Sean O'Neill

Pickyourtrail has received funding to expand its online services for booking international vacations; its operation is strikingly sophisticated for a small startup. Plus, investors also recently announced bets on smart hotels, urban lounges, and storage places for luggage.

It's well-known that Facebook and its sister brand Instagram have become hugely appealing destinations for marketers to spend money. But a global survey by travel tech firm Sojern suggests that a lot of trial-and-error is still going on as marketers attempt to master new tools.

Fare-filing clearinghouse ATPCO has announced changes in its c-suite. So we checked in to see how it's progressing on its modernization effort. The challenges are daunting.

On March 1, Taj Hotels will start taking bookings for its official foray into homesharing with its new brand, Amã, with nine bungalows. It's further proof of the Skift Megatrend that in hospitality, "everything is converging."

Three interesting companies announced investments this week: Virtuo, a car rental service, aims to replace service counters with mobile-first customer service. May Mobility builds autonomous vehicles for smart cities. NuStay offers hotel price-comparison.

Shiji, the tech conglomerate with an investment from Alibaba, continues to snap up companies in a bid for hotel tech supremacy. It has nabbed IcePortal in the wake of that company's arch-rival Leonardo being snatched up last November by tech conglomerate Jonas.

A year ago the U.S. changed its corporate tax law. A look at the impact on travel tech giant Sabre may show, by example, the benefits to many U.S. businesses broadly. The reform appeared to give the company added financial flexibility in 2018.

Customer-experience software companies Medallia, which is planning to go public this year, and Qualtrics, which SAP has just acquired for $8 billion, are receiving cash injections that should rev up their services. That's significant news for travel businesses that depend heavily on positive customer sentiment but increasingly face customer survey fatigue.

The market for long-term business lodging is being dragged, thankfully, into the digital era by companies like 2nd Address. Plus, fundraising news for Festicket, Oaky, and Operto.

Expedia Group wants to become less U.S.-centric, but change is coming slowly. Trivago's troubles are partly to blame.