Sean O'Neill

The world's biggest operator of ski resorts, Compagnie des Alpes, wants to fend off the threat of third-party distribution by offering consumers a one-stop shop for booking all parts of a trip. Leave it to the French to lead the resistance.

Tripping, a leader among vacation rental price-comparison startups, is facing fierce competition from rivals like HomeToGo, Holidu, and Hundredrooms thanks to a flurry of fundings in the past year.

It's nice that leading Chinese review guide Ctrip Gourmet List has tied up with OpenTable to introduce Chinese travelers to some of America's best food. But when will OpenTable bulk up its China listings?

It would be bad if Chrome River spent all of its newfound money on travel and entertainment. But at least it would be able to expense it efficiently if it did.

Room Key is a bit like the train in the children's story, "The Little Engine That Could," which kept saying "I think I can, I think I can." While Room Key may never become the next Kayak, it may help hotel chains gain more direct bookings.

The biggest online travel story in Latin America in 2017 was Despegar's IPO. The Expedia-backed booking site raised $332 million to fund its expansion. The company has hinted that it is likely to use some of the cash to make an acquisition in 2018.

This week, startups raised funding to help simplify cross-border transactions, lend consumers money to book travel, offer airport valet services, map interior spaces, automate back-office processes for rental property managers, and split the booking of multiple-night hotel stays. They'll have a happy New Year for sure.

HomeAway’s fee hike spotlights the shifting economics of the vacation rental business. Property owners are weighing how much of a cut technology companies deserve when making it easier for them to put heads in beds.

Like many airlines, Lufthansa worries that other companies could disrupt parts of its business like Netflix did with movies. To prevent that, it has launched a data-based offensive.

Who needs Santa? This week investors announced more than $179.5 million in funding for startups that specialize in hotel revenue management, baggage transport, and online travel services.