Travel booking tips

​​A new tool has been launched by Qantas to help small and medium sized Australian businesses manage their travel requirements.

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

Just days before announcing a reduction in its workforce, Hopper CEO Fred Lalonde joined Dennis Schaal, executive editor and founding editor of Skift, at the 10th Skift Global Forum to discuss the company’s strategic direction and profit goals.

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.

Expedia Group caused a stir this summer when it cut ties with the growing online travel app Hopper.  Peter Kern, Expedia’s CEO, stood by the decision onstage Wednesday at the Skift Global Forum during a session moderated by Skift executive editor Dennis Schaal. Expedia Group owns brands including Expedia.com, Vrbo, Hotels.com, Travelocity, and Orbitz.

Big banks are making a bold statement in travel and will increasingly become the first place — at the top of the proverbial trip-planning funnel — where customers look to book their trips.

TikTok can’t be overlooked in marketing. The short-form video platform now hosts 750 million monthly users worldwide, making it the third largest social media network, according to Insider Intelligence. 

Travelers make multiple purchases in preparation for their trip, a consideration Tripadvisor believes should be noticed by marketers. The company honed in on the purchasing intent of its audience and found that despite rising prices, plans to travel is on par with 2019 levels.

The boom of conversational AI is making so many new possibilities dreamt of for decades finally possible. The technology today is 100 percent there, what matters is whether, or when, large companies will adopt it for product development.

Affluent U.S. travelers are ready to drop some serious money on their travel plans in 2023 and they’re keeping Virtuoso’s global network of luxury travel agents busier than ever.

Hotel booking startup, Safara, is hoping to use curated lists and invite-only memberships to meet the high expectations of millennials and Gen Z travelers. 

If booking friction and connectivity have been such a burning issue for the tours and activities sector, why has standardization to break digital barriers to growth taken this long?

Online travel agency Wheel the World, which serves travelers with disabilities, announced on Thursday that it’s offering guaranteed accessibility and price match for hotel rooms booked on its website.

Tour operators offering accommodations as part of their unique retreats for dog sledding, surfing, skiing, and yoga are behind a push towards building direct platforms that allow travelers to book their stay and personalized experience all in one place.

Australian-based tour operator Intrepid Travel returned to positive operating cashflow, after closing off 2022 with record bookings for its 33-year history.

The UK-based fintech app Revolut, which claims 30 million users, has added a in-app experiences marketplace, in partnership with Tripadvisor’s Viator.