Sean O'Neill, Skift
This week travel startups Guesty, The Plum Guide, Zeus, Zuzu, Welcome Pickups, Vntrip, and Hostfully revealed more than $76 million in funding collectively.
2 days ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
This week travel startups BookingPal, Instawork, Withlocals, Ayenda Rooms, and Questo together announced more than $30 million in funding. Of note, famous venture investor Bill Gurley took a stake in Instawork's hiring marketplace, and mammoth investor Softbank is betting on Ayenda Rooms as Colombia's version of budget hotel franchisor Oyo.
2 weeks ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
"Everything is converging in hospitality," according to one Skift 2019 Megatrend. Selina embodies this Megatrend perfectly in how it pushes the bounds of co-living and co-working. But the company needs to execute its plans on time or else business partners will lose faith.
3 weeks ago
Seth Borko, Skift Research
Analyzing startups and venture capital trends helps us glimpse the future of travel.
3 weeks ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
Hotels are hiring companies to clamp down on online travel sites displaying cheap rates against their wishes. One of those startups, Fornova, has just bought smaller rival HotelsBI to broaden its rate-detection service. The deal is partly justified by the increasing tech spending on a cat-and-mouse-game between hoteliers and providers of rogue rates.
3 weeks ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
It's not clear there's enough market demand for a mobile app that books only independent and boutique properties. But some hoteliers might welcome the new app One Night if it can bring down its distribution costs, even marginally.
3 weeks ago
Seth Borko, Skift Research
Analyzing startups helps us understand what the future of travel holds. The latest generation of startups promises innovation across many facets of travel: hospitality, tours, airlines, business travel, and more.
4 weeks ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
Pickyourtrail has received funding to expand its online services for booking international vacations; its operation is strikingly sophisticated for a small startup. Plus, investors also recently announced bets on smart hotels, urban lounges, and storage places for luggage.
1 month ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
Three interesting companies announced investments this week: Virtuo, a car rental service, aims to replace service counters with mobile-first customer service. May Mobility builds autonomous vehicles for smart cities. NuStay offers hotel price-comparison.
1 month ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
The market for long-term business lodging is being dragged, thankfully, into the digital era by companies like 2nd Address. Plus, fundraising news for Festicket, Oaky, and Operto.
1 month ago
Layan Odeh, Bloomberg
A lack of cockpit crew has been a factor in Emirates' moves to trim its number of flights. But the carrier may have a fix. A new memo shows that the Dubai giant has pinpointed 500 suitable applicants from airlines experiencing financial trouble.
1 month ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
Travel Tripper is taking on a distressed asset, Pegasus. Meh. But what's interesting is that Accel-KKR is backing the deal. The support by the private equity firm is yet another sign of more rollups of hotel tech companies to come against a backdrop of hotel software investments by Amadeus, Sabre, and Shiji.
2 months ago