Sean O'Neill

Operators of tours, activities, and attractions are taking a crash course in online classes, virtual tours, and digital souvenir sales. We doubt these efforts can fully replace the revenue of in-person experiences. Yet there are needs to fill. Many housebound people and remote teams could use the human connection, while many hosts are eager for income.

Travelsky, China's travel technology giant, said it will weather the coronavirus-related plunge in air travel without needing to lay off workers. Remarkably, in January it added a tool to its popular flight app that alerts a traveler if another passenger is later tested and found to have coronavirus.

Everyone in the travel industry is frustrated right now with much of the world frozen up. But Nicolas Brumelot, the co-founder and president of travel startup Misterfly, speaks for many agencies frustrated by alleged delays in refunds by some airlines.

Take a break from all the bad news and dream about flying taxis.

What's it like being the general manager of a luxury hotel during coronavirus? We asked Franka Holtmann, who looks after Le Meurice for Dorchester Collection. She spoke candidly and poetically about her worries, her new workflows, and how she cares for her team.

The hospitality industry has always fundamentally been about bringing people together creatively. So it makes sense that the lodging sector has been putting together resources online to trade operational insights and to share ways to help their communities.

Granted, this crisis is unprecedented. Yet hotels worldwide can learn lessons from how hotels have faced regional shutdowns, such as in Asia-Pacific in recent months, in Las Vegas after the shooting rampage, and elsewhere after hurricanes and financial crises. Managing room rates and marketing offers is critical to making the most of a rebound in demand.

This week, travel startups Bimble and Pruvo announced they had raised more than $1 million each in funding, despite the coronavirus crisis. Keep hope alive.

From short-term rentals to tours and activities to corporate travel, here are pockets of the travel tech startup sector to follow closely in the weeks ahead.

Cloudbeds' ability to raise $82 million validates both its strategy and the broader hospitality tech sector. Other notable fundings this week include Checkfront, which helps tours-and-activities operators handle bookings and payments, and SuitePad, which supplies digital tablets to hotel guest rooms.