New Efforts to Bridge the Flight Booking Gap

Airlines and travel management companies have a communication problem and Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) is here to help.

ARC has acquired a controlling stake in NuTravel, a technology company working to bridge the gap between consumer flight booking tools and the corporate travel ecosystem.

As it builds out its omnichannel strategy, ARC has made a serious investment in moving beyond corporate travel orthodoxy with NuTravel joining Blockskye and Traxo in the ARC family.

Check out the full story below.

We also have a report on the future of mobility in corporate travel (it’s complicated) and the latest on rumors of a new Trump travel ban on the horizon.

If you have any feedback about the newsletter or news tips, feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] or tweet @sheivach.

— Andrew Sheivachman, Senior Enterprise Editor

Featured Stories

Airline-Owned ARC Buys NuTravel to Connect Airlines With Travel Management Companies: Airlines are starting to realize that better communication with travel management companies can benefit both sides. ARC wants to play a major role in this period of transition.

The Future of Mobility in Corp Travel Brings a Messy Chase for Scale: Ground transportation in corporate travel has evolved into a complicated and costly mess. There is some hope that new platforms will solve these issues, but that point isn’t coming any time soon.

Xiezhu Raises $37 Million for Smart Hotel Tech: Last week, travel startups announced more than $100 million in funding. One company to call out is Xiezhu. It provides software and hardware to about 8,000 hotels in China. We expect broad growth in the “smart hotels” trend, which involves devices such as electronic door locks for guest rooms that can be opened by voice or facial recognition.

The Future Of Travel

Google Flights Ends Booking Charges for Airlines That Paid: With potential pressure from U.S. regulatory authorities and perhaps displeasure from airlines, Google is making the biggest change to the way it monetizes flight search since it launched Google Flights in 2011. Perhaps free search engine optimization for flights isn’t dead after all.

Trump Travel Ban Expands to New Countries: Report: While it’s not official yet, it makes sense that President Trump would expand his travel ban in the lead up to the 2020 elections. It’s time for the U.S. travel sector to unite in opposition to any new restrictions.

The Future of Travel Will Be Driven by Urban Living Innovations: Cities have always been incubators for innovation, but with two-thirds of the world’s population expected to live in urban areas by 2050, developments being rolled out today to accommodate that new density will serve the travel industry in positive ways.

Senior Enterprise Editor Andrew Sheivachman [[email protected]] curates the Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Thursday.

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