Articles tagged “online travel agencies”

It took novel coronavirus to see free organic links from Expedia, Tripadvisor, and Booking.com rise in prominence in Google Search. This isn't necessarily a game changer for the online travel agencies at a time when travel demand is in the tank. It's more like a temporary reprieve from the Google World Order.

Many embattled travel firms will appreciate any kind of assistance they can get to ride through the coronavirus storm. And for those who could lend a hand to other players during this crisis, why not? It’s a goodwill gesture.

Expedia in December promoted Ariane Gorin to become boss of Expedia Business Services. Gorin had led a team that had recently won major enterprise accounts, like Marriott's exclusive redistribution deal. Opportunity abounds for the company to expand its business-to-business partnerships.

Coronavirus has caused turmoil in the global financial markets, which has devalued several key currencies and made foreign trips costlier. But devaluation may also make potential acquisition targets cheaper for Despegar, the region's largest online travel agency.

There's not much travel companies can do about the coronavirus outbreak. Like many of its peers, Hostelworld is having to execute its growth strategy in an unfavorable environment.

Direct bookings have been harder for smaller hotels and mom-and-pop tour operators to get than for the big guys. Still, tech providers, such as Sojern, Xola, and Destinia, aim to democratize online marketing tools.

For many players in Asia’s tours and activities space, dealing with mounting coronavirus cancellations is proving to be a pain point without the aid of robust technology systems in place. This crisis will be a sharp reminder that digitalization is the way to go.

The travel arrangement and reservation services sector has experienced strong growth for the past few years and outperformed other major travel verticals. We believe this trend will continue in the next few years, aided by more digital transformation.

Event planners can expect increasingly aggressive pitches from hotels as group bookings decline and the threat of coronavirus continues to loom. The new year is already taking some unique turns.

A predicted dip in group bookings is making hotels more aggressive on bookings, with future uncertainty compounded by coronavirus and the 2020 election.