Articles tagged “skiftseedlings”

In the past nine months, a group of relatively low-profile startups began signing up brands like Expedia and United Vacations to the concept of layaway plans for buying travel.

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.

Tink Labs is a standout Hong Kong company in the hotel ecosystem. It attracted $170 million in funding to make its Handy loaner smartphones a free amenity in hotels worldwide. But we found some other companies that are also offering promising tools for hoteliers.

India's public company stars MakeMyTrip and Yatra get all the attention in travel. But several startups have the execution chops and the support of experts like Sequoia Capital and Amadeus to thrive in providing services to the country's online population, now numbering more than 400 million.

Chinese travel startups are innovating, not cloning, these days. For instance, Zanadu is using virtual reality to sell luxury travel in real world shops, Baoku is bringing integrated workflows to corporate travel planners, and Aipinji is applying an Uber-like user interface to an old-school wholesaler model.

While influencers help many brands break into communities they want to reach, travel brands shouldn't forget that ordinary travelers also post millions of photos and videos that help people decide where to book their trips.

Boating holidays have always been popular for the rich and famous, but with the rise of platforms to connect boat owners with consumers who want a quick weekend getaway, boat rentals have become even more serious business and are more accessible to travelers.

Another year of travel startup trials and tribulations is about to come to a close. Here's a look at a few companies that survived that are heading into the new year with some momentum.

Adding new attractions in a destination is a great start to attract new and repeat visitors. But making sure travelers can digitally engage with those attractions is often the most important step that comes next.

These five startups take problems that reduce the convenience factor and show how simplifying the small details of a trip goes a long way.