This week's Update features stories on Kayak, Hopper (again) and Shiji, and includes an important privacy update from California on loyalty programs.
Kayak and Cruise Critic Partner on
Cruises
("In new partnership, Kayak cruise searches will feed
Cruise Critic," February 4, 2022 via Travel Weekly)
Last week, Kayak (Booking Holdings) announced that it was expanding
its cruise offering by partnering with Cruise Critic (TripAdvisor).
Once implemented, the partnership will redirect users searching for
cruises on Kayak to Cruise Critic where they can then review and
book cruises through travel agencies or cruise suppliers.
Hopper Reaches $5 Billion
Valuation
("Hopper Plans to Stay Private for Now With $5 Billion
Valuation," February 3, 2022 via Yahoo Finance)
With last Thursday's (February 3) announcement that it had
completed a $35 million secondary sale of shares, Hopper reached a
new private valuation of $5 billion ($1.5 billion more than just 6
months ago). By comparison, as of last Friday's close,
Sabre's market capitalization totaled $2.7 billion,
Tripadvisor's totaled $3.75 billion, Expedia Group's
totaled $28.08 billion and Booking Holdings totaled $100.3
billion.
Travel Management Companies in
Transition
("Platform Wars and the Battle for the Online
Transaction," January 24, 2022 via Business Travel
News)
This past year has seen a sea change (largely through mergers and
acquisitions) among the traditional management companies, booking
platforms, expense management tools and payment cards serving the
corporate travel industry – all during the second year of a
pandemic that has brought the corporate travel world to its knees.
So, what does this change mean for the buyers that these platforms
serve? Improvements in the online booking experience (offering a
more traditional consumer user experience – think Amazon),
growth in mobile applications and the use of other emerging
technologies. While these "improvements" may be
championed as helping drive corporate bookings for suppliers,
we've seen firsthand how these changes are complicating the
once staid world of corporate distribution. As these platforms get
larger, so do their financial demands – transaction fees (fka
commissions), marketing commitments, etc. Traditional travel
management companies that once catered exclusively to corporate
travelers via traditional offline channels are now venturing into
other segments, mixing products and services (and rates) and
redistributing them through the myriad of channels and distribution
points available online. We've seen this evolution before with
the leisure segment (think post 9/11 and the rise of the online
leisure platforms), and now it has arrived with business and
corporate segment. Group isn't far behind.
Details about the recent privacy update from the California Attorney General on loyalty programs and its likely effects on the travel industry will be posted this upcoming week on our hospitality blog and featured in next week's Update.
Have a great week everyone.
Other news:
Shiji Aims to Fill an Overlooked Hole in
Hotel Distribution
February 3, 2022 via Skift Travel News (subscription may be
required)
No one has cornered the market in enterprise software for hotels.
This fractured sector creates opportunities for vendors. One
notable pitch is Shiji's call for "total
distribution."
Google Sees Travel Searches Jump Sixfold
Over Covid Rules Confusion
February 2, 2022 via Yahoo Finance - Top
Stories
Reflecting ongoing traveler confusion over ever-changing Covid
restrictions and destination entry requirements, Google saw
searches about travel rules jump sixfold year over year from August
to October. That was one of the biggest search trends that Google
saw in travel, as parent company Alphabet reported its fourth
quarter and full-year results Tuesday, February 1st.
TripActions Develops Platform for Office
Information
February 1, 2022 via Business Travel News
TripActions has launched a new Office Guides platform to help
companies facilitate travel to company offices by hybrid and remote
workers. The platform gives users a place within the TripActions
app to access information about company offices.
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