Google AI books hotels. Eurovision taps Agoda. Heat influences travel decisions. Acai Desk launched.
Google AI Mode adds direct hotel booking, flight price tracking
Google has fully launched agentic hotel booking in Search's AI Mode in the U.S. (following a recent pilot), with inventory partners including Expedia, Booking.com, Hilton, Hotels.com, Choice Hotels, IHG, Priceline, Marriott, Wyndham an [...]
Tourvis Select wins big. Surge in refund protection. Spotnana buys TROOP. eviivo and Dida’s new channel.
Tourvis Select wins 2026 Virtuoso 'Best Agency Culture Award,' first for North & Southeast Asia
Tourvis Select, the luxury hotel platform run by Korean travel tech company Tidesquare, won the "Best Agency Culture Award" at the 2026 Virtuoso Travel Week gala in Las Vegas, the first time an agenc [...]
Google buys Spirit Airlines’ data. KLIA amps security. Spotnana x Singapore Airlines. Atlas’ open-source flight booking.
Google buys Spirit Airlines' data for $10 million
Google agreed to pay $10 million for the data assets of defunct Spirit Airlines, outbidding AI-training firm Mercor's $7.5 million offer, according to an Aug. 14 court filing tied to Spirit's court-supervised liquidation (Spirit shut down May 2, 202 [...]
Thankless travel planners. GlobalTix x Myrealtrip. Fliggy’s next-gen agent. Saudi’s investment appeal. More.
GlobalTix partners with Myrealtrip
GlobalTix, an Asia-based reservation and distribution platform, announced a partnership with South Korean travel platform Myrealtrip to make GlobalTix's network of over 180,000 experiences available to Myrealtrip's 10 million users, giving GlobalTix's global opera [...]
Emirates adds rail. Amadeus’ solid growth. Ask Maps adds hotels. Trivago ups AI spend.
Emirates Skywards adds European rail booking
Emirates Skywards has launched Skywards Rail, a new service letting members redeem miles for train tickets covering over 12,000 destinations across Europe. The program connects to more than 40 major rail operators in 12 countries — including Eurostar, [...]
Atlas adds Volaris. TravelAI relaunches Sonder. Agoda x Bank of America. AI receptionist cuts response time.
TravelAI relaunches Sonder.com as AI-powered boutique guide
TravelAI has acquired the Sonder brand, including the SONDER trademark across more than 50 countries and over 70 domain names, notably Sonder.com, from the bankruptcy estates of Sonder's Canadian entities, following court-supervised procee [...]
Spotnana’s multi-agent AI. OTAs’ growth story. Mindtrip tackles AI answers.
Spotnana brings multi-agent AI to travel servicing
Spotnana has launched a multi-agent AI architecture on its travel platform, pairing specialized AI agents with its APIs to automate deterministic workflows, and is rolling out an open, customizable system that partners can build on; the initial rel [...]
Australia’s digital arrival system. FAA bets on AI. Gen Z loyalty. DerbySoft x Travelodge.
Australia to phase out paper arrival cards by 2027
Australia is rolling out a nationwide digital arrival system, expanding on a Qantas app trial (running since October 2024 for flights into Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, with Perth and Adelaide added by end of 2026) into a universal web-based Aust [...]
Airlines eye elite status. Wego’s digital Umrah platform. Dida’s bookable recommendations. Travel holds in 2026.
Wego and Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah launch digital Umrah platform
Wego, the largest online travel marketplace in MENA, has partnered with the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to launch an integrated digital platform combining flight bookings, verified hotels, licensed ground services, and fac [...]
Visa launches Destinations. Yatra reconsiders Nasdaq. Travelport x Travelsoft. Hotels’ AI race.
Yatra faces Nasdaq deadline as share price slump bites
Online travel agency Yatra has until December 22, 2026 to regain Nasdaq compliance after its shares failed to maintain a $1 minimum closing bid price between May 12 and June 24, with a reverse stock split among the options under consideration; [...]
