Travel Technology

Sabre is engaged in a tough but necessary technology transition. Beyond the system outages it has experienced recently, some of the events impacting its financial results, namely the Jet Airways financial collapse and the Boeing 737 Max groundings, are beyond the company's control.

InterContinental Hotels Group aims to use its new reservations system from Amadeus to set and shift rates based on customer preferences and spending habits. But the move will eventually force the company to throw away its rulebook on how to maximize revenue.

Travelport sees an opportunity to gain share with mid-market travel management companies in the U.S., which seems plausible. But it will need to keep up its pace of adopting new technologies and policies to pull that off.

Consumers in the West reach almost reflexively for the Google Maps app as the service becomes a nearly ubiquitous utility despite a dearth of messaging and payments. Whether it evolves into the next superapp may depend on whether users really want a do-everything app and the mood of regulators seeking to break up big tech.

TravelSky, China's state-backed airline distribution and software services company, reported solid revenue growth in 2018. But the company's insulation from market competition risks creating complacency, and some signs suggest Chinese airlines are frustrated.

While other hotel brand companies are focused on merger integrations and becoming asset-light, InterContinental Hotels (IHG) is emerging as a leader in hospitality tech innovation and developing itself into a nimbler, more diversified company. The company's key areas of focus are making it a smarter, better hotel company that is well-positioned no matter what the future looks like.

Americans and Europeans who used to scoff at QR-style bar codes are going to need to learn how to use them to pay for meals, attractions, and tickets whenever they visit Japan. The reason? Swelling Chinese tourism is prompting the country to adopt China’s preferred mobile payment method.

Automated bag-drop technology may be widespread at major airports, but the rest of the world still has to add the equipment needed for passengers to scan their own bags. Amadeus aims to help sell those machines now that it has bought ICM. Amadeus is positioning itself to compete assertively with airline-owned SITA for airport tech sales.

As travel CMOs and their teams take on more responsibilities, a well-designed and articulated operations plan is crucial for delivering marketing success. Use this series of Skift Research reports to see how you stack up against other companies in your sector in key operational areas and set up strategies to optimize.

Datalex, which provides tech to help power ticket booking on airline websites, is desperate for good news, which is why the company's words in the next few months should be treated with skepticism. That said, a lowered share price may make the vendor a takeover target.