Justin Dawes travel tips

Sabre has a long way to go to reach the power it had before the pandemic. That was clear from its 2023 annual report, showing its latest financials and other details about the business, including layoffs completed last year and plans for tech investment. 

It was another busy week for travel startup funding, and this time it was all early rounds with lower amounts.

Last week was a busy time for travel tech funding, and this one is a bit slower. The startups featured join a group of competitors that have raised money in previous months: Next-generation aircrafts and AI-powered trip planners. 

Amadeus is expanding its biometrics services for airports through the acquisition of Vision-Box for $347.7 million (€320 million).

Mews, the growing hotel tech startup, has made its eighth acquisition. 

Duve, one of the first hotel tech startups to share plans on incorporating generative AI, has acquired a competitor. 

The CEO suite in the Choice Hotels headquarters is about to get a new wall decoration — a framed piece of an old data server. 

After a sleepy holiday season, it was the biggest week in a while for startup funding in travel. 

It can take years for a hotel brand to complete a full tech transformation: Migrating data from old systems to modern, cloud-based platforms is not an easy process. 

TravelPerk, a growing business travel agency and software platform, has raised another $104 million. 

Six travel startups announced fundraises of more than $208 million this week.

Six Flags is partnering with Google, Dell, and a group of other tech companies to integrate artificial intelligence and add a metaverse experience.

Mondee, the booking platform for travel agents, cut roughly 15 jobs from its marketing team late last year, including its chief marketing officer.  

IBS Software is expanding its presence in the hotel tech sector with the acquisition of Above Property Services for $90 million. 

Four travel tech startups announced fundraises over the past two weeks totaling more than $15 million.

Tripavisor plans to release a metaverse experience later this year. 

The Apple Vision Pro can help users explore new places virtually and relive travels from the past. 

Travel Counsellors, a UK-based tech platform for travel agents, has acquired Planisto, a similar company that specializes in trip planning and booking. 

Tripnotes got a lot of attention in early 2023 as one of the first experimental AI trip planners powered by ChatGPT. 

Travel companies laid off more than 6,600 employees in 2023. The total comes from more than 20 travel companies that disclosed layoffs for various reasons.

Travel startups raised at least $3.7 billion in 2023. Skift tracked more than 200 travel startup fundraises through a weekly roundup article, compiled from company announcements and exclusive reporting.