Pay Off

>>EasyJet is offering another example of how airlines are increasingly using their sales channels to act as travel providers catering to all parts of a trip: GetYourGuide Gets a Tours Booking Boost With EasyJet Deal

>>Neither the Amazon Echo nor the Google Home is delivering the goods yet for voice-command travel research: Amazon Echo Hears a Challenge From Google in Voice-Powered Travel Search

>>TripAdvisor may be making progress on personalization and the balance between searching and booking, but we’re not sure whether it has found a message that will resonate with consumers — one that’s different from Kayak’s and Trivago’s: TripAdvisor Gambles on TV Campaign Promising Best Hotels at Lowest Prices

>>As marketing dollars move towards influencers and activations, less is being put towards traditional print advertising in newspapers and magazines: Platform Disruption Has Changed How Travel PR Agencies Operate

>>China’s largest online travel company says that it has changed its practices for upselling customers to comply with a consumer watchdog’s request. The hiccup shouldn’t knock Ctrip off its growth stride: Ctrip Says a Regulatory Mandate Didn’t Get in the Way of Growth

>>Automation is already a big part of how travel management companies operate, and is set to disrupt other elements of business travel in the future: The Power of Automation — Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report

>>Expedia recognized some time ago that it needed to wire up rail providers, particularly in Europe and Asia, and now it is securing a technology leader in the space for its portfolio of transportation solutions: Expedia to Buy Rail Distributor SilverRail Technologies

>>YourWelcome brings a fresh revenue stream to renters of short stay accommodations by leasing tablets that let hosts upsell guests on additional services. Whether the company succeeds or not, its idea is likely to catch on: YourWelcome Helps Rental Hosts to Upsell Their Guests: Travel Startup Funding This Week