Leisure Pass Group rebrands as “Go City”

go city provides contactless mobile passes for entry to more than 1 000 attractions tours museums observation decks cruises theme parks and other experiences

STARTUP STAGE: ModiHost is a hotel management system using AI and blockchain

modihost is a hotel management system that uses artificial intelligence to personalize the guest experience and blockchain and smart contracts to build in transparency and efficiency 160

LIVE BLOG: Coronavirus and the travel industry - impact and recovery

phocuswire 27s live blog is charting the impact of covid 19 on the travel industry and the sector 27s efforts to recover

Amadeus launches IBM Digital Health Pass for COVID document verification

amadeus is adding the ibm digital health pass to its traveler id for safe travel platform used by airlines and other travel partners to automatically verify identification and covid 19...

Miles travel rewards platform raises $12.5M

miles which allows users to earn miles for all forms of travel has raised a total of 20 million since launching in 2018

How Apple’s newest features will affect hotel check-in

while a significant move to simplify digital keys apple wallet only solves one part of the complex digital check in process

VIDEO: Can the travel industry avoid a post-pandemic social divide?

issues range from those that do not have the ability to travel from a vaccination perspective to in particular those that do not have the money to resume the same types of trips that they took pre...

Kayak rolls out full launch, new features for corporate travel solution

kayak first announced the free business travel solution in november 2019 and says more than 3 000 companies have signed up to use it in the last three months

PhocusWire Pulse: Progress In Travel Payments

we look at issues and trends ranging from delayed payment programs fintech divisions in major travel brands credit cards customer trust and much more

OYO secures $660M loan, keeps focus on post-pandemic growth

the india based company initially secured the agreement in may this year for the term loan b a financial mechanism whereby the amortization is set for between five and eight years

E-commerce fraud fighter Nethone raises $6.7M

nethone a poland based startup that provides fraud protection technology for travel suppliers says it will use the funding to accelerate its go to market efforts and to develop new features 160

SoftBank invests $1.7B into South Korean travel platform Yanolja

according to yanolja despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic the company achieved both net growth and gains in operating profit last year

Sounding Off: Let’s not waste the lessons of COVID

so in our eagerness to recover to rebuild to return to normal let us not be too eager to bury the lessons of this crisis but instead let s use them as the foundation for a more humane future

A smart revolution: Will the tech boom last in short-term rentals?

will property managers keep adopting new tech and refining their tech stacks or is there a saturation point

VIDEO: Fornova - Launch pitch at Phocuswright Europe 2021

fornovahl enables hotels to update their profiles and photos on google my business tripadvisor and facebook from a secure centralized easy to use platform

Taking mentorship in travel back to the basics

with travel and office culture returning the industry faces new changes and challenges

Google expands Travel Insights tools with new features, U.S. search data

following a partnership with the unwto announced in may google is now also working with destinations international and hsmai to hep destinations and hoteliers use travel search data more effectively

Expedia Group sells hotel operations platform Alice to ASG

expedia group became a majority stakeholder in alice after leading a 26 million funding round into the platform in 2017

VIDEO: The push for direct - will hotels take a stand or accept a hand?

maud bailly ceo for southern europe at accor and tim davis founder and managing director at pace dimensions join phocuswright analyst lorraine sileo to discuss the issues in play for the resst of...

Tripadvisor signs first hotel chains to Plus subscription service

three hotels groups with a total of nearly 500 properties around the world are the first corporate level accommodation partners for tripadvisor plus

VIDEO: Road.Travel - Launch pitch at Phocuswright Europe 2021

establishing a new industry standard for car travels with curated routes and connecting travel destinations to in car experiences

SITA acquires aviation sustainability tech platform Safety Line

safety line was created in 2010 by 160 pierre jouniaux with a strategy to organize and manage data for airlines so that they can make decisions that reduce fuel consumption and subsequent co2 levels

VIDEO: FlyNow Aviation - Summit pitch at Phocuswright Europe 2021

affordable 3d mobility game changer by fulfilling contradicting goals of social ecologic and economic sustainability

Bookaway catches $35M round, creates group of ground transport platforms

israel based 160 bookaway 160 has secured the series b and formed what is expected to be a portfolio of businesses focusing on ground and sea transportation booking services

Former Uber exec leads $17.5M round into autonomous traffic management platform NoTraffic

notraffic uses artificial intelligence to modernize traffic management and save cities on infrastructure and traffic management costs

Ola revs up with $500M investment, IPO in the works

ola is continuing to scale its business in different categories and geographies

Phocuswright Conference 2021: Price discount, theme announced

now is travel s renaissance as it wakens to greater energy and bright possibilities a time to engage with colleagues customers and partners with fresh perspective

VIDEO: Qtravel - Launch pitch at Phocuswright Europe 2021

qtravel is a travel search as a service to easily develop tailored fast search and discovery experiences that decrease costs and convert

Sounding Off: Some customers will need reassurance as travel reopens

travel brands need to ensure that they are aware of the psychological impact that lockdown has had on people and reassure their customers that they recognize that a gung ho approach to recovery...

Wake-up call: Prioritizing technology investment in travel and hospitality in 2021

covid 19 was not simply a disruption to the way things were it was an awakening to the way things are and the way they will continue to be

More women, ethnic diversity needed in travel industry for lasting change

according to a new report from women in hospitality travel leisure 160 hospitality travel and leisure companies have made progress around diversity and inclusion efforts over the past year though...

VIDEO: Zytlyn - Summit pitch at Phocuswright Europe 2021

zytlyn captures every data signal that matters and uses machine learning to generate hyper accurate predictions of air travel demand

VIDEO: Recovery and sustainability - can they go hand in hand?

will a greater emphasis on healing planet earth really impact travel destinations and what is the role and responsibility of travel companies as they reposition themselves and their offerings

AirAsia boosts super app with acquisition of Gojek operations in Thailand

the purchase is an all share deal that will see 160 gojek 160 receive shareholding worth 50 million in the airasia super app

Airbnb partner Migo taps NoiseAware for noise-monitoring solution

migo developed by real estate software provider realpage offers property managers a suite of integrated services that enable smart access control cleaning services and noise monitoring

Is the multi-day tours segment poised for a strong future?

while international arrivals declined 74 in 2020 according to the world tourism organization multi day tours providers may have suffered disproportionately with an 84 decline in bookings according...

VIDEO: Troop - Summit pitch at Phocuswright Europe 2021

troop is building a self serving end to end meetings management technology to make organizing a meeting easy for anyone

Stayfolio raises $4.5M to expand upmarket accommodation platform

the company was founded in 2015 and provides a combination of luxury vacation rental properties and rooms from boutique hotels properties

VIDEO: Table4One - Launch pitch at Phocuswright Europe 2021

travelling on business no need to eat alone real world networking for solo business travellers

Transreport secures additional government funding for accessible rail app

transreport app development is one of 30 projects seeking to improve the rail experience that received funding

VIDEO: Indie Campers - Summit pitch winner at Phocuswright Europe 2021

indie campers is creating a unique business model to provide a global integrated and digital solution to address all rv roadtrip needs in a single platform

The new rules for acquisition, experience and loyalty in travel

as brands navigate which consumers are likely to book a quick overnight over versus who s itching to jump on a plane to cross the country or even overseas it will be critical to target messaging...

JetBlue Technology Ventures invests in short-term rental analyst Transparent

jetblue technology ventures says the financing aligns with its goals of reimagining the accommodation experience and providing startup led innovation for jetblue

Inspirato to go public via SPAC merger with Thayer Ventures

the company has more than 385 upmarket vacation homes on its books and works with 500 hotel and resort partners to provide inventory for its membership program

Airports test virtual queuing for security checkpoints

two airports are testing technology that would enable flyers to shorten the time they spend in tsa checkpoint lines

In The Big Chair - Dori Stein of Fornova

dori stein is one of the founders of hotel distribution intel service fornova and has been ceo since 2015

Younger travelers more likely to choose accommodation with inclusive policies

social injustices of last year put a spotlight on equity and inclusion and the ongoing discourse changed people s ideas behaviors and expectations when it comes to travel

Business travelers taking to rail to reduce carbon footprint

short haul flights and car trips could be shunned by business travelers going forward for their environmental impact

Travel industry accelerates action on sustainability – will consumers follow?

travel brands are taking action to prioritize sustainability but it is yet to be seen how consumer interest in the issue will impact travel decision making as the world reopens