Platform tips

Seven startups involved in the travel industry have raised nearly $124 million this week.

Expedia Group Media Solutions, Expedia’s travel advertising division, has released a new media platform that allows travelers to shop and book travel as they watch content. One of its first partners will be Brand USA, the U.S.’s national tourism marketing agency.

Breezeway, a property operations platform for short-term rentals, has launched ChatGPT-powered artificial intelligence tools within its platform.

California-based climate risk technology company Sensible Weather is expanding out of the U.S. into Europe following a new partnership with Ireland’s Campsited.

Two travel tech startups have raised nearly $28 million this week.

Blueground, the property management company that operates furnished 30-plus-day rentals, has acquired Nestpick in an equity-based deal. Nestpick’s platform lists month to month rentals of furnished accommodation. The company is registered in Germany, with offices in New York.

Vacation rental software maker Hostaway has raised $175 million. The funding round was led by PSG Equity, a Boston-based firm that invests in growth-stage software businesses. 

Saudi Arabia’s ambitious target to attract 100 million tourists a year, as part of its Vision 2030 to revive tourism, now has a new activities platform as part of its growth engine. 

Priceline is gearing up for a busy summer of travel with the introduction of its new AI platform, The announcement comes a day after sister company Booking.com entered the AI game. 

Six travel tech startups reported raising nearly $49 million this week.

Short-term rental data provider AirDNA, has acquired New York-based firm Arrivalist, a location intelligence platform for the travel industry. The deal brings both companies under Predictis, an umbrella group software and data businesses under Alpine Investors. 

Indian online travel agency Ixigo is establishing its own independent hotel booking platform, co-founder and group CEO, Aloke Bajpai told Skift – currently, it works with Booking.com for those transactions.

Viator continues to be the star performer for Tripadvisor, accounting for 44% of the company’s total revenue in the second quarter of this year. But its parent company is spending nearly as much money as it generates to elevate Viator’s positioning as an experiences platform.

European-based experience gift platform Smartbox Group has acquired the Scandinavian experiences platform Truestory.

France-based airport retail and duty-free ordering platform, Inflyter, is expanding its presence in airports having first debuted at Beirut-Rafic Hariri Airport in 2018 with global duty-free operator Aer Rianta International. The latest placement of its smart lockers was in Lima’s Jorge Chávez International in partnership with Lagardère Travel Retail and Lima Airport Partners in Peru.