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Will Expedia's advertising on Meta's Muse and Google AI Overviews be the new Google Search? Ariane Gorin is hopeful, citing Expedia proven track record in these sorts of deals. On the other hand, in years' past Expedia officials complained about the high cost of Google marketing.
Scaling AI agents is less about the model than the systems, talent, and infrastructure around it. As travel companies move from pilots into production, they must decide which capabilities differentiate the business and which are better handled by a specialist.
AI may own the start of the trip, but Booking.com is betting trust and payments decide who gets the booking. Its experience with superapps, where daily use never became travel spending, suggests generative chatbots may face the same problem.
The Middle East conflict and higher airfares continue to make their mark industrywide.
Travel credit cards are moving well beyond points and booking. At Skift Global Forum, Capital One Travel’s Sarah Moore said the opportunity lies in remaining useful throughout the trip by combining context, experiences, technology, and trust to build deeper relationships with travelers.
The hotel industry’s distribution war has an overlooked third party: the owner. New questions about AI, loyalty and customer acquisition could make that imbalance even more consequential.
AI agents are here. Travel isn't ready. Decisions made today will determine who controls the booking, the customer relationship, and the economics of travel commerce.
Paying nothing up-front has been one of Airbnb's clearest growth levers. Will Vrbo get the substantial lift that Airbnb got when it introduced Reserve Now, Pay Later last year?
Is 10 cents per booking enough of a contribution? Well, it's more than Booking.com and Vrbo donate per stay.
Airbnb says the temporary phone numbers are meant to protect privacy. But the change also makes it harder for property managers to turn Airbnb guests into direct bookers.
The fight in Indian online travel is moving away from flights and hotels toward the supply nobody has fully digitized yet.
On paper, Airbnb's exclusive short-term rental partnership with Amex Travel didn't change anything for Expedia because it wasn't supplying vacation rentals to Amex Travel. But Expedia's Vrbo has begun supplying vacation rentals to other B2B partners, and now the Airbnb deal blocks that potential expansion.
With 41% of travelers still price-checking after they book, the hotel and flight reservations are now only one part of a longer, more dynamic — and more provisional — process.
The Super 8 and La Quinta franchiser is opening its inventory to Meta's Muse, OpenAI, and Instinct. Morgan Stanley analysts think AI agents could cost hotel groups less per booking than online travel agencies do.
A smaller IPO is being sold as a sign of strength, but Prism may simply be playing it safe. After two abandoned IPO attempts, a smaller raise could mean it doubts demand at its old valuation, or just wants a smoother sale.
By putting its search inside Amex Travel, and letting Amex's premium cardholders spend lodging credits on Airbnb Luxe, Airbnb boosts its high-end inventory and looks a lot more like a conventional lodging supplier than it ever has.
The new policy formalizes a lot of things Airbnb has been pushing hosts to avoid as unreasonable in recent years — and thus it comes with more enforcement bite.
Booking.com wants more of India’s travel wallet, not just its hotel bookings. Payments and business travel could help it get there, but local platforms will make that a harder sell.
Agoda has doubled its luxury supply and five-star searches are rising. Until it shows bookings, there’s no hard proof the platform can sell luxury.
With some hosts and property managers upset about being unable to renew or convert to subscriptions, Vrbo should be more transparent about why some listings qualify for an exemption while others don't.
