Articles tagged “blockchain”

Interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has never been higher, so this is more a smart marketing play than technological advancement.

Slowly but surely the travel industry is adopting blockchain. At this stage, we're not sure what it will do to the landscape, but smart companies would do well to pay close attention.

Decentralized applications for hotel distribution will soon live side-by-side with existing channels.

Anyone remember Google Wave? Air New Zealand, Lufthansa, TUI, and a whole bunch of investors and techies are betting that blockchain fulfills a lot of promise and exhibits a ton more staying power than previously-hyped technologies that didn't hang around very long.

Our channel checks and industry data point to a relevant future for blockchain technology in travel distribution. However, proponents will need to move fast in creating compelling applications that perform better than what's already out there.

It is easy to see why Lufthansa, which sells flights and ancillary services, would be interested in blockchain. Airlines, hotels and tour operators might be able to use blockchain to dramatically reduce their distribution costs. At this stage, it is hard to tell how close this is to being a reality, and how fearful online travel agents and others should be.

The online travel agencies — as the Apex Predators and beneficiaries at the top of the current distribution scheme — aren't likely to rush in to invest in a technology that democratizes access to travel content.

A CEO such as the Priceline Group's Fogel has to pick which new technology to panic about next. He's keeping tabs on blockchain, but it's not on his investment to-do list yet.

TUI's chief executive is nailing his colors to the mast when it comes to blockchain and its benefits for the travel industry. In theory the technology is great — and TUI has already identified an effective way to use it — but will the hype be justified?

Blockchain is essentially a large immutable database which, due to its security features and decentralized nature, can pose a threat to traditional intermediaries. Companies are looking to expand blockchain to tackle the current travel distribution landscape.