PhocusWire

#Hotel booking platform HotelPlanner has acquired PetsWelcome.com, which helps travelers find pet-friendly accommodations. "We are thrilled to welcome PetsWelcome.com into the HotelPlanner family," said Bruce Rosenberg, global president at HotelPlanner. "This acquisition allows us to better serve the millions of pet owners who consider their pets part of the family and want them by their side during their travels.” Learn more on #PhocusWire: https://bit.ly/40eNS3L #travelnews #traveltech #travelindustry #petfriendlyhotels #petfriendlyaccommodations

Expanding into international markets presents massive opportunities but can be a challenging journey for small and medium-sized businesses in Asia Pacific, especially in the travel industry. While the potential for growth is there, cross-border payments can present significant obstacles - high fees, delays and regulatory complexities. For Albressa Travel, a Philippines-based travel agency, these challenges became an opportunity for innovation, working in strategic partnership with Payoneer. Learn more on #PhocusWire: https://bit.ly/3P3lniQ #traveltech #travelnews #travelindustry #travelpayments

TripSuite has raised $5 million in seed funding to grow its artificial intelligence-powered platform for travel agencies that includes tools for customer relationship management, commission tracking, accounting, payments and more. "We are enabling our customers to harness powerful insights that propel informed decisions and foster deep, personalized engagements with their end clients, the travelers,” said Jacey Jones, co-founder and CEO of TripSuite. Learn more on #PhocusWire: https://bit.ly/3VQZgjt #travelnews #traveltech #travelindustry

How do you handle diving into opportunities when you have a company to protect? You might be a little more risk averse with a company on your hands than you might be in general, according to KAYAK co-founder and CEO Steve Hafner, who has stayed with the company since co-founding it two decades ago. “I gamble [in] my personal life, but I don't do that [in] my professional life,” Hafner said during a Center Stage session at The Phocuswright Conference last month. He said Kayak’s “tolerance for risk” may have held the company back from taking big leaps, but has actually been positive for its overall development. Watch the full interview now on #PhocusWire: https://bit.ly/49TeEld #traveltech #travelnews #travelindustry

Few career moves in the travel space attract as much attention as the departure of Expedia Group CTO Rathi Murthy in May. Little was said at the time except that it was for a "violation of company policy", yet it was PhocusWire's most popular story of 2024. The sudden nature of the CTO's departure was almost matched by the demise of European tour operator FTI Group in June. This year was also marked by increased merger and acquisition activity and interesting moves in the tours and activities segment. 🔎 Here are the 10 stories that captured the most attention from #PhocusWire readers in 2024: https://bit.ly/41EmcX3 #travelindustry #traveltech #travelnews #traveltrends

Tripadvisor will repurchase its Series A and Series B common stock from Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, which has held a controlling interest in the online travel company since 2012, in a deal valued at $435 million. The companies announced the merger Thursday morning and the deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025. Learn more on #PhocusWire: https://bit.ly/49LBLhs #travelnews #travelindustry #traveltech #tripadvisor

#Airline revenue management has long been seen as an art, but as the industry transitions to offer and order management, science is taking the driver’s seat. First developed in the 1970s, revenue management has changed substantially over the years. Initially, carriers introduced discount fares based on time of booking but this soon grew into fares priced based on time of day, day of travel, and seasonality. Many network carriers have since transitioned to origin and destination revenue management. Now airlines are using smart platforms to take a hybrid approach, which requires some scientific thinking. Get the full story from PROS here: https://bit.ly/4grEAXO #traveltech #travelnews #travelindustry #airlinetech #revenuemanagement #offersandorders

Dublin-based startup Nuitée has received $48 million in Series A funding as it continues to build technology for #hotel connectivity and distribution. Founder Med Benmansour said in a blog post that he started the company with partner Said Rkaibi and founding member Olivier Dheur in 2017 with his eyes set on revolutionizing the industry with an “API-first approach”. Read more on #PhocusWire: https://bit.ly/401D5tm Nuitée | Enabling all companies to build travel solutions #travelnews #traveltech #travelindustry #hoteltech

The agentic artificial intelligence era is coming and the #travel industry needs to keep up. That was the message from a session entitled A Glimpse of the New Age(nts) at The Phocuswright Conference in Phoenix. Michael Gulmann, founder and CEO of Otto, and Mark Losey, CTO of flockx, spoke about their AI agent tools while Noreen Henry, chief revenue officer of Sojern and Terry Jones, chairman of Amgine, critiqued the two demos based on their experience of working with #AI in travel. Watch the full session on #PhocusWire: https://bit.ly/3VOKiL0 #traveltech #travelindustry #travelnews

Meili, the company from former CarTrawler executives Bobby Healy and Mike McGearty that integrates #airlines and #travel customers with #carrental businesses, has raised €8.1 million. The company has partnered with almost 40 companies including Lufthansa, Latam Airlines, Accor, Journify, Enterprise and Budget. The new funding gives the company the “firepower” to continue to build its ancillary platform that aims to empower travel brands, airlines and mobility providers, according to CEO and co-founder Mike McGearty. Learn more on #PhocusWire: https://bit.ly/3P3mfnK #travelnews #traveltech #travelindustry