Google Is Rigged and 12 Other Digital Trends This Week

>>Google clearly places its own travel businesses front and center in its search results to the detriment of competitors. Google argues that this benefits consumers. If you buy that argument, then you also probably believe that Google always knows best: Google Is Rigged. Just Not the Way Trump Thinks It Is.

>>Ctrip sacrificed some revenue growth to defend its market share in hotel bookings from rivals like Meituan. The competition shows no sign of abating: Ctrip’s Lowered Pace of Revenue Growth Reflects a New Normal

>>TripAdvisor offers a tiny number of flight-and-hotel deals bundled together. There are signs it wants to display more travel packages. But the product won’t be the next big thing for the company: TripAdvisor Hints at Its Growing Interest in Vacation Package Search

>>Vacation rental metasearch isn’t necessarily ahead of its time, although it certainly isn’t easy given the complexity of the inventory and the required backend technology. Still, any company needs to execute to make a go of it, and that appears to have been a quality in short supply at Tripping: Tripping Sheds Most Staff After ‘Ugly’ Conflict Between Founders and Board

>>Did Hotels.com co-founders Bob Diener and Dave Litman do it again with Getaroom? Certainly not on the same scale, but Court Square’s acquisition of Getaroom looks like a winner for the duo, who self-funded their latest venture in travel: Getaroom Sold to Private Equity Firm Court Square Capital Partners

>>HotelTonight is no longer a mobile-only company. It’s no longer just for same-day stays, as its name once implied. Investors seem to want no potential income left on the table, even if the brand must lose some of its original distinctiveness: Mobile-First Booking Startup HotelTonight Expands to Desktop

>>Airbnb is going to integrate Airbnb Experiences and curated lists of meeting-appropriate homes into its booking tool. Initial feedback has been strong, so it’s probably only a matter of time until Airbnb builds partnerships in other areas: Airbnb for Work Brings Meeting Spaces and Experiences to Business Travelers

>>Airbnb’s new offerings will prove valuable for companies that don’t want to source and plan their own intricate offsite experiences. A wider push into distributing meeting space, though, isn’t here yet: Airbnb Starts Move Into Meetings

>>Truth in consumer travel coverage is a rare commodity in this day and age of influencers, paid content, and the pursuit of profit. But one bespoke media company thinks it can succeed solely by sending writers around the world, paying the travel bills along the way: Decades-Old Travel Media Company Andrew Harper Goes Back to Basics

>>Selling off the business that helped subsidize editorial content was certainly a brave move, but if — and it’s a big if — Andrew Harper can work out how to make money purely from publishing, then it might just turn out to be a masterstroke: Trying to Make Money in Consumer Travel Media

>>This week, itinerary tool TripCreator, luggage maker Paravel, and travel distribution software maker Duffel all announced funding rounds.: TripCreator Raises $8 Million for Itinerary Management: Travel Startup Funding This Week

>>There’s plenty of hype to go around when it comes to data science or personalization in travel, but HotelTonight’s Amanda Richardson and Kayak’s Matthias Keller know how to look beyond it to get at the heart of what actually matters when it comes to improving the travel experience: Video: HotelTonight and Kayak’s Chief Data Officers Cut Through the Hype

>>To be recognized as one of the most aspirational places to work, not just in travel, not just in media, but across all sectors, is a recognition that is a reflection of all the hard work all of us Skifters have put into building what we have created today. And so much more to come in 2019! Skift Selected to LinkedIn’s 2018 Top Startups List