Skift Take
This week's digital news is about new frontiers. Booking.com gets into flights, cars, and restaurants; cryptocurrencies gain traction in payments; and the meetings industry tries using influencers.
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.
>>We applaud Germany’s largest travel tech company for trying to help business travelers check in and check out of hotels more quickly by investing in app-connected sensors at hundreds of hotels: German Hotel Booking Giant HRS Tilts Further Toward Corporate Travel
>>The Priceline Group has been looking at adding flights to its largest site, Booking.com, for years, but has hesitated for fear of detracting from its core hotels product. But in this case, taking a “stronger together” approach and leveraging the group’s other in-house brands could ultimately pay off: Booking.com Is Expanding Beyond Hotels and Into Flights, Cars and Restaurants
>>Consumer adoption of new payment methods and devices for settling purchases is the main driver of adoption by companies. Yet travel companies can gain a valuable competitive advantage by predicting trends in payments and making payments as easy as possible for everyone: New Research Report: The State of Consumer Payments in Travel 2017
>>It’s clear from his answers that Fabio Cannavale will keep looking to buy more companies. He thinks there are plenty of companies for sale and he’s got some cash on hand: Lastminute.com Group CEO: We Consider Ourselves a Media Company
>>Lots of destinations work with influencers to drive leisure traffic, but France’s national tourism board is among the first to contract a meetings and events specialist to engage conference planners: France Tests Social Media Influencer Strategy to Engage Meetings Industry
>>More convention bureaus like Atout France should adopt an influencer campaign strategy to drive a higher level of digital engagement around both industry and non-industry events: Events Industry Joins the Influencer Trend — Meetings Innovation Report
>>A series of innovators are trying to address the moments between arrival and check-in, work and play, and other found moments: Business Travel Startups and Services for Those In-Between Moments
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Tags: digital, Travel Trends, trends roundups
Photo credit: Meetings are getting more sophisticated with more digital involvement, taking cues from leisure travel. Marriott International