Sean O'Neill

Coming out of the pandemic, some hostels hope to do well by doing good.

Most hoteliers are still practicing triage, trying to stanch the flow of losses. But investing in automation and contactless tech can help boost operational efficiency, say executives at hotel groups such as Accor, Hilton, and Mandarin Oriental.

A half-dozen travel startups have recently announced fundraising for concepts including hotel marketing in China, apartment hotels, business travel management, contactless check-in, referrals to wellness services, and tours-and-activities distribution.

Online travel brands can no longer count on paid marketing alone to drive growth as they try to penetrate developing markets. Despegar is ahead of its larger global rivals in embracing "fintech." It sees consumer loans as a way to appeal to many travel buyers who don't use banks.

Lufthansa Group may have done more than any other airline group to aggravate Amadeus, Travelport, and especially Sabre in recent years. Yet a grudging truce in the distribution battle may be possible, according to this exclusive interview with a top executive.

Ten travel startups collectively announced more than $167 million in funding lately. Concepts included the online booking of tour guides, tour packages, Vietnamese domestic travel, Indian hotels, and e-visas.

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water" was the tag line for the movie Jaws 2. But the words may apply to the cruise industry now, given surging infections in cities worldwide. Yet, if you've spent any time with frequent cruise-goers, you know they'll be back booking as soon as it's safe.

We checked in with about a half dozen airline tech startups. Generally speaking, they're blending realism with optimism.

Google, Trivago, and Sojern began this year to offer a commission-based model for digital advertising in metasearch. Hoteliers may find that a more appealing way of budgeting than paying on a cost-per-click basis or by a monthly fee.

SAP has pared back its own business travel. It probably had those cuts in mind when it lowered forecasts for its Concur unit, which offers travel expense management software.