Airlines, Travel Agencies Ponder How Best to Spend Tech Dollars in These Lean Times
It's ironic that new distribution capabilities got to the cusp of becoming real at the precise moment everyone stopped booking flights.
Sean O’Neill is Skift’s Senior Hospitality Editor. Sean’s forte is reporting, and he’s broken multiple hotel industry scoops. He has also conducted 1:1 interviews on stage with the CEOs of Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, and Wyndham.
Amadeus Isn’t Seeing a Significant Pickup in Airline Ticket Sales Yet
The first half of July saw little improvement in travel agency bookings compared with the first half of June, according to the world's largest processor of airline tickets. Sigh.
Traveloka Raises $250 Million for Online Travel: Travel Startup Funding This Week
Jakarta-based agency Traveloka, South Korea-based agency MyRealTrip, and Colombia-based agency Awake Travel are among the travel startups that together announced more than $297 million in funding this week.
Travel Companies Struggle With Chaotic Surges in Bookings When Restrictions Lift
Living with haphazard spikes in travel bookings is the new abnormal. Few brands are ready. But those that are prepped will take market share.
Software Helping to Set Hotel Room Rates Put to the Test During the Pandemic
Hotels need to put aside their frustrations with software for forecasting and rate-setting. Revenue mangers will need all the help they can get to make sure they grab their fair share of the recovery in bookings.
Disney Parks’ Lost Summer May Become a Lost Year
The magic kingdom has lost some of its magic in 2020. But Disney fans are devoted, and the theme parks will bounce back.
How India’s SpiceJet Is Using Tech to Innovate During the Pandemic
SpiceJet has championed reforms of airport processes that have already changed how all air travelers in India fly on all airlines. In a move reported here first, the budget carrier will begin to sell some of the tech it has developed to other airlines.
Gett Lands $100 Million for Ground Transit for Corporate Travelers: Travel Startup Funding This Week
Two startups that raised funding this week: Gett, a kind of metasearch for ground transit, and Triparound, which helps hotels and other partners upsell more services to travelers.
Travelport Strikes Deal With Creditors That For Now Could Save It From Bankruptcy
The existence of the deal, previously unreported, should reassure anyone about the travel tech company's near-term stability.
Online Family Travel Club Launched by Wall Street Journal Alums Unbowed by Pandemic
Two journalists have soft-launched a family travel brand called The Expedition. It feels very much born in this moment, given that it's a subscription-based, indie social network.