Artificial Intelligence tips

Marriott Bonvoy last month released a new AI tool meant to help users search for vacation rentals under its Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy brand. 

Imagine you’re visiting the Colosseum in Rome for the first time, and you want your friends to enjoy the same view through the lenses you’re wearing. 

The AI assistant in Microsoft Teams can take notes during meetings, list follow-up points, and more. That’s been one of the top uses by Amadeus employees since they started testing Microsoft’s Copilot generative AI chatbot last August.

Google said Wednesday that it is releasing new features that share options for traveling in ways that are more environmentally friendly.

This summer, Dotdash Meredith in the Financial District of New York City will play host to two pivotal events in the travel industry. Happening consecutively on June 4th and 5th, the Skift Data + AI Summit and the Skift Short-Term Rental Summit promise to bring together the brightest minds in travel technology, data science, generative AI, and hospitality. This is the same location where we hosted our 2024 New York City Megatrends event earlier this year.

We are thrilled to unveil the first round of speakers for the highly anticipated inaugural Skift Data + AI Summit, set to take place in New York City on June 4th. This summit promises to be an electrifying convergence of minds at the forefront of data and generative AI, shaping the future of the travel industry worldwide.

Guesty, the property management platform for short-term rental businesses, said Wednesday that it has raised $130 million in series F funding. 

​​IHG Hotels & Resorts is planning to release a trip planning tool powered by artificial intelligence from Google. 

TravelNet Solutions laid off around 15 employees Thursday, roughly 7.5% of its 200-member workforce, a decision the CEO said was about shifting resources toward engineering and its core property management business.

Trivago has brought back a key executive from its December 2016 IPO – there are now four leaders from the old guard running the Germany-based hotel metasearch outfit.

Steve Singh, co-founder of Concur, and a group of firms have fully acquired the corporate travel agency Direct Travel. And they’re planning to release a new platform for customers later this year that combines several new technologies from Direct Travel and three other startups that Singh has a stake in.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, March 28. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Google said Wednesday that it is adding several new tools meant to help travelers plan trips and explore destinations. 

Executives of Amex GBT had an investor call Monday shortly after it announced plans to acquire CWT for $570 million.

Kayak this week released a tool that it says can read flight fare information from a screenshot and then search for a better price. 

Despegar and Kayak both released travel planning and booking tools this week meant to integrate generative AI more comprehensively. 

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, March 7. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Airbnb several years ago had the ambition to be a “super brand for travel.” There was talk of an Airbnb flights feature, as well as restaurants, boutique hotels and experiences. But the pandemic forced it to refocus on its core business of short-term rental stays.

Executives at companies like Airbnb and Booking Holdings have been talking for over a year about plans to implement the latest advances in artificial intelligence.

Our Megatrends series continues today as Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit is joined by Skift Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes, and Colin Nagy, a Skift contributor and host of The Skift Ideas Podcast, to tackle three of Skift’s Megatrends for the year.

Hyatt is one of the world’s fastest-growing hotel groups, and we found a handful of notable details in its annual 10-K filing.