Dida and HBX Group sign 7-year deal
Dida Holdings has signed a seven-year preferred strategic partnership with HBX Group, formalising long-term infrastructure alignment as both companies prepare for what they describe as an AI-led shift in global travel distribution. Under the agreement, HBX becomes a core preferred pillar within Dida’s global distribution architecture, supporting how international travel demand from China, Asia and other markets will be sourced and scaled over the next decade. Dida, which positions itself as the No.1 B2B travel platform in China, will continue operating a diversified multi-supplier model, with this partnership representing deeper integration beyond traditional buy-sell arrangements.
HBX will strengthen Dida’s global supply through access to hard-to-source, high-performance inventory, including premium and experiential properties across branded and independent hotels, as well as richer content and attributes to support AI-driven, preference-based search. Dida’s AI-ready, machine-readable platform and multi-channel distribution, spanning B2B, social, content-led and programmatic demand, will embed HBX supply into China’s digitally advanced travel market. The agreement also includes collaboration on fintech and payments tailored to China’s ecosystem, cross-market technology localisation, and future distribution models aligned with agentic booking, automation and real-time decision-making.
Sabre, PayPal and Mindtrip team up to launch end-to-end agentic AI platform
Sabre Corporation, PayPal Holdings and Mindtrip have announced a partnership to launch what they describe as the travel industry’s first end-to-end agentic AI experience, with a product rollout planned for Q2 2026. The collaboration combines Mindtrip’s conversational AI consumer platform, PayPal’s commerce and digital wallet capabilities, and Sabre’s enterprise travel infrastructure. The aim is to consolidate trip discovery, planning, booking, payment and post-booking management into a single AI-driven flow. At launch, the platform will support flights, with hotels added later in a phased rollout.
Under the arrangement, Sabre will power real-time shopping, pricing, availability, booking and servicing through its Mosaic platform and APIs, providing access to content from more than 420 airlines (including 150 low-cost carriers) and over 2 million lodging options. PayPal will serve as the preferred commerce partner, embedding identity verification, digital wallet checkout, encryption, loyalty rewards, buyer and seller protections, and flexible payment options including Pay Later (BNPL) directly into the booking flow. The companies position the partnership as a way to connect conversational trip planning with enterprise-grade fulfilment and payments infrastructure, while allowing Sabre’s existing customers to tap into AI-driven consumer demand without building their own front-end experiences.
US ESTA five-year-social media requirement proposal draws Industry Backlash
Major travel groups including the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) have formally objected to a proposal by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to require Visa Waiver Program travellers to disclose up to five years of social media history as part of the ESTA application. The associations argue the measure could deter international visitors, disrupt global business travel and weaken the US’s competitiveness as a destination for meetings and events, while raising privacy, transparency and implementation concerns. They also warn the policy could trigger reciprocal data-collection requirements from other governments, potentially creating additional friction for US travellers abroad.
Expedia posts 11% Q4 growth as AI strategy expands
Expedia Group reported 11% year-over-year growth in both revenue and gross bookings in Q4 2025, with revenue reaching US$3.5 billion and total gross bookings climbing to US$27 billion. Booked room nights rose 9% to 94 million, driven by strength in the U.S. and accelerating B2C growth in EMEA, while growth in parts of Asia slowed due to geopolitical factors. For the full year, revenue and gross bookings each increased 8%. Adjusted net income rose 52% in Q4, though GAAP net income fell 31%, and adjusted EBITDA increased 32% to US$848 million. Direct sales and marketing expenses were up 10% year over year to US$1.7 billion.
CEO Ariane Gorin said the company is expanding integrations across major AI platforms to ensure its brands perform effectively in AI-driven and agentic search environments, though volumes remain small. She noted that two-thirds of bookings come from travellers who begin planning directly with Expedia brands, and these direct bookings are growing faster than indirect channels. B2B gross bookings grew 24% to US$8.7 billion in Q4, with double-digit growth across all regions, while B2C gross bookings rose 5% to US$18.3 billion. Gorin added that the acquisition of Tiqets will support both B2B and B2C, and that AI is also being applied to marketing to improve targeting and efficiency.
Hawaii tours sector reassesses long-standing tech partnerships
TripWorks has issued commentary on recent changes in Hawaiʻi’s tours and activities market, where several major operators have begun reevaluating the reservation and operating systems they have used for more than a decade. According to CEO Aaron Fessler, the moves reflect a broader market shift rather than isolated decisions. He argues that after 10–15 years shaped by strong network effects, where a dominant player benefited from ecosystem “gravity”, the balance of power is beginning to change in one of North America’s highest-volume tour markets.
Fessler said operators are now pushing for greater transparency, improved terms, stronger operational control, real-time accuracy and better-connected workflows that turn data into actionable insights. He described the coming months as highly competitive, with operators “regaining leverage and resetting expectations” around partnerships and infrastructure. In his view, Hawaii is a bellwether for the wider industry, signaling a move away from product-led sales pitches toward technology providers that can meet the demands of experienced, high-performing operators.
