Articles tagged “travel tech”

There's an AI backlash coming, for sure.

Roamie became a victim of test-and learn. Expedia found that a chatbot that's an end-to end solution isn't practical for now — but it might be in the future.

Expedia isn't reinventing the OTA. It's stretching the definition — upstream into inspiration, downstream into day-of-travel — so booking becomes one stop in a longer relationship.

HBX has been trying to diversify from reselling hotel rooms since before it went public. Each time, the answer is new inventory and better tech for selling. Experiences and AI are the latest pitch.

Hotel owners see operating-cost inflation grinding margins. One third-party manager is publicly betting that AI and other technologies are the most promising route back to profitability.

Can a 29-year-old brand with limited resources remake its advertising and products to effectively reach younger generations? Priceline's new CEO is making bets that it can.

Generative AI platforms now shape travel shortlists at the inspiration stage. With 94% of hotels invisible in AI search results, only a narrow set makes it into consideration. Brands not present in the media sources informing these tools risk being filtered out before booking even begins.

Is Expedia reverting to the deal appetite it displayed in 2015 when it acquired Travelocity, Orbitz and Homeaway? After acquiring Tiqets in February, Expedia could be looking to make another B2B move.

Airbnb's Chesky is nothing if not ambitious. Given that people's preferences can change at any moment, the ability to serve customers with only a hotel or home, depending what they need in that instant, seems a long way off, even with agentic AI.

Tripadvisor had a tough first quarter, adversely impacted by cancellations in Mexico, Hawaii, and elsewhere because of the Middle East conflict. Its quest for strategic alternatives has been a multiyear slog.