JetBlue to Help Sell a Private Jet-Style Experience to the Masses
JetBlue's move to sell seats on a tiny airline with scheduled service to smaller airports is a really smart idea that may help popularize private aviation.
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.
Booking Holdings Buys Activities Distribution Startup FareHarbor
Only a couple of years ago, the CEO of family-owned activities distributor FareHarbor said the company would never sell. But never say never. For Booking Holdings, this is further proof that the giant wants to be full-service.
JetBlue’s Venture Arm Invests in a Startup That Predicts Flight Delays
If venture-backed startup Lumo has its way, more travelers will avoid flight cancellations thanks to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. No wonder that JetBlue, EasyJet, and other companies are interested.
TravelPerk Raises $21 Million for Business Travel Bookings: Travel Startup Funding This Week
TravelPerk's and TravelTriangle's fundings are yet a further sign that Skift called it right in our 2018 megatrend predictions. We said companies are investing heavily in treating business travelers as respectable consumers rather than as animals that need prodding like goats.
Luxury Hotels Aim to Get Smarter About Which Ads Work Best
Sometimes it's the small financing deals that reveal cutting-edge trends in investment and technological opportunity. Curacity must hope that's true of this funding, given that its progress to date has been a slow burn in a promising sector.
Nor1 Buys Stay Delightful as More Hotels Upsell Guests on Text Chat
It's old news that many hotels are enabling guests to text requests to the front desk. But it's still early days for them to piece together the tech systems in a way that will let them successfully upsell guests on additional services via chat.
IfOnly Raises $20 Million for Activities Booking: Travel Startup Funding This Week
MasterCard, Hyatt, and others must have done their homework before they invested in IfOnly. Still, the startup certainly expects outsiders to take too much on faith about its progress.
Skift Forum Europe Preview: Amadeus Is Revving Up Its Startup Involvement
Travel startups face long odds, but the lucky ones have a champion in Suzanna Chiu, who has spearheaded an array of programs at travel technology giant Amadeus that have been helping startups thrive. The industry needs more folks like her.
Dubai Agency HolidayMe Raises $12 Million: Travel Startup Funding This Week
As winter gives way to spring, at least in the northern hemisphere, startups raised more than $24 million to expand online travel booking and planning in the Middle East and Europe. Just in time for consumers planning summer trips.