Travelport has turned in its best results in five years as it reports its financial results for Q4 and full-year 2016. Highlights for the year from the distribution giant include a 64% net revenue increase to $150 million for its eNett commerce payments business and an 18% boost to…
Airlines want to be an intrinsic part of a trip – part of the experience, the saying goes, not just the functional bit that gets you somewhere. But do they leave and breathe that new mantra? NB: This is an analysis by Matt Walker, chief storyteller for LikeWhere. We…
Travel planning service Utrip has secured a Series A investment round to the tune $4 million from a string of Seattle and Silicon Valley supporters. Plug & Play, Tiempo Capital and Acorn Ventures are amongst the finance houses backing the company, with angel money coming in from the likes of Gary…
Two African companies have joined forces in a bid to create what they claim will be the biggest hospitality tech group on the continent. Savanna Sunrise and HotelOga will merge under undisclosed “similar valuations”, the pair say in a statement, with management roles being divvied up between the original founders of…
In less than a decade the twenty-something founders of Airbnb have gone from selling politics-themed cereal, back in 2007, to raising $850 million on a $30 billion valuation. In short: Airbnb is the poster child of millennial innovation. NB: This is an analysis by Alonso Franco, CEO and founder…
ThreatMetrix recently analysed more than a billion web transactions taking place in the travel and entertainment industries. The company’s “deep dive” into the pair makes for sobering reading, not least as the digital proliferation of the tourism sector shows no sign of slowing – in fact, with restaurants and…
Expedia Inc‘s CFO Mark Okerstrom is confident Europe remains a “huge opportunity” for its brands and promised it will be “more aggressive” in the region this year. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference yesterday, he said: “I don’t think it changes the…
Another marker in the continued maturing of the vacation rental business this week with one of the big franchise owners launching a major digital service for owners. RedAwning, the 100,000-strong network of branded vacation rental properties, says the launch of a new platform is so that owners can “offer…
Interesting (and not unexpected) move by Airbnb confirmed this week with the acquisition of vacation rental platform Luxury Retreats. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but speculation in recent weeks had suggested that a price in the region of $200 million for the company was on the table….
From one private equity owner to another – OAG has switched from Axio to Vitruvian in a deal in the region of $215 million. The sale comes almost four years to the day since UBM offloaded the business and six other related divisions for £160 million to what was then…