This month, an 11-year-old startup called Flyr raised the largest single round of venture capital for a travel tech company in years: A total package of nearly $300 million.
14.08.2024 - 17:53 / skift.com / Brian Chesky / Glenn Fogel / Justin Dawes / Matthew Goldberg
Executives of top travel companies continue to emphasize that AI will transform the industry — even if it’s taking longer than expected.
While executive tend not to talk publicly about AI as often as they did in 2023, many CEOs of the biggest travel companies still are.
Below are comments about AI during earnings calls this month by execs at Booking Holdings, Amex GBT, Airbnb, and Tripadvisor.
Glenn Fogel, president and CEO of Booking Holdings, has a vision for what he calls the “connected trip.” It’s the idea of a seamless travel experience, with the consumer being able to book all parts of a trip in one place, and each supplier having easy access to that traveler’s data.
Fogel believes the latest advancements of AI are key to making that dream a reality.
David Thompson, chief information officer for Amex GBT, discussed in detail how the company is moving AI pilots into the implementation phase. It’s a component of $100 million in savings opportunities the company expects to realize this year.
The business travel agency said earlier this year that it had assembled a team focused on implementing AI across the company.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said it will take years to rebuild Airbnb into a fully AI-powered digital travel concierge that learns and adapts to each individual user.
Last year, the Airbnb CEO told Skift CEO Rafat Ali the company would be “rebuilding the entire app with AI at the center” by May 2024.
TripAdvisor first released its AI-powered trip planner, Trips, in July 2023 and has made updates since then.
Matthew Goldberg, president and CEO of Tripadvisor, said that travelers who have used the tool have generated an average of 15 times more revenue than TripAdvisor’s platform-wide average. The company recently added 20 new languages and 30 new regions to the tool, and it has scaled AI-powered review summaries for restaurants and experiences.
This month, an 11-year-old startup called Flyr raised the largest single round of venture capital for a travel tech company in years: A total package of nearly $300 million.
Steve Singh and a group of industry veterans are rolling out a new AI trip planner and booking agent for business travel.
Expedia’s short-term rental platform Vrbo is trying to attract hosts with a new line of ads that offer the same promise it advertises to renters: a stress-free alternative to competitors like Airbnb.
After Brian Chesky’s lively conversation with Skift CEO Rafat Ali about the huge New York City crackdown and European growth at last year’s Forum, we are elated to announce that he will be once again returning to Skift Global Forum for our eleventh edition.
Booking and Expedia spend a ton on marketing: Nearly $13 billion combined in 2023, up from $10 billion in 2019. And it’s the largest expense for both companies, accounting for roughly half of their total operating expenses.
Oneworld Alliance said Thursday that it has been piloting a generative AI tool meant to help users book multi-city trips.
Blackstone said Thursday that it plans to acquire a majority stake in hotel accounting tech company M3 — and more deals in travel tech likely are coming.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, August 15, 2024, and now here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
In this episode of the Skift India Travel Podcast, Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia sits down with Mahesh Iyer, managing director and CEO of Thomas Cook India, to explore how the company is strategically adapting to the evolving preferences of Indian travelers. The discussion delves into the shifting dynamics of India’s travel landscape and how Thomas Cook is positioning itself to meet these new demands.
Duane Brown jets off to international destinations seven or eight times a year.
Four travel startups raised nearly $240 million this week, but one raise accounted for the vast majority of that.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, August 9, 2024, and now here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.