Expedia Inc has created a “usability lab” based in London, its first outside of the US. The role of the lab is to study consumer behaviour in terms of how they research and book travel via Expedia websites and applications. Research carried out by the group, which includes Expedia, Hotels.com…
Interesting development in the world of travel search with Aviasales adding private jets into results in order to help fill so-called empty legs. The Russia-based metasearch engine has collaborated with private jet search platform JetHunter to start including its unfilled segments in search results for flights returning to base. Aviasales reckons there…
The travel industry is by its very nature an innovative and fast-moving environment, so staying on top of trends that affect it can seem to be a never-ending pursuit. Success in this field requires being agile and adaptive. Here we look at three trends impacting the dynamic travel sector…
Japanese finance house and investment group Softbank has signalled a financial write-down in its backing of Indian cab-hailing app Ola. In an earnings report last week, Softbank revealed a loss of $555 million of “financial instruments” stemming from two its huge investments in India in recent years. It later confirmed these…
Robots and artificial intelligence are being tipped to take over security processes at airports and hotel check-in says a report. The survey reveals that while respondents from both the UK and US believe these consumer-facing roles will be taken over by machines, more than two-thirds (67%) are frightened by the…
Last year Black Friday sales figures for the UK topped £1 billion, and as the event continues to deliver as one of the biggest shopping events in the retail calendar. NB This is a viewpoint by James Berry, ecommerce director at Collinson Latitude, part of Collinson Group. For any…
Lufthansa is the latest to join the chatbot rush with its Mildred assistant on Facebook Messenger. The chatbot enables users to search for flights over the next nine months and claims to find the cheapest flights. Users can search by date and booking class as well as include details…
In the era of Uber, car rental firms are having the rethink how they operate, when they are the best option, what they offer that Uber can’t and where they need to deploy their inventory. India’s MindYourFleet believes it has all the answers. It has a proprietary cloud-based based…
Two of Europe’s software providers for suppliers of tours and activities have combined to create what they claim will be the biggest product marketplace in Europe. Trekksoft and Bokun say their united customer base will feed a marketplace with more than 30,000 bookable products. This, they claim, will ensure they have…
A UK hotel has taken a novel approach to connecting into the growing world of shared or rented properties for use with travel accommodation. The Bermondsey Square Hotel in London has given access to its in-house functions to any of the vacation rental of Airbnb-type hosted properties that are within…