Articles tagged “online travel agencies”

HNA Group tried to enter the U.S. online travel agency market through Travana/Janbala and abruptly had a change of heart either because the startup didn't know what it was doing or because of some other dynamic in the opaque world of Chinese investors. Consider this a slight bump in the road.

Overbooking has gotten a lot of attention in the past three weeks, but, most of the time, it's not a big deal. Airlines know passengers won't show up, so they sell a few more tickets than they have seats. What's the harm in that? Airlines might want to reduce the number of extra seats they sell, but they don't need to retire the practice.

This has been a rough two and a half weeks for United, which was clearly caught off guard by the fallout from this now-famous April 9 incident. It will be some time before the airline regains its footing, but perhaps this report is a step in the right direction.

TripAdvisor is getting more sophisticated about prodding customers to book hotels on TripAdvisor or to more effectively refer them to partner sites. In an apparently modified strategy, TripAdvisor is finding religion in being agnostic about where its users book hotels.

Airlines are using new channels, such as Facebook chat and other airlines' websites, to sell their seats and other products. Some are turning to startups for help, rather than rely only on establishment vendors.

The experiential side of hostel travel is one of the main reasons people use them, so Hostelworld’s new strategy makes sense.

It seems odd and a stretch that such a European-focused brand would be gaining traction in the U.S. Will Lastminute.com now be able to scale its business and compete with the sector’s heavy hitters?

If TripAdvisor's hotel-booking drive doesn't work out in the face of intense competition, tours and activities won't be bungee-jumping to the rescue. But it still can be an attractive business and TripAdvisor is best-positioned for now to make it work.

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.

The Priceline Group continues to put up strong growth numbers despite its large size. Its massive advertising budget combined with improving conversion and growing inventory position the company to take further share of online and offline bookings.