Priceline buying restaurant reservation website OpenTable for $2.6 billion shows the expansion of the hospitality space growing ever more competitive. It was only a matter of time until restaurants became a bigger part of the tourism mix. If ever there were an “all in one” travel company emerging, Priceline may have just bid Sayonara! to its competition.
OTA's
Meta Booking Hybrid Direct Rooms Adds 10 More Languages
Direct Rooms, a leading hybrid meta search entity for hotels, has just announced adding 10 additional languages to their service. According to the company they’re the first ever meta-search engine to offer rooms in Croatian.
Thomas Cook Goes to “Go-To” Digital Gurus
adds digital gurus from around the social/digital web to their advisory board. According to news from TravelMole, hiring marketing guru Remo Masala from Kuoni set the tone for TC’s ongoing upramp into digital.
Q1 Profit and Loss: Weeding Out the OTAs
In a 2014 economy seemingly stagnated OTAs and other travel businesses are feeling some pain. This is not the case for Priceline Group, which just showed a 1st quarter earnings jump of some 36% on international bookings. However, this company’s gain is evidently Orbitz’s and other digital travel business loss. Are we seeing a “weeding out” of good travel entities versus bad ones?
Lastminute’s UK Boss Flies As Sabre IPO Takes Off
News this weekend lastminute.com UK boss Mark Maddock had quit brought on rumors Sabre may be planning to sell the travel entity.
Hoteliers vs. OTAs: The Quest for a Perfect App
Will mobile technology negate travel service providers’ direct revenue streams? An insightful post by Skift’s Dennis Schaal points to the big OTAs and the coming leverage game of travel bookings via mobile.
European Travel Commission and Amadeus ink strategic partnership
Amadeus, a leading technology partner for the global travel industry, and the European Travel Commission (ETC) signed today a strategic partnership to promote Europe as a tourism destination.
#Travel Tuesday Tips on Travel Tech: Don’t Cry for Expedia
Reading news in travel technology this morning any interested party might be a bit confused over all the smoke signals going out from online players. The New York Times suggests simply “Fewer, Bigger Travel Sites”, Expedia stocks are down on the one hand, and their mobile app is revamped a superhuman helper on the other. Meanwhile a startup called Bookt LLC takes a shot at Airbnb.com and vacations. I guess the good news is, travel technology is really still alive and doing well.
Frommer’s Back in the Travel Game
Arthur Frommer has decided at age 83 that his world famous travel books should not be slated for obsolescence. The travel publishing legend will re-acquire the brand sold by Wiley & Sons to Google last year. The Frommer’s Guides appear to be alive and well in their founder’s hands again.
TripAdvisor Taps Into Medallia® SaaS
SaaS Customer Service Management (CEM) leader Medallia® has just announced a partnership with TripAdvisor® for making a better engagement via the travel company’s review process.
Online Travel Sucking Wind with Consumers! Huh?
A USA Today story from yesterday pretty much tells on an online travel industry that has failed on nearly every front to deliver. Let’s face it, just because you can book a plane or hotel on Expedia, this does not equal the innovation and awe so many have spoken of these last three years. Tnooz to this beleaguered writer, online travel should be farther along by now in delivering on its promise.
Hotel Search Engine DealAngel Opens Up API
It’s not easy trying to spot a genuine deal when looking for discounted hotel rooms, but a new Russian startup is hoping to change that. DealAngel, a Moscow-based hotel search engine that helps travelers to get the best possible deal on their lodgings, has just announced plans to open up its API
Travel Tech 123 Test: TouristEye
Today I ran across an interesting travel startup called TouristEye. Co-founders of the Madrid, Spain sartup, Javier Fernández Escribano, Ariel Cámus, and their partner Diego Jiménez have done a pretty amazing job with something under half a million in funding so far. Here is my 123 on the startup so far.
AirAsiaExpedia Gets Boss
Kathleen Tan has been named CEO of the AirAsia Expedia joint venture many believe could change the travel game, at least in Asia. According to the news, Tan will oversee Expedia, AirAsiaGo, and Backick businesses in Asia, India, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Travelguru.com Aligns With Indian Tourism Development Corporation
India’s largest online hotel company, Travelguru.com, just announced their alliance with the Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) to offer hotels under the brand name Ashok Group of Hotels.
All the OTA Commission Fuss “N” Stuff
This will be the shortest analysis post I have written out of many thousands. Many people wonder how come all the fuss over OTAs, commissions, and saving a buck where hotel bookings are concerned. The following little bits of info play into the “why” of online booking analysis.
Amadeus Mobile Messenger Brought to Life
Leading technology partner Amadeus has has just announced signing a partnership with US mobile technology provider Charter Solutions International.
Oktogo.ru Really Is – Mostly
In the coming months the Russian Federation will be ever increasingly in travel news leading up to Sochi 2014. For people in the online hotel booking space, and other hospitality sectors too, Russia presents a special set of potentials and hurdles as well, this is widely accepted. Many questions exist where online travel in Russia is concerned, we hope this post will clarify a few.
Investors Eagerly Await TZOO Q3
Travelzoo Inc. (NASDAQ: TZOO) will hold a conference call next Thursday October 25th to discuss their finances for Q3 of 2012. A press release reporting results will be issued just prior to market opening of that day.
WIHP’s DirectPack & Trivago – Direct Bookings Imminent?
World Independent Hotels Promotion (WIHP) has just announced a sweet partnership with leading meta comparison site Trivago, one which could end up being a sort of strategic masterpiece. Testing their so called DirectPack ad platform with Trivago, WIHP’s test hotels achieved a 10x ROI with no sweat, according to WIHP’s Marketing experts. The implications of this news may not be readily obvious, we suggest you read on.