Dennis Schaal, Skift
Booking.com has been making strides in the U.S. market for several years, but the challenges are formidable. Expedia is outspending Booking.com on U.S. TV, and then there is Airbnb to throw into the equation.
1 month ago
Sarah Enelow-Snyder, Skift
The big digital news this week was all about Travelport. One of the big three platforms for airline distribution is being taken private in an all-cash transaction valued at around $4.4 billion.
1 month ago
Raini Hamdi, Skift
Grab will hire an additional 1,000 tech employees in 2019, after doubling the number of software engineers, data scientists, and analysts it added this year to 2,000. A look at its next R&D hiring plan gives a few hints on what it is working on.
1 month ago
Seth Borko, Skift Research
Amazon's influence over travelers is likely to grow, and travel companies need to pay careful attention. Our limited edition e-book evaluates lessons, threats, and opportunities that Amazon presents for the travel industry.
1 month ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Expedia has dealt with a ton of distractions in recent years as it acquired Wotif, Travelocity, Orbitz Worldwide, and HomeAway, for example. CEO Mark Okerstrom wants to focus on the basics instead, and doesn't want to take bold steps into dining reservations or food delivery for now. On the other hand, Expedia is a very acquisitive company so never say never.
1 month ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
It's a matter of probability that some companies will face cash crunches. It appears HotelQuickly has. But global travel search companies need to detect problems sooner. They must quickly put a pause on referring consumers to troubled companies before too many victims pile up.
1 month ago
Colin Bertram, Bloomberg
Quieter locales in Scotland, New Zealand, China, and Mexico lead Airbnb’s trending destinations for the coming year. Note that these statistics show gains in search interest from small base numbers and so they're somewhat misleading. Paris hasn't lost its status as a popular spot, for instance.
1 month ago
Sarah Enelow-Snyder, Skift
This week in digital news, Trivago has a court date to address reportedly misleading consumers about its hotel comparisons. Then, Expedia insists that alternative accommodations aren't a huge threat to hotels, and we have more analysis of the massive Marriott data breach.
1 month ago
Raini Hamdi, Skift
All is not well with Zuji, a pioneer in the online travel space in Asia-Pacific. An ownership that is more adept at aviation than running an OTA may be an issue, but it’s clear the entry of global OTAs flush with marketing wherewithal and expertise is making it difficult for the pioneers to compete.
1 month ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
It's rare to have an Expedia CEO speak so candidly about Google's threat to his own company. After all, Google knows how to punish companies when it wants to. Given Barry Diller's recent statements, and Okerstrom's view, there must be a lot of concern in Expedialand behind the scenes.
2 months ago
Allan Leibowitz , Skift
Trivago has reportedly admitted to misleading consumers about its hotel comparisons and will have to appear in court later this month to defend its actions. This comes as Australians are being whipped up to boycott foreign-owned hotel aggregators that are accused of ripping off local hotel owners and operators.
2 months ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Tablet Hotels found itself a world-class strategic buyer to propel its growth. Tablet as part of Michelin will face huge marketing hurdles, and the challenge of trying to reshape Michelin's legacy guide offerings.
2 months ago