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, Deutsche Bahn, SNCF, Trenitalia, TGV, Renfe, ÖBB, and UK services like Heathrow Express, Gatwick Express, Thameslink, Great Western Railway, and ScotRail. Members can book through a dedicated website or mobile tool available in five languages, searching schedules and selecting cabins and ticket types, and can also use their miles to purchase tickets on behalf of family and friends.
Amadeus weathers Middle East turbulence with solid H1 2026 hrowth
Amadeus posted resilient first-half 2026 results despite Middle East geopolitical disruptions that dragged global air traffic negative in April and May for the first time in 15 years outside the Covid period: group revenue rose 2.3% to €3,334.9 million (5.1% at constant currency), operating income grew 0.6% to €943.2 million, adjusted EBIT increased 4.9% to €1,011.5 million, and adjusted diluted EPS climbed 7.3% at constant currency, while free cash flow grew 0.8% to €472.2 million and net financial debt stood at €2,577.5 million (1.0x EBITDA). Growth was driven by an 8.7% constant-currency revenue jump in Air IT Solutions (helped by Nevio implementations and disruption-management services) and a 9.2% rise in Hospitality and Other Solutions, while Air Distribution grew just 1.1% as bookings contracted 3.7% amid Middle East-related cancellations, offset by a 5.1% increase in revenue per booking. CEO Luis Maroto credited the company’s diversified business for cushioning the volume impact, and highlighted the completed €500 million share buyback, progress on the IDEMIA Public Security acquisition (regulatory approval expected mid-2027), and continued AI investment, including a partnership with Google.
Hotels’ AI success hinges on data, not technology
Ireckonu, a hospitality technology provider, warns that AI adoption in hotels is at risk of falling short not because of the technology itself, but because of poor-quality, fragmented guest data. CEO Jan Jaap van Roon argues that most property management systems (PMS) were originally built to manage rooms and reservations rather than guests, leaving hotel data scattered across disconnected platforms. This prevents hotels from creating a single, reliable guest profile, and layering AI on top of these fragmented systems risks worsening existing problems like duplicate profiles and inconsistent records — potentially causing loyal guests to be treated as strangers or receive generic communications, damaging both experience and brand reputation.
Hanna Schiller, Ireckonu’s VP of Sales, adds that while hotels are rapidly adopting AI across virtual assistants, service automation, and predictive personalization, the industry isn’t yet “data ready,” having invested heavily in technology while neglecting data quality and governance. She says true AI-readiness requires hotels to resolve core questions of guest identity — who owns it, which system is the single source of truth, and how it’s governed and protected. Schiller likens advanced AI without trusted data to “owning a Ferrari without fuel,” and Ireckonu concludes that the hotels making the most progress are those treating guest data as a strategic business asset rather than an afterthought.
Google Maps’ Ask Maps levels up with hotel and event search
Google Maps has expanded its Gemini-powered Ask Maps conversational tool, adding the ability to search for hotels by price and rating with real-time pricing and availability, plus recommendations for nearby events like concerts, complete with booking links. VP Miriam Daniel described the update as Google Maps’ biggest transformation in over a decade, noting new agentic capabilities let Ask Maps handle complex, multi-step tasks; other additions include Personal Intelligence, which connects to Gmail for trip-relevant suggestions, and a transit widget for real-time transport options and delays. Ask Maps, which launched earlier this year in the U.S. and India, is now rolling out to more than 150 countries including Australia, Brazil and Canada, though the new hotel and event discovery features are currently available only in the U.S.
Trivago’s AI spend surges 5x as Q2 results turn a corner
Trivago’s internal AI spending on tooling and tokens has more than quintupled in the first seven months of 2026 compared to all of 2025, driven by rising employee adoption (now 93% using AI daily, up from 63% a year earlier, with 86% reporting a measurable output difference) and more capable models, according to CEO Johannes Thomas, who aims to make Trivago “AI-native” with agentic systems handling execution while staff focus on judgment and direction. The update came alongside Q2 2026 earnings showing total revenue up 21% year-over-year to €168.4 million, referral revenue up 9% to €151.4 million, ROAS improving to 121.8%, and adjusted EBITDA of €1.1 million (versus a €5 million loss a year earlier) — the company’s first positive Q2 EBITDA since 2023 — while net loss narrowed to €5.2 million from €6.5 million. Thomas also addressed Trivago’s antitrust suit against Google over alleged self-preferencing in hotel search, noting no changes yet in general search results but pointing to Google’s recent €890 million EU fine for Digital Markets Act non-compliance and early signs of compliant test versions as a “structural tailwind” toward fairer competition.
(via Phocuswire)
