Latest News about Mobile Travel Services by Skift

Sabre Blends Distribution Network and Airline Units Under New Leadership

Sean O'Neill, Skift

The travel technology giant has bowed to investor and airline demands for a management team more focused on software solutions that help with the retailing, distribution, and fulfillment of travel as an end-to-end journey, not just siloed by function.

2 days ago

Video: Hotelbeds Executive Chairman on Fallout From the Online Booking Battleground

Andrew Sheivachman, Skift

Do hotels really need to be flagged under a big brand if online travel agencies are most effective at selling rooms? Hotelbeds' Joan Vila thinks hotel chains may be forced to wind down some brands that aren't succeeding in the marketplace.

3 weeks ago

New Skift Research Report: Challenges for Hotels to Streamline Back-End Technologies

Rebecca Stone, Skift Research

The hotel tech stack of today should focus entirely on the customer journey and be arranged so that it provides guests a seamless experience. A hotel tech stack that is not integrated on the back-end will feel fragmented on the front-end.

3 weeks ago

Wells Fargo Boosts Credit Card Rewards to Better Compete for Travelers

Hannah Levitt, Bloomberg

The credit card rewards scene continues heating up as more providers try to give travelers what they want. With increasingly compelling offers, why get a card that ties you to a single airline?

4 weeks ago

Interview: Oracle Hospitality’s New Boss Looks to the Cloud for Growth

Sean O'Neill, Skift

Oracle Hospitality is the market leader in selling hotel tech software. But the company has made some missteps. It is adjusting course, and two weeks ago it appointed a new top boss, Greg Webb. The industry will watch his moves closely.

4 weeks ago

Global Distribution Systems Retool for the Next Digital Revolution

Andrew Sheivachman, Skift

The global distribution systems are each pushing forward in their own unique way. By investing like technology companies in flexible distribution and payment technologies, they hope to provide a better value proposition to travel partners that are keen to cut out the middleman. Decades of bad blood between the two, however, still linger over the conversation.

1 month ago

Skift Tech Forum Preview: Sabre’s CEO on Going Technology-First

Andrew Sheivachman, Skift

Sabre has slimmed down over the last year and is investing in its airline and hospitality technology products. Find out more from CEO Sean Menke at the Skift Tech Forum on June 12 in Santa Clara, Calif.

2 months ago

Reimbursement for Flight Disruptions Slowly Gets Smarter

Andrew Sheivachman, Skift

Flyers are sometimes owed money from airlines following disruptions and delays, usually small amounts. New advances make it easier to submit claims, but it can still take a long time for flyers to get the money they deserve. Smarter predictive technology will eventually make delays and disruptions less of a hassle, or at least lead to insurance products that are actually useful.

2 months ago

Skift Tech Forum Preview: Travelport’s CEO on a New Era for Airline Merchandising

Sean O'Neill, Skift

CEO Gordon Wilson of Travelport says his technology company is making it easier for airlines to display on travel agency "shelves" their content in the way they want. If true, that could significantly help airlines maximize their revenue.

2 months ago

Amadeus Sees No Impact Yet on Airlines’ Pushback With New Distribution Models

Sean O'Neill, Skift

For a couple of decades, distribution technology giants like Amadeus dictated contract terms to the airlines. But airline groups are leading a revolt to try to impose a new model on the middlemen. It's too early to say who will get the upper hand.

3 months ago

Travelport Lost Lucrative Flight Centre Contract to Distribution Rivals

Sean O'Neill, Skift

No word on yet on what activist hedge fund investor Paul Singer of Elliott Management might try to pressure Travelport do this year. But research analysts expect that, at the very least, the travel technology company will be pressed to spin off its fast-growing eNett payments business.

3 months ago

Skift Forum Europe Preview: Google’s Rob Torres on Travel Marketing Relevance

Dennis Schaal, Skift

Is Google on the road toward becoming an online travel agency? Color us skeptical on that one. How will voice-based search change the game? Google's Rob Torres will certainly express his views on these topics at Skift Forum Europe.

3 months ago