Articles tagged “startups”

Vacasa has reached a remarkable milestone with its plan to go public, having parlayed the booming interest in vacation rentals during the pandemic. Yet the full-service property management sector is crowded, and going public is only the start of the journey.

Sonder has been misunderstood by some. It offers both short-term rental and traditional hotel lodging, and it has mostly appealed to leisure travelers, not business people, so far. The startup's outreach to business travelers could change all that.

Serent Capital was an investing chaperone to Revinate's acquisition of Navis. Its thesis is that the technological stars have finally aligned to produce many of the business intelligence breakthroughs that hotel companies have long sought.

Brazil is fostering dozens of travel tech companies. Developing homegrown digital clout could help the country resist incursions from foreign heavyweights as it leans into a post-pandemic recovery.

This week, travel startups announced more than $710 million in funding. Concepts included Oyo's branded hospitality network, a Chinese hotel group that aims to appeal to its guests across all five senses, and a rewards app for low carbon travel.

Some analysts believe the online booking giants of Europe, the U.S., and China will sweep the world. Call it "travel giant triumphalism." But Russia may prove a treacherous market for foreign brands, opening a gap for local players.

Institutional investors seem to have confidence that Oyo will be able to survive the pandemic and live to fight on.

This week, travel startup Yanolja said it had raised $1.7 billion in funding. A few smaller businesses also raised funding, including Bookaway, which aims to link up ground and sea transportation booking systems.

It's official and improbable. The South Korean startup Yanolja considers itself a triple threat to hotel tech sellers like Oracle Hospitality, online agencies like Hopper, and mid-market hospitality brands like Sonder. Can it really succeed in all three?

Hotels generally don't want online travel agencies to run their front desks and house-cleaning services. And Expedia Group is much better at marketing and booking hotel rooms than operating them.