Marriott shares details of AI projects, partnerships
Marriott International CEO has described artificial intelligence (AI) as an “opportunity to potentially redefine the customer acquisition paradigm” in the industry.
Speaking during the hotel giant’s fourth quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call, CEO Anthony Capuano said the company was [...]
MakeMyTrip raises $2.6B to buy back stake from Trip.com Group
India-based online travel agency MakeMyTrip (MMT) is raising more than $2.6 billion as it looks to buy back a stake owned by Trip.com Group.
MMT said it is raising the funds through a primary equity offering as well as convertible senior notes, following Trip.com Group's announcement last week [...]
Trip.com Group increases Q1 revenue, inbound travel bookings surge 100%
Stronger travel demand helped Trip.com Group increase first quarter 2025 revenue by 16% to $1.9 billion.
Accommodation reservation revenue rose 23% to $764 million for the quarter year over year, driven by an increase in reservations.
Transportation ticketing revenue increased 8% to $747 milli [...]
Private equity firm Creador acquires hospitality marketplace MG Group
B2B hospitality marketplace MG Group has been acquired by Creador, a Southeast Asia-based private equity firm for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition sets up Indonesia-based MG Group, which claims to have a network of 350,000 accommodation suppliers and 8,000 buyers, for global expansion, a [...]
Skycanner’s CEO on the company’s strategy for evolution and expansion
Travel metasearch players have reinvented themselves over the years. Some have gone down the direct route while others have found ways to add value and deepen relationships with partners by providing insights and other services.
Skyscanner is no exception and in recent months the flight metasear [...]
Why Agoda’s data strategy is more about the “science” than the data itself
Agoda does not like to think of itself as data driven - it believes it should be more about applying data science.
The thinking from the Asia-based online travel agency is that while data presents huge opportunities to improve the customer experience and drive internal efficiency, it has to be u [...]
OYO raises $174 million in Series G funding
Budget hotel chain Oyo has raised approximately $174 million in a Series G funding round.
Patient Capital, which is run by Oyo founder Ritesh Agarwal, InCred Wealth and J&A Partners all contributed to the round.
In a meeting held last week, Agarwal thanked investors, shareholders, hotel [...]
IHG bookings from own channels hit 80%
Hotel groups are continuing to invest in their technology and loyalty programs to drive direct business, with Holiday Inn-parent IHG sharing an update in its recent earnings report.
CEO Elie Maalouf said that alongside the investment in its guest reservation system (GRS), an initiative develo [...]
Viator’s origin story – A tale of a prince and a girl from Tasmania
Rod Cuthbert, the founder of Viator, doesn't claim to have had the idea for the tours and activities business. It originally came from a contract with Sabre back in the late '90s when the idea of selling tours and activities, via the travel agency community, appealed to the distribution company.
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Exploring the travel payments landscape in Asia
Calling the travel payments landscape complex is an understatement. From a B2C perspective, travel companies are dealing with the increasing number of ways to pay and trying to get to grips with what mechanism to offer to which customer. Then there's B2B travel payments, which bring their own set of [...]
