Flight Centre Travel Group is trying to flex its digital muscles once again – this time taking a 24% stake in Bibam, an Argentinian web travel brand. Bibam is the holding company above consumer-facing services Biblos Travel and AvanTrip. The $7 million investment is being billed as a “low-risk entry” into…
In 1927, the Hotel Statler in Boston became one of the first to offer complimentary newspapers to its guests. Since then, most other verticals in the luxury travel industry from hotels, to airlines and cruise ships, have followed suit. Their reasons have varied, according to a new study by…
Budget hotels in southeast Asia continue to attract investor interest, with Zen Rooms the latest to secure funding in a $4.1m Series A round. The news has been widely reported, with Zen Rooms sharing the coverage via its official Facebook and Twitter feeds. The Series A has been led…
Rental startup VaycayHero has “relaunched” after its recent sale to fellow rental network RedAwning. The reemergence of the brand as a standalone comes after the original site was suspended on 31 January this year. RedAwning bought the assets of the company in March for an undisclosed fee. The new VaycayHero…
WorthyTravelers is not the only business looking to appeal to people who are interested in booking authentic experiences, which are recommended by experts, working with influencers to promote the site and the trips it offers. Based in east London, the small-scale startup currently has a line-up of trips from around…
Last November, Airbnb announced to the world its next wave of innovation to the strains of Maroon 5 with a dash of Lady Gaga. Trips was to be the next layer in the customer travel experience after accommodation because, after all, people are inspired to travel based on what…
TravelBird has become the latest travel company to adopt artificial intelligence for customer service through a partnership with DigitalGenius. The new predictive customer care system, which will reside in the company’s Zendesk customer platform, will use AI to refine and expedite customer support response. The decision to adopt machine…
Just 12 months or so after coming back from a three-year hiatus, Travel-Ticker has been sold to HotelPlanner… and immediately closed once more. Since its return, Travel-Ticker has been based in United Arab Emirates – making it the first overseas acquisition by online group hotel booking serice HotelPlanner. Terms of…
This is a roundup of product news and announcements for travel marketing in April 2017. Monday 10 April 2107: Goibibo signs celebrity for summer and social Indian OTA Goibibo has signed Bollywood superstar actress Deepika Padukone to kickstart its summer campaign and to promote its GoContacts social network. Goibibo…
Japanese ecommerce brand Rakuten is backing fellow Asian web brand MetroResidences with a $2.8 million investment. The Singapore-based startup is the sister-brand of existing short-term rental service PandaBed and has been gradually building up a network of properties in its home city since 2014. It is solely focused on providing rental…