Travel Technology

Lola wants to use mobile messaging, and an artificial intelligence system that learns traveler preferences, to reinvent how consumers book travel using a travel agent. Everyone else wants to cut travel agents out. Lola wants to deal them in.

Blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt nearly every aspect of every industry imaginable. But can it overcome its predecessor's (Bitcoin) stumbles and, if so, how would it potentially work in the travel space?

Traveler demand for, and use of, Internet connection services is soaring, creating a dilemma for travel brands that must walk a precarious tightrope between charging for access and risking customer anger over unreliable free service.

Fliers consistently rave about the perks and convenience of airlines like Porter. But the sad truth is that more powerful industry competitors and government regulators can make or break the success of upstarts, simply by denying access to key airports or limiting their growth.

As with anything Google does, you can expect Google Trips to be very much a work in progress that goes through numerous iterations before it becomes available to the public. But its beta release expands Google's footprint in the travel ecosystem especially since so many consumers begin their trip planning in the search engine and explore destinations with the Maps app.

Traveler demand for, and use of, Internet connection services is soaring, creating a dilemma for travel brands that must walk a precarious tightrope between charging for access and risking customer anger over unreliable free service.

Google tends to favor digital products over human-facing services but it's possible that a new "travel assistant app" could blend the two. Then again, they've tried this before.

The way that hotel stays are booked, especially in Europe, could make it hard for digital innovations like virtual cards and mobile payments to ever really catch on in corporate travel.

Travel industry experts and analysts are hailing the rise of a “conversational commerce” based on the increasing appeal of messaging technology. The applications range from customer relations and marketing to travel operations — and they loom large for travel brands, agencies, and startups seeking to capture travelers’ bookings in the mobile space.

To benefit from the massive wave of travelers out of China, brands must work harder to help guests navigate language, cultural and payment barriers — mobile tools are a great first step.