Middle East-based online travel marketplace Wego has acquired corporate travel platform Travelstop as part of its expansion into business travel and expense management.
25.08.2023 - 13:53 / skift.com / Asia Pacific / Dennis Schaal / Mark Zuckerberg
Move over Mark Zuckerberg and your metaverse vision: Travelzoo said it will be launching its own metaverse shortly.
Travelzoo’s vaguely defined pitch about its metaverse is that will be a digital travel experiences platform. More details are tightly guarded at the moment.
The launch of Travelzoo META is one of Travelzoo management’s main priorities, along with upping its membership, which didn’t increase in 2022, and revenue growth; generating higher operating margins to “significantly increase” earnings per share, and expanding subscription revenue from its Jack’s Flight Club airline deals newsletter, according to a fourth quarter and full-year 2022 investor presentation.
Arveena Ahluwalia, general manager, Travelzoo META, said during a 25-minute fourth quarter earnings call Wednesday that she would only provide a “super quick” update “since the team is pretty busy with the launch of Phase 1 of Travelzoo META in the coming weeks.”
In fact, there was no update at all other than the “in the coming weeks” timeframe for the launch, and a marketing tease in the investor presentation in the form of 10 images of “the first look” at Travelzoo META.
Travelzoo’s metaverse, initially had a target launch date for September 2022. The company said previously that it started testing it in May 2022, and its metaverse was billed to “be browser-enabled entertaining travel experiences that allow members to interact with, and in, the metaverse.” The company touted it as a way to attract new subscribers to Travelzoo’s deals publications, and to bring in younger customers.
Travelzoo negotiates deals with airlines, hotels and tour operators when the lack substantial reservations, and passes them along to consumers at a profit.
Ahluwalia said in October that the Travelzoo META would be a subscription product. “Given our attempt to be the first mover in providing travel experiences in the Metaverse, please understand at this time, we can only provide limited information,” Ahluwalia said.
In other developments, Travelzoo reported that it in the fourth quarter it saw strength in the U.S., where its operating margin was 29 percent. North America revenue grew 53 percent to $13.1 million, and Europe revenue expanded 9 percent to $4.7 million. Travelzoo exited Asia Pacific in March 2020 and has a licensing deal there.
The company generated $2.4 million in net income in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared with a loss of $3.2 million a year earlier. Revenue climbed 36 percent to $18.6 million. Officials said they were able to cut overhead in an enduring manner during the pandemic.
CEO Holger Bartel expressed optimism about 2023 because tougher economic times present opportunities for Travelzoo to secure greater discounts from
Middle East-based online travel marketplace Wego has acquired corporate travel platform Travelstop as part of its expansion into business travel and expense management.
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For the past 125 years, RIMOWA has been one of the most coveted luggage brands marrying durability, technology, and style into sleek suitcases beloved around the world. This upcoming New York Fashion Week, the brand launches its touring exhibition ‘SEIT 1898’ in Manhattan’s Chelsea Factory giving visitors an intimate glimpse into the company’s past, present, and future. Starting on September 8 through the 17th, guests will be able to immerse themselves in the many facets of RIMOWA from its innovative craftsmanship to a wide array of creative collaborations.
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Organised by Atout France, the second edition of the #ExploreFrance Festival takes place in London from 11-17 September 2023 and shines the spotlight on wine tourism. The festival is entirely dedicated to promoting French wine tourism destinations, targeting British travellers with a series of professional and public events that position France as a key oenological and eco-responsible tourist destination in Europe and highlight its importance in UK-France trade. The festival will include B2B and press activities for French partners over three days and is supported by a week-long cultural programme around wine for the general public, held at the Institut Français.
Geared at challenging the legacy business travel market, Ticketpro Travel Solutions will focus on a deep and seamless technology-first travel experience powered by Spotnana’s Travel-as-a-Service platform.
From today’s Daily Lodging Report newsletter: Nikkei Asia published an article on Hilton planning to expand its luxury offerings in Asia. Hilton will be bringing its Waldorf Astoria brand to Malaysia, Vietnam, India, and other countries for the first time as part of its plans to open 25 new luxury hotels in the Asia Pacific region over the next few years. That’s up from the 33 luxury hotels it currently runs in the Asia Pacific.
Skift Research has been tracking the performance of the major travel sectors in 22 countries since the beginning of the pandemic in the Skift Travel Health Index. We have seen a steady upward trend, but the final push to full recovery seems more stubborn than we initially thought.
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The U.S. Travel Association has launched a website to highlight the negative impact of long visitor visa interview wait times—which now exceed an average of 400 days—is having on global travelers and U.S. businesses. Called USVisaDelays.com, the website lists stories of those affected, loss in industry spending, visitor wait times, impacted markets and a policy fact sheet.
Etihad Airways looks forward to welcoming over 1.5 million travellers at Abu Dhabi International Airport between November 21 and January 8. Abu Dhabi kicked off a calendar of events with The Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix held between November 17 and 20 last week. Football fans from around the world will also be flocking to the region as the FIFA World Cup started in Doha from Sunday. “Etihad with its partners, is geared up and ready to host 1.5 million expected guests over the next six weeks,” said Shaeb Al Najjar, general manager of hub operations at Etihad Airways.