Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

Travel Technology

Airbnb Eyeballs Tilt Payment App

Aleksandr Shatskih

Airbnb is eyeballing a deal to acquire the payment app Tilt for between $10 and $20 million. If the deal goes through it will probably amount to an employee hire and some back end tech only.

AR Will Change the Hotel Experience Forever

Phil Butler

For those who thought augmented and virtual reality technologies were just for gamers, news from Chinese search giant Baidu tells of the company building an AR lab to research and build experiences for the digital world. Across the spectrum of the mobile-digital realm, companies are in a frenzied uptake mode for developing and launching AR capability. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the travel, booking, and hospitality experience spaces.

Nissan/Renault acquires down and out ride startup Karhoo

Aleksandr Shatskih

French automaker Renault has just acquired taxi metasearch app Karhoo, according to the news from Tnooz. In a deal undertaken by Renault’s wholly owned bank RCI, the business which acquired the assets of Karhoo from the administrators of the startup.

Lola Travel Gets $15 Mil, A+ in Responsiveness, and a Wink

Phil Butler

News Kayak founder Paul English has just raised $15 million in funding for his Lola Travel Co. is a shot in the arm for a travel tech industry stagnant since months. According to the news, Lola received a fresh infusion of capital from Charles River Ventures, General Catalyst and Accel.. Here’s a brief snapshot of a new company that says it’s going to provide on-demand, personal service to the world of travelers.

Sabre Labs Reveals Tech Trends a Dozen Years Out

Aleksandr Shatskih

Sabre Labs, a division of Sabre Corporation, has just released research on how the latest technologies that can have a significant impact on the tourism sector. The report unveils the potential for the next twelve years and tells of three major tech trends that will affect the tourism market for 2017.

Russian Railways Launches “Swift” Service Moscow-Berlin

Aleksandr Shatskih

Russian Railways has just commissioned “Swift” express rail services in between Moscow and Berlin. The streamlined new train makes use of Spanish coaches equipped for rapid exchange of wheels designed for Russian-European gauge tracks.

The Power of Platinum Town: Plateno Collection 2017 Brands Well

Aleksandr Shatskih

Last week China’s biggest hotel brand offered up the Plateno Collection Show 2017 at Pazhou Poly World TradeCenter Exhibition Hall in Guangzhou, China. Held in between December 9th and 12th, the unique hotel brand fashion show pushed the envelope where industry perception of what a hotel should be.

Airbnb to Sell Experiences Now

Phil Butler

In the news of Airbnb, the mighty vacation property rental platform is gradually rolling out a new homepage design. Set to coincide (supposedly) with the launch of City Hosts, the new simpler design is said to be focused on experiences as a key message. Whether or not Airbnb’s PR department is working overtime to get “juice” out of the paradigm “user experience” trend or not, this remains to be seen. As for most of the changes rolled out by Airbnb, the new homepage has been released as an A/B tests and thus is not yet live for 100% of the traffic.