AirAsia Aims to Disrupt Online Travel and 6 Other Digital Trends This Week

AirAsia CEO Looks to Disrupt Again, This Time in Online Travel: Tony Fernandes is taking AirAsia on “the final part of the company’s evolution,” one that will see the airline become a tech player. But it’s one thing to disrupt legacy carriers, and another to disrupt the disruptors in the online travel space. He disagrees, of course.

Lyft IPO Teaches Lessons to Other Rising Travel Startups: Several travel startups dream of going public. Lyft’s initial public offering shows that profitability isn’t necessarily as important as growth in the eyes of some investors, among some other key lessons.

Skift Forum Europe: TripAdvisor’s Lindsay Nelson on Boosting the Brand. You won’t want to miss what Lindsay Nelson has to say about her new role as TripAdvisor’s president of core experience at Skift Forum Europe in London — especially since she’s not afraid to speak her mind about pressing issues in branding and marketing.

What Happened to the HotelTonight Clones? In light of Airbnb buying HotelTonight, Skift looks back at the many copycats of the mobile-first hotel booking agency. Where are they now?

Hostelworld Ditches 50 Cent and Mariah Carey in Bid for Growth: Newish CEO Gary Morrison hasn’t minced words when it comes to what he sees as the company’s past failings.

Fyle Raises $4 Million for Expense Management: Travel Startup Funding This Week. It’s eye-catching that Fyle, a Bengaluru-based expense management software company, has received funding from Tiger Global, a venture firm that was an early backer of Flipkart, Spotify, LinkedIn, and Despegar.

Why TUI Favors an Asset-Heavy Approach: TUI’s ownership of all parts of the vacation journey make it a formidable force in the industry. But the strategy doesn’t come without its own risks.