AI tips

Tourists looking to explore Germany can expect a helping hand from the country’s first AI-generated travel influencer, which the German National Tourist Board debuted on Thursday.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, October 24, 2024, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. 

Last quarter, MakeMyTrip introduced Myra, an AI-powered chatbot designed to streamline international flight bookings. Myra has since evolved, and currently handles hotel and homestay bookings, providing real-time assistance based on a wealth of proprietary data, including customer reviews.

Tourism Authority of Thailand has introduced an AI-driven initiative designed to boost spiritual tourism. “Mu Thua Thai Pai Kub AI” offers a modern twist on traditional astrology, aiming to personalize travel experiences.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, October 3, 2024 and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. 

Hilton has partnered with Indian actor Sidharth Malhotra to extend its global marketing platform, ‘Hilton. For The Stay’ in the Indian market. The campaign would be driven with new initiatives and investments tailored to India, the company said in a statement. 

With a handful of notable exceptions, airline CEOs are a fairly measured bunch. So when you hear a chief executive predicting that “this will change everything,” it’s a good idea to pay attention. 

There has been a resurgence in the use of travel agents since the pandemic – and even before – especially for luxury trips.

Trivago announced Tuesday that it acquired a 30% equity interest in Holisto, which uses “split and match” technology to create novel hotel deals, for $10 million. Trivago said it has the option to buy the remaining 70% of the company within 15 months.

In 2019, ToursByLocals received $33 million from a private equity firm and had plans for a full rebranding of its website. Then came the pandemic.

While the travel agent on the screen looked and sounded like a video game character, it asked and answered travel booking questions with a near-human speed. With the power of generative artificial intelligence (AI), the Zeno computer travel agent from tech company Serko talked me through relevant hotel suggestions for an upcoming trip.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, July 25, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. 

When it came down to it, Google didn’t want to anger its core customers — advertisers — and this week announced it won’t phase out third-party cookies in its Chrome browser as planned.

Airbnb boss Brian Chesky has a ton of experience with regulations. The company faces a ban in Barcelona in a few years, was nearly erased from New York City, and has to deal with countless other regulatory battles around the world.

Oracle Hospitality is taking its time to integrate the latest advancements of AI into its hotel tech products. 

Fetcherr, which offers an AI-driven market engine to help airlines create enticing fares for travelers, closed a $90 million Series B funding round.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation, today announced that the AI Retreat, organised collaboratively by the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DCAI) and the National Program for Artificial Intelligence, will become an annual event on Dubai’s calendar, with the next retreat set to run on 29 April 2025. Dubai was voted as Middle East’s Leading Destination 2024 by the World Travel Awards

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, June 14, 2024. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Can property managers successfully build national brands? Have short-term rental businesses tilted too heavily toward travelers instead of homeowners? What has been the impact of New York’s Local Law 18, which amounted to a defacto ban of most Airbnbs, on individual homeowners?

Having raised INR 3.33 billion ($40 million) from anchor investors on Friday, Ixigo opened its initial public offering (IPO) on Monday.

Contiki, a travel company focused on young adults, is eyeing expansion in Asia, Latin America, and Africa as it adapts to the post-pandemic travel landscape.