Sean O'Neill

Boom will get a supersonic jet to test, Ixigo will get help with its Indian expansion, and Eventerprise will expand beyond South Africa — all thanks to fresh rounds of funding.

Today Expedia's computers are analyzing guest reviews. We predict that someday its computers will use the reviews to create software-generated, Zagat-style hotel summaries, for its search results.

Hotel booking startup HotelTonight took immense losses in 2015. If it is truly profitable now and doubled its revenue to at least $60 million in 2016, then that still doesn't scream IPO.

Despite recent gains, Google Flights is still the price-comparison tool of tomorrow, and not today -- unless its scale makes the instant booking of flights a standard way of doing things.

In the past nine months, a group of relatively low-profile startups began signing up brands like Expedia and United Vacations to the concept of layaway plans for buying travel.

Lufthansa is investing in direct booking connectivity with corporations (and the commercial initiatives to make them happen). The technological and commercial Tarmac being laid may pave the way for others, like IAG's British Airways.

It has been a big week for small players, as investors placed bets on startups in these sectors: tours-and-activities, ground transportation, Brazilian flight booking, and digital marketing.

Here are innovative young travel companies, from Medellín to Beijing, that are poised to achieve escape velocity.

Corporate-booking technology vendors Serko and Concur plan to add natural language bots to their tools. Other players are likely to follow.

Venture capital firms are turbo-charging the European expansion of the Dutch group Otravo and the French startup MisterFly. Elsewhere, Rehlat and Jumia Travel are taking flight.