Booking.com is launching a consumer-facing PR campaign around what happens during the first 24 hours of a trip. It has partnered with a “celebrity life coach and wellbeing expert” who shares her advice on how to get in the vacation mood quickly – booking.com claims nearly one in three…

When it comes to hospitality analytics, it’s hard to ignore the recent airtime devoted to and levels of interest in the topic of machine learning. The industry has been humming with how machine learning, specifically, helps hoteliers streamline much of their current time-constrained, manual processes – freeing up valuable…

TripsCommerce wants to provide tour operators, small accommodation owners, activity suppliers and other travel companies with the technology they need to trade online. It describes itself as an “operating system” for online travel offering website design templates, reservations technology and the ability to accept payments. Here’s the pitch: Q&A with…

The European Union’s highest court, the Court of Justice, ruled that cancellation fees charged by airline companies may be assessed for unfairness. The court was considering a complaint brought by the Verbraucherzentralen Bundesverband (VZBV), the Federal Union of Consumer Organizations, against AirBerlin, Germany’s second-largest airline. The VZBV, the Federal…

Here’s the great news for hoteliers: travelers love you more than you know. NB This is a viewpoint by Kenneth Purcell, founder and CEO of iSeatz. Recent research fielded by Phocuswright indicates that travelers want to book as much as possible through hotels: sightseeing tours, museum and event tickets,…

Criteo has linked up with Euromonitor International for a report which shows that the growth of mobile travel in Asia-Pacific is not limited to China. The study used Euromonitor data from nine markets and also polled 1,900 consumers about their travel search and booking patterns. Clearly, the scale of…

Searchmetrics has published a new study on travel industry-specific search ranking factors that might help travel brands improve their visibility in Google searches. It suggests that a focus on browsing experience, making information and comparison simple, and a comprehensive coverage of topics with greater content word counts, while better…

United Airlines may conduct a small test of a system that would give passengers the option of switching to a different flight ahead of time. If United proceeds with the test, a few Mileage Plus members who opt into the program may receive e-mails up to five days before…

Expedia Affiliate Network (EAN) and Phocuswright  have published research on the changes you can expect to see in the coming months in the travel industry – 2017 Phocus Forward, The Year Ahead in Digital Travel. Maggie Rauch from Phocuswright and Oliver Hoare from EAN shared the key findings from…

Independent and boutique hotels are, by their very nature, different from their chain competitors. But what are the specific characteristics owners should focus on in their messaging and marketing? 1. They can offer outstanding personalised hotel service Quality of service is paramount to business success in any industry, but…