Sean O'Neill

In old-school business wisdom, the large eat the small. Today the truism is that the fast eat the slow. No wonder Almosafer is looking to outrun the regional and global competition in Saudi Arabia and a couple of its bordering countries.

For many cultural heritage sites affected by the pandemic, it's "game on." Med Gaims and Questo offer some promising models for destinations looking to engage tourists in the recovery.

In a switch, Google is inviting hotels and online travel resellers to drive bookings through its price-comparison search for free. Well, free for now, at least.

It's easy to feel jaded about data breaches given how often they happen. But it will raise eyebrows that hackers obtained data on loyalty flyers of Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, United, and other carriers by exploiting a SITA tech system not used by most of them.

It's positive to see February gains in U.S. jobs in the leisure and hospitality industries. Hotel hiring trends looking to be turning after a bleak winter.

PayPal founder Peter Thiel once said: "We wanted flying cars. Instead we got 140 characters." But some investors now think flying driverless taxis will be viable by 2024. We have that and other travel startup news in this week's roundup.

What's the best strategy for a corporation? Some years, it's trendy for consultants to advise companies to focus on their "core competency." In other years, it's all about diversifying. JetBlue's effort to diversify into enterprise tech will be worth watching.

In its early days, Airbnb created new lodging inventory by wooing people who had never hosted strangers to try renting out their spaces. Harvest Hosts isn't going to be the next Airbnb. But it does a similar trick to expand the bookable options available in the outdoor sector.

Amadeus's deal with International Airlines Group shows a path forward in the contentious contract disputes it has had with many airlines over distribution costs and methods. The technology giant's earnings report on Friday was broadly in line with expectations.

The short-term rental sector continues to spawn startups worldwide, including Handys in South Korea. Plus, this week's other funding news includes startups offering insurance for pre-paid hotel rates and estimates of carbon emissions for business travel.