Last week I attended the EyeforTravel Smart Travel Data Summit in Amsterdam. It was a well-attended event that helped move the needle in the right direction, when it comes to using data to better personalize digital travel for consumers. There was an array of talented speakers who each contributed…
India’s FindMyStay believes that the merger of MakeMyTrip and Ibibo Group creates an even bigger distinction between its reverse bidding platform and the combined entity’s approach to hotels. FindMyStay has a niche in the crowded Indian hotel market. Travellers can select dates, location within a city, star categories and…
More consolidation in the hotel marketing arena as Cendyn snaps up Canadian provider of customer relationship management tools, Guestfolio. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. US-based Cendyn has been in the game for over 20 years and supplies hotels with its own CRM and digital marketing platform, as well as…
This is a regular roundup of some of the latest mobile application startup launches in travel covering everything from trip inspiration and planning to virtual assistants. DayPass What is it? DayPass lets users explore and book hotel and health club amenities on-demand, around them or at destination. Users can…
Tnooz and The London School of Economics and Political Science are bringing together experts to debate the next 10 years of travel distribution. You can watch the Facebook live stream today, Wednesday 30 November, at 16:00 London time. The author of “Travel distribution: the end of the world as…
There’s been a subtle change in tone from some quarters when you ask hotels about the power of online travel agencies or how those OTAs feel about hotels driving business direct. What used to almost incite rage has softened with a few hotels starting to refer to the likes of…
The practice of restricting access to websites or products – or producing a price based on a user’s location – is to be outlawed in Europe. Legislation for called geo-blocking will go before the European Parliament officials next year after a draft regulation was passed by a qualified majority…
Travel search service Ixigo is gearing up to secure a significant funding boost to the tune of up to $20 million. The investment round in the India-based company could put the total amount put into the company so far in the region of $35 million, following a series of…
Travel brands have long realised that emails remain the number one method by which to reach customers. Social media was once considered to be a powerful entrant onto the realm of consumer communications, but over time it has evolved more into a notification and service channel (especially during travel…
The global homestay landgrab continues apace, taking in many twists and turns. The latest move sees Airbnb looking to secure inventory in rural India by linking up with a trade union which represents two million self-employed women. The MOU signed between the mega-funded poster child of the sharing economy…