This article is sponsored by Triptease. Do you treat your online visitors as well as you treat those that arrive in your lobby? Unfortunately, all too often we find the answer is no. It’s not uncommon for web browsers to encounter a decade-old, fuzzy photograph of a pool, or…

Bókun, a specialist in distribution technology for the tours and activities industry, is partnering with Finnair to make more tours available online. The Iceland-based business offers a sales and contract management platform for T&A providers to manage their inventory and make it available to consumers online or to other…

This is a viewpoint from Richard Harris, CEO of Intent Media. When travel brands merge commerce and search, it makes for a great user experience. Most of us think of online search and ecommerce as two distinct functions. And traditionally they have been. But the lines between the two…

Withlocals.com, a Netherlands-based marketplace connecting travellers with local tour guides, has raised €3.5 million ($4.3 million) in a Series A round, led by Inkef Capital. The business was set up in 2013 (see its tnooz startup pitch here) and now has more than 1,200 bookable private tours on its…

Amadeus has published ‘Voyage of Discovery,’ an in-depth report on accessibility in travel with insights on areas for improvement along the journey, including in the technology, which helps those with disabilities and seniors plan and navigate travel. Tomás López Fernebrand senior vice president, general counsel & corporate secretary Amadeus…

Lola, the AI-human powered app and brainchild of former Kayak co-founder Paul English, has pivoted to focus purely on business travel. Relaunching officially last week, and with $45 million in the bank to take the strategy forward, English and his team are promising something “quite different” for business travellers….

The journey may be part of the adventure for leisure travelers, but around 60% of business travelers find time spent in transit irritating, and nearly half find layovers draining, according to a new study by the Global Business Travel Association. The study, conducted in partnership with Sabre, aims to…

Join Expedia Media Solutions as it shares the results of new research, a multi-generational study commissioned with global customer insights agency Northstar, which examines online behaviors and trends of travelers around the world, across devices and throughout the consumer journey. The webinar takes place on Wednesday 18 October. The…

China’s Airbnb-of-sorts Tujia.com has raised another $300 million in a Series E round, led by Ctrip. The deal values Tujia at $1.5 billion. It is the first funding round to be completed since Tujia’s internal restructure, announced last October, when its online and offline businesses were separated out. Tujia’s…

Lufthansa has announced a partnership with Winding Tree, a specialist in blockchain-based B2B travel bookings, which will help the airline group introduce blockchain applications to its own digital products. Lufthansa established its relationship with Winding Tree through the Lufthansa Innovation hub, which aims to identify and capitalize on the…