This is a viewpoint from Maria Harrison, president of Bullseye Strategy. How travelers really use technology for direct bookings (part one of three) A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the Consumer Journey for travelers used to be simpler and more direct. But the contemporary digital…
Tours and activities are a growing part of the travel industry. This growth continues to garner more attention for this segment of the industry, as more technology providers vie for the business of connecting inventory to digital distribution channels, as well as helping tour operators run their businesses more…
Hilton has announced a year-long partnership with London & Partners incubator Traveltech Lab. The tie-up starts this week with the first of two pitch events, with the winners guaranteed “a financial contribution from Hilton to develop their proposition and an opportunity to work with Hilton’s innovation experts to roll…
India’s Verteil Technologies has facilitated what it claims is the “first live NDC transaction from India”. Its NDC-based Verteil Direct Connect platform is live with British Airways, and the ticket was a Chennai-London flight, booked by Magellan Travel. When pressed on the claim that NDC is now live in India,…
The US Department of Transportation withdrew two proposed rulemakings on airline ancillary revenues, saying they were “of limited public benefit.” The proposed measures had been generally supported by consumer groups and vehemently opposed by most airlines. The proposed rule titled “Reporting of Ancillary Airline Passenger Revenues,” which dates from…
Ryanair has said it is ending its distribution partnership with Amadeus from December 15. The low-cost airline says in a statement that the pair failed to reach a new agreement. Ryanair began discussing GDS distribution at the beginning of 2014, signing first a deal with Travelport and then with…
Friends in high places are always worth nurturing, especially for businesses the size of Airbnb. In travel, you don’t get much higher than the secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation. That position is currently held by Dr Taleb Rafai, who has put his name to a Medium…
At this year’s Expedia Partner Conference in Las Vegas, it’s hard not to see the similarity between Expedia’s latest slogan — “shaping the future of online travel” — and the long-running slogan over at Amadeus — “shaping the future of travel.” When asked about the connection informally, one exec…
Expedia Powered Technology, the suite of software, marketing and data tools for hoteliers introduced last summer, snagged a big client: G6 Hospitality, parent company of the Motel 6 brand. Motel 6, one of the most widely recognized budget hotel brands in the US, and its extended-stay sister brand, Studio…
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs), also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones will soon take a big chunk of the skies in a variety of applications including the delivery of goods, disaster recovery efforts, in airport management, even passenger transport. IATA is getting ready for the near-term and…