Which way for the OTA? Crib notes for the journey ahead
So much has changed in the travel arena in the 20 years since Web in Travel began – but the centrality of the Online Travel Agency (OTA) to the travel conversation remains a common thread. Yet just as those behind former brand giants like Pan Am, Blockbuster, BlackBerry or Compaq will tell you, no [...]
From Europe to the US to Asia: A time-led strategy in experience travel
GetYourGuide’s expansion from Europe into the US — and now a renewed focus on Asia Pacific, where the company’s journey began — spans markets with very different travel behaviours, holiday patterns, and sensitivities around price. Yet, according to Emil Martinšek, Chief Marketing Officer of [...]
Spain fines Airbnb. Allegiant expands with Rocket Travel. Payments redefines corporate travel. AI changes destinations.
Allegiant expands loyalty offering via Rocket Travel
Allegiant has partnered with Rocket Travel by Agoda to launch a new global hotel booking platform, Allegiant Hotels, giving more than 20 million Allways Rewards members the ability to earn or redeem points on hotel stays worldwide. Powered and op [...]
Holding the line, shaping the future: Agoda’s Omri Morgenshtern on AI, trust and why Asia will define the next travel era
Phocuswright 2025 opened with a quiet but unmistakable shift in narrative: for the first time in its history, the conference handed its opening spotlight to a brand from Asia. And on centre stage stood Omri Morgenshtern, CEO of Agoda, a company celebrating 20 years and increasingly shaping how the f [...]
Why Accor is rethinking personalisation, partnerships and guest loyalty
When you’re operating across MEA and APAC, “data hygiene” quickly becomes more than a buzzword. Speaking in the WiT Studio, Kerry Healy, Chief Commercial Officer (Premium, Midscale & Economy MEA & APAC) at Accor, unpacked how the group is working toward a single, connected guest id [...]
Pets, point-to-point planes and pop culture drive travel in 2026
Amadeus has unveiled its Travel Trends 2026, a look at the movers and shakers shaping travel over the next year. Partnering with travel trends forecasting agency, Globetrender, and drawing on Amadeus’ proprietary data and insight, the report highlights six key trends for 2026, including a glimpse [...]
Inside the hidden mechanics of rate leakage with Expedia Group’s Steve Quan
Steve Quan, SVP of Hotel Enterprise Partnerships at Expedia Group, lifts the lid on one of hospitality’s most persistent revenue problems - rate leakage. Expedia’s latest survey found that 98% of hoteliers are affected, but what’s really behind the problem? Steve challenges the obvious assumpt [...]
Rebuilding air distribution: Can we make it about the customer again?
Selling an air ticket from Point A to Point B should be as simple as hailing a ride on Grab or Uber, shouldn’t it? After all, it’s been nearly 60 years since the first Global Distribution Systems took flight. Yet, in 2025, the experience is arguably more complicated, fragmented, and confusing th [...]
Find your people: How these travel founders connected the dots
When Formula 1 Mercedes boss Toto Wolff farewelled seven-time world champion driver from his team after 12 years, his advice was memorable: “It’s most important to remember one thing: find your people,” Wolff advised Hamilton. “When you find your people, you don’t just beat the world – y [...]
Booking Holdings’ Rob Ransom on disruption, distribution and the next travel unicorn
At Phocuswright, in a conversation that oscillated between realism and optimism, Rob Ransom, Chief Strategy Officer of Booking Holdings, laid out how the world’s largest online travel company is thinking about the most consequential shift since the dawn of online travel: the rise of AI-powered dis [...]
