AI tips

On the back of its November acquisition of GamePlanner.AI, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said his company can create a new AI interface, and that it will help transform Airbnb into a “cross-vertical company” like Amazon or Apple.

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

A revamped Trivago Guy campaign, this one using just one actor whose monologue is powered by AI, is getting a mixed reaction in the 20 or so markets it’s running in around the world.

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

It’s been just over a year since ChatGPT launched, and everyone gets that artificial intelligence will have a huge impact on businesses in every industry, including travel. Less clear is the timeline and where the changes will hit most.

The travel industry has made enormous progress in its rebound from the pandemic this year, but it still faces several hurdles in its quest to make a full recovery — such as Chinese outbound travel not yet hitting pre-Covid levels.

What is the future of travel? Answering that is Skift’s editorial mission, and the release of our annual Megatrends is core to that mission.

Some business travelers whose employers are Uber for Business clients will no longer have to email or take screenshots of their Uber rides or Uber Eats receipts when submitting their expense reports, Uber said Tuesday.

There’s already is a tug of war between corporations that want their employees back into the office full-time, and workers who don’t want to give up working from home or as digital nomads.

Generative AI is already prompting travel businesses to retool internal operations and release new products.

Travellers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) plan to increase their spending on breaks and holidays over the next three years and will have more of an eye on sustainability than ever before. In fact, most now check the sustainability of their travel plans, and are prepared to pay over 20% more for environmentally-friendly accommodation.

It’s not without its tensions, but Google and Booking Holdings have long had a mutually beneficial relationship: Google gets billions of dollars from Booking’s ads, and Booking benefits from all of the customers Google sends along.

From his posts and re-posts on X, it’s clear that Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is highly supportive of Sam Altman, the ousted CEO of OpenAI, and now-former board Chairman Greg Brockman, and Chesky seems to be in-the-know about some of the maneuverings behind the scenes.

Airbnb unveiled its biannual set of product enhancements Wednesday, and much of the attention will surely focus on new badges that identify customers’ favorite homes – “Guest Favorites” – and a tweaked ratings page. But hosts will benefit from several other features as well.

Expedia Group laid off around 100 employees in a round of cuts that impacted its product and tech organization, Skift has learned.

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has hailed as transformational the move by local grown resort chain, Sandals Resorts International, to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to train its employees, through the use of virtual and augmented reality.

Ahead of the Arival 360 Conference in Orlando on October 9-12, travel leaders have shared the top three tours, activities and experiences trends they expect will shape the travel industry in 2024.

So-called junk fees have been in the forefront of many travel executives’ minds, especially after the Biden administration took aim at charges travelers increasingly see as unnecessary and excessive.

Corporate travel agency Navan, like many other travel brands, is bullish on the potential of artificial intelligence to revolutionize the travel industry. But its CEO and co-founder, Ariel Cohen, warns travel companies looking to launch a generative AI-powered tool that the process is far from simple.

Expedia Group is launching a new program called EG Labs to give some consumers early access to tests for its Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo products.