Vacasa Snaps Up Oasis and 8 Other Digital Trends This Week

>>Despite everyone’s happy talk, this deal smells like Hyatt was disenchanted by Oasis’ performance and eager to unload its investment stake. That aside, the deal boosts Vacasa in an area where it has been underserved to date: Vacasa Snaps Up Hyatt-Backed Luxury Rental Brand Oasis

>>Hopper’s survival is a testament to the perseverance of its founders, though it’s an understatement to say it takes them a long time to scale their products up. The startup is also now overpriced, based on its funding, for most potential acquirers — except maybe for Airbnb: Hopper Raises $100 Million More for Airfare and Hotel Rate Prediction

>>Hotel groups may be tempted to dismiss Oyo as a company focused on budget travelers. But Oyo is growing faster than you can say “Softbank,” the name of its most important funder. Procrastinating foreign brands risk playing a game of catch-up: Oyo’s $1 Billion Fundraising Raises Strategy Questions for Hotel Chains

>>We’ve seen a lot of tried-and-true marketing tactics from destinations this year, but we also saw some newer, smarter strategies on how to use the masses of content and opinions available these days, thanks to social media: 4 Trends Defining Tourism Marketing in 2018

>>Tours and activities partnerships like the one between Atlas Obscura and Chase seem like a win-win. Card companies acquire knowledge about trends in the sector, and what travelers are demanding. Meanwhile, tour operators get access to loyal consumers willing to shell out for the trip of a lifetime: Credit Card Giant Chase Jumps Into Tours and Activities

>>Most travel and expense fraud is strictly small-scale stuff, and is hard for companies to catch. New technology tools will make it easier, though, to figure out which employees are routinely ripping them off: Why Companies Aren’t That Worried About Expense Fraud

>>Expense and travel fraud seems like a bigger deal than it really is, according to experts. Some people are always going to be bad apples, taking on a huge amount of personal risk for just a few extra bucks. Human nature is strange: The Psychology of Expense Fraud

>>Leading Hotels of the World’s $175 annual fee to join its loyalty program may be off-putting to some frugal frequent travelers. But the Leaders Club, ostensibly, is not for the frugal frequent traveler: Leading Hotels of the World Relaunches Its Pay-to-Play Loyalty Program

>>A wave of fundings is helping startups like CrowdRiff and Travel Appeal develop tools to help travel marketers be more efficient: CrowdRiff Raises $9 Million for Visual Marketing: Travel Startup Funding This Week