Ryanair and Expedia Settle Lawsuit and 9 Other Top Digital Stories This Week

Ryanair and Expedia Settle Screen-Scraping Lawsuits on 2 Continents: Screen-scraping lawsuits are as old as the internet. We don’t know if any money changed hands when Ryanair and Expedia settled lawsuits in the United States and Ireland, but what seems apparent is that Ryanair flights have gone missing on Expedia websites. Case(s) closed.

Marriott Continues Bonvoy Push Through Tech Hiccups and Growth: If anyone was hoping to see change on the horizon for Marriott’s Bonvoy program, which has suffered its fair share of integration and IT issues, it doesn’t seem to be on the road map. At Skift Global Forum in New York City, Marriott’s chief financial officer practically doubled down on its future.

Thomas Cook Collapses, Ending 178-Year Reign in the Travel Business: The bankruptcy and liquidation of Thomas Cook is a monumental blow to the travel industry. The collapse of the company will continue to have ripple effects across the industry for a long time to come.

Asia Reels From Thomas Cook’s Collapse as Travel Businesses Sort Through the Confusion: Kuoni died, and now Thomas Cook, even though the jury is out if it’s just the UK business or continental Europe or the Nordic operations as well. Thomas Cook’s tour operating market in its glory days practically made Asia tourism, so many across the region are mourning this loss, reconciling themselves with the fact that nothing lasts forever.

Fallout From Thomas Cook’s Demise Will Reach Far and Wide in Travel: Expedia, Webjet, and On the Beach all had exposure to Thomas Cook, but given their size they can probably handle it. It’s the smaller tour operators and travel agents that will be the hardest hit.

Can Thomas Cook’s Surviving Brands Find New Homes? Thomas Cook wasn’t just a UK business: It had operations across Europe, some of which were pretty profitable. They’re now in a race against time to secure their future and find new owners.

Why Airbnb Won’t Do an Initial Public Offering in 2020: Airbnb has always put itself out there as not just another startup or your grandmother’s online travel agency. Going the direct listing route, as opposed to a far costlier initial public offering, could fit in nicely with that narrative.

Oyo Turns to Danamica for Artificial Intelligence Firepower for Vacation Rentals: Oyo is more than just a budget hotel operator these days. Investments into its vacation home rental business are proof of that.

Airline-Owned SITA Seeks to Ride a Software Boom to Lift Sales: It’s glamorous to be a turnaround artist who parachutes into a troubled company and restores growth. But change can be slow and painful. Just ask Barbara Dalibard, the CEO of SITA, the airline-controlled tech provider.

Unbabel Raises $60 Million for Translation Services: Travel Startup Funding This Week: In the past week, travel startups raised more than $100 million in funding. The companies Unbabel, Beyond Pricing, Travel Easy, Air Doctor, Seatfrog, Cruisewatch, HappyOrNot, Landline, Planet O, and Go Zayaan look to go to the next level.