Jared Wein, Skift
Ctrip’s purchase of Skyscanner continued the trend of metasearch consolidation and should provide Ctrip with support for its outbound and inbound businesses.
3 weeks ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
We are not expecting Armageddon as the Expedia-Hyatt talks come down to the wire. Hyatt wants a fair deal, and Expedia stands to gain if it can retain the broadest depth of hotel content possible. The devil will be in the details but we expect champagne glasses to be raised this week.
Sarah Enelow, Skift
This week in digital news we looked at two leading online travel agencies. Expedia focused on HomeAway's growth and Ctrip gave us an insider's look at its operation and the Chinese market.
Expedia doesn't really care about the noise coming from some disgruntled vacation rental owners. The company is focused on scaling HomeAway's vacation rental business, and having online bookable properties is the formula for the future.
4 weeks ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
Expedia's minority investment in Traveloka, a household name among travel players in Indonesia, makes sense. The company has struggled to gain share in Southeast Asia and a partnership can fill the gap.
This report represents the launch of our coverage of Asia, offering insights into both Ctrip and the online travel market more broadly.
Trivago is bold to take on the giants Booking.com and Expedia Inc. by debuting hotel data services, too. But its rate-shopping tool is better designed and possibly more powerful than what its rivals offer. Game on.
It’s surprising that Momondo Group CEO Hugo Burge would depart the moment the acquisition of his brands by Priceline Group would close. But Kayak’s promise of boosted marketing spend suggests the Momondo and Cheapflight brands will live on.
This week in digital news, direct booking may not save travelers money. Google and leading online travel agencies like Priceline are trying to up their market share.
Tiffany Kary, Bloomberg
Travana's quiet implosion was one of the stranger stories in travel this year and it will likely get stranger.
1 month ago
[24]7 + Skift
Hospitality brands who want travelers to book directly on hotel websites should work to optimize the customer experience from pre-booking to post-stay. Download this report on the rise of the digital concierge for free!
A new white paper critiques today's industry mania for mergers, which is driven by a fear of rising digital gatekeepers such as Airbnb, Google, and Expedia. The contrarian take is refreshing but begs questions.
