Booking.com exec on AI and traveler needs
At Phocuswright Europe 2026, Booking.com's chief business officer James Waters discussed AI in travel, emphasizing traveler needs and the leap of faith required to let technology make decisions.
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Expedia Group Newsroom Expedia TAAP launches back-office API and tools to simplify agency operations
Expedia TAAP introduces a new back-office API and internal reference code feature to help travel agencies streamline back-office operations and reduce manual work. The API provides real-time push notifications, automatically updating booking and earnings data, and supports integration with existing systems. This move aims to evolve TAAP from a booking platform to an integration-first ecosystem.
PhocusWire All News Besty AI closes $3.75M seed round
Besty AI, specializing in AI automation for short-term rentals, closed a $3.75 million seed round led by Armory Square Ventures. Funds will be used for product development and sales/marketing.
PhocusWire All News Tripadvisor to sell TheFork to American Express for $700M
American Express has signed an agreement to acquire TheFork from Tripadvisor for $700 million in cash. TheFork provides restaurant reservation and management in Europe, covering over 50,000 restaurants across 11 countries. The deal is expected to close before year-end.
PhocusWire All News Veltra CTO on Reinvention, Resilience, and the Art of the Imperfect
Mayumi Nakamura Birt, Chief Transformation Officer at Veltra, shared insights on digital transformation in Japan's travel industry at WiT Japan. She argued that Japan's culture of perfection can be a liability in the AI era, advocating for accepting 80% completion to iterate quickly. She builds failure tolerance by having staff train AI agents, envisioning a hybrid workforce. She also addressed overtourism in Japan, drawing lessons from Hawaii's state parks, and urged a holistic government approach. She predicted travel companies will become 'storytelling companies' using AI to deliver personalized experiences.
PhocusWire All News Tern Launches Agentic AI to Boost Travel Advisor Efficiency
Travel advisor platform Tern has launched agentic AI capabilities that automate workflows, including reviewing inboxes, generating cruise proposals, and drafting client communications. Advisors must approve actions. CEO says the AI eliminates the need to hire or outsource administrative work, allowing advisors to focus on trip curation and growth.
PhocusWire All News Hotels face speed problem as video platforms reshape the booking journey
Video platforms are reshaping travelers' booking journeys, and hotels face a 'speed problem' as their technology systems struggle to keep up with changing consumer habits. A digital expert at Radisson Hotel Group highlighted that legacy operating models are ill-suited to the fast-evolving customer journey, necessitating integrated marketing, distribution, and revenue management, along with cultural change through partnerships.
Amadeus Newsroom Amadeus and Myrealtrip Sign Global Agreement to Drive Travel Innovation
Amadeus signed a global agreement with Myrealtrip, Korea's leading online travel platform, to expand cooperation in areas such as deploying AI-powered solutions, expanding non-air content (hotels and destination experiences), and exploring adoption of Amadeus Hey! traveler engagement solution. This supports Myrealtrip's growth and digital transformation.
PhocusWire All News iWander Pushes Consumer App Amid Rapid AI Developments
AI-powered travel companion iWander has launched an iOS app offering character-led narrated walking tours across more than 1000 cities, including personas like a history buff and counter culture, plus curated tours in 25 destinations and in-app booking for attractions, restaurants, and events. Founded in 2023 as a B2B2C service, iWander is now pivoting to consumer. CEO Marius Nigond says rapid tech development necessitates its own platform for fast iteration. The company also helped City Sightseeing develop an AI app and uses data to optimize route design.
PhocusWire All News Bliink targets Southeast Asia's SME business travel market
Bliink is an AI-native corporate travel platform targeting SMEs in Southeast Asia, offering booking, policy compliance, approvals, and personalized recommendations. It aggregates inventory from over 600 airlines and 2.6 million properties, initially focusing on Indonesia with plans to expand across the region.
PhocusWire All News Ixigo acquires majority stake in Brevistay to expand hotel business
Indian online travel platform Ixigo has agreed to acquire a 54.66% stake in Brevistay for about $6.9 million. Brevistay specializes in flexible-duration hotel stays. Upon completion, Brevistay will become a subsidiary, and the combined network will include over 10,000 directly contracted hotels.
PhocusWire All News Travel tech news briefs: Airbnb, Yotel, IHG and more
This week's travel tech news: Eviivo integrates with Mr & Mrs Smith, Yotel appoints new COO and plans to triple portfolio by 2031, OwlTing launches AI booking engine, IHG launches ChatGPT app, D-edge appoints CRO, Shiji partners with Omniboost, Airbnb launches Earnings Protection, Intuitive launches Universal API, Entravel acquires Moca Traveltech, Phunware appoints CEO, InterLnkd launches Nexora, 123Compare.me launches hotel rate report, Geneva Airport partners with Smartvel, Sensible Weather expands guarantees, Agoda partners with KakaoBank.
PhocusWire All News Expedia Group chairman Barry Diller says AI won't replace humans
At Expedia Group's Explore partner conference, chairman Barry Diller said AI will bring revolutionary changes but will not replace humans. He warned against being led by 'tech lords' and noted AI will replace some jobs while creating new ones.
PhocusWire All News Juniper Group acquires Deem from Travelport
Juniper Group has acquired Deem, a corporate travel management platform, from Travelport. Terms were not disclosed. Deem will continue to operate independently and maintain a relationship with Travelport. The acquisition strengthens Juniper's position in travel technology and corporate travel.
PhocusWire All News AI-powered Mindtrip expands to Europe
AI travel platform Mindtrip announced contracts with Madeira Promotion Bureau and Norwegian Travel Cluster, expanding to Europe. The platform is embedded in DMO websites to assist discovery of local attractions and restaurants. Mindtrip, founded in 2023, has raised multiple funding rounds.
PhocusWire All News Perk secures $300M credit facility for product, tech and AI investment
Perk, the corporate travel and spend management platform formerly known as TravelPerk, has secured a $300 million private credit facility led by Neuberger Specialty Finance, with participation from Blue Owl Capital, Hercules Capital and Liquidity. The facility increases and replaces Perk's $134 million credit facility from mid-2024. Perk said it exceeded $300 million in annualized revenue and grew revenue 48% in 2025. Funds will support product, technology and AI investment; AI deployment has helped lift gross margins from 40% to the mid-70s in three years.
PhocusWire All News Priceline updates Penny AI assistant with Claude
Priceline has enhanced its AI assistant Penny with Anthropic's Claude to support multi-step reasoning. Penny is now a coordinated system of over 10 specialized agents, offering recommendations for hotels, flights, and car rentals, with a 'Penny's Take' feature for property insights. Priceline reports that travelers engaging with Penny show stronger engagement and higher conversion.
Perk Press Releases Perk Secures $300 Million Credit Facility to Accelerate AI Platform Growth
Perk (formerly TravelPerk) announced the close of a $300 million private credit facility led by Neuberger Specialty Finance, with Blue Owl Capital, Hercules Capital, and Liquidity. Proceeds will accelerate investment in product, technology, and AI, supporting global expansion including the upcoming US launch of its integrated spend platform. Perk grew revenue 48% in 2025, surpassing $300 million in annualized revenue, with gross margins improving from 40% to mid-70s.
Travelport Press Releases Juniper Group acquires Deem from Travelport
Juniper Group has announced the completion of its acquisition of Deem, a corporate travel management platform, from Travelport. Deem provides booking, procurement and trip management solutions for corporations and travel management companies worldwide. As part of Juniper Group, Deem will continue to operate independently under its current leadership team and brand. The acquisition was sponsored by Juniper Travel Technology. Travelport and Deem will continue to maintain a relationship following the transaction.
PhocusWire All News Pricepoint closes $6.6M seed round led by Brightspark Ventures
Pricepoint, an AI-driven revenue management platform for accommodations, has closed a $6.6 million seed round led by Brightspark Ventures with participation from Boreal Ventures and AQC Capital. Founded in 2019, it provides real-time pricing optimization for hotels, hostels, and short-term rentals. Funds will be used for product, engineering, and AI infrastructure, plus additional integrations.
Expedia Group Newsroom Expedia Group Research Shows Traveler Demand for Full-Trip Planning
Expedia Group released global research revealing strong traveler demand for booking and managing full trips on a single platform, including car rentals, flights, activities, and trip protection. The survey of 2,500 travelers across 10 markets found 77% are likely to book multiple trip elements on the same platform. Expedia is expanding its Rapid API ecosystem to enable partners to offer full-trip booking capabilities, driving growth and loyalty.
Expedia Group Newsroom Expedia Group Appoints Bill Watkins to Lead Global Advertising
Expedia Group announced the appointment of Bill Watkins, former Pinterest executive, as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Global Advertising. Watkins will oversee the growth of Expedia Group Advertising, leveraging its travel media network to connect with high-intent travelers and drive full-funnel impact.
Alibaba Group News Alibaba Group Partners with UEFA Men's Club Competitions and UEFA EURO 2028
Alibaba Group announced a multi-year partnership with UEFA and UC3, becoming the official and exclusive AI, cloud computing services and e-commerce partner of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League from 2027/28 to 2032/33, and of UEFA EURO 2028. The partnership will deploy Alibaba Cloud and the Qwen LLM for fan engagement, media and content management, and offer official merchandise via its global e-commerce network.
Alibaba Group News Alibaba Becomes UEFA's Official AI, Cloud, and E-commerce Partner
Alibaba Group announced a multi-year partnership with UEFA and UC3, becoming the official and exclusive AI, Cloud Computing Services, and E-commerce partner for the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League from 2027/28 to 2032/33, and UEFA EURO 2028. The partnership will deploy Alibaba Cloud and Qwen AI to enhance fan experiences and content management.
PhocusWire All News Lighthouse acquires Hotelrank.ai to boost hotel AI visibility
Hospitality intelligence provider Lighthouse has acquired AI visibility platform Hotelrank.ai to add a measurement layer to its Connect AI solution. Hotelrank.ai offers real-time analytics showing hotels where they appear across AI platforms, their ranking compared to competitors, and whether AI agents direct travelers to book direct or through intermediaries. The acquisition comes as hotels grapple with how to manage and measure their presence on AI platforms.
PhocusWire All News Airbnb leads $58M investment in WeRoad
Adventure travel specialist WeRoad has raised $58 million in Series C funding led by Airbnb, with existing investors participating. The Italy-based company's total funding now stands at $100 million. The investment will fund expansion into the U.S. market, its first push beyond Europe. Over 300,000 travelers have used the platform since its 2017 launch.
PhocusWire All News Airbnb recruits VP of hotels amid category expansion
Airbnb has announced the recruitment of Andrea D'Amico as VP of hotels, starting in early June. This move is part of Airbnb's expansion into hotels, focusing on independent and boutique properties. Hotel inventory is now expanding to 30 cities.
PhocusWire All News Startup TravelOne targets luxury travel with behavior profiling platform
TravelOne Technologies has launched a Traveler DNA platform that analyzes 30 behavioral and psychological markers to generate personalized travel recommendations and itineraries. The startup targets consumers, travel agencies, and tour operators through paid Traveler DNA reports, vacation bookings, and subscription-based advisor tools. It positions itself as an alternative to traditional search-based travel planning.
Expedia Group Newsroom Expedia Group to Participate in Evercore's 2026 Global TMT Conference
Expedia Group announced that CEO Ariane Gorin will participate in a fireside chat at Evercore's 2026 Global TMT Conference on June 2, 2026. The session will be webcast live, with a replay available for 3 months.
PhocusWire All News Travel tech news briefs: Visa, Trip.com Group, Navan and more
This week's travel tech news briefs cover multiple partnerships and product launches: Visa and Trip.com Group signed an MOU to deepen collaboration on travel payments in Asia Pacific; Emerging Travel Group expanded its integration with SynXis to include independent hotels; NOL Universe appointed a head of global business; Atlas signed a direct distribution partnership with Wizz Air; Allegiant selected Navan as its internal travel management platform; Outpayce launched split and multi-card payment capabilities; HBX Group and Lastminute.com expanded their dynamic packaging partnership; Europa-Park partnered with Bookingkit for ticket distribution; Wego introduced stablecoin payments; Fliggy l…
Tongcheng News Center Tongcheng Travel Q1 2026 Revenue RMB5B, APUs Hit Record 254M
Tongcheng Travel reported Q1 2026 results: revenue up 14.4% YoY to RMB5,005.8 million, adjusted net profit up 19.4% to RMB941.1 million. Annual paying users reached a record 253.9 million. Core OTA revenue grew 17.3%, with transportation ticketing up 6.2%, accommodation up 14.7%, and other businesses (including hotel management) up 59.6%. Over 87% of registered users are from non-first-tier cities. The company continues to deepen AI applications and expand its hotel management business.
PhocusWire All News Airbnb Piloting Creator Experiences as Local Demand Driver
Airbnb is experimenting with experiences from content creators and plans to add them to the platform in the coming months. CEO Brian Chesky said creator experiences will become part of the future of Airbnb Experiences, especially as travel becomes more personalized and community-driven. Creators bring significant local demand, as fans book in their own cities. This comes as the creator economy faces pressure, and creators need new monetization avenues.
Tongcheng Financials Tongcheng Travel Q1 2026 Results: Revenue RMB5B, Adjusted Net Profit Up 19.4%
Tongcheng Travel reported Q1 2026 results: revenue up 14.4% YoY to RMB5,005.8 million, adjusted net profit up 19.4% to RMB941.1 million. APUs reached a record 253.9 million. Core OTA revenue grew 17.3%, with hotel management as a new growth driver. The company continues to deepen AI applications and announced management changes.
PhocusWire All News Airbnb's Summer Release: Personalization and Community Ambitions
Airbnb's Summer Release introduces features like social map, AI review highlights, ask about this home, wishlist comparison, and plans for car rentals and luggage storage. These moves aim to drive personalization and transition from a vacation rental marketplace to a global community. Airbnb emphasizes its 200 million verified identities as a foundation for building a social network.
PhocusWire All News Kayak for Business, Blockskye, and FCM Partner on Global Business Travel Platform
Kayak for Business, Blockskye, and FCM announced a partnership to create an enterprise travel platform combining booking, payments, and servicing. The platform aims to address fragmentation in corporate travel operations, integrating Kayak's booking capabilities, Blockskye's payments and expense infrastructure, and FCM's global travel management network. Additionally, FCM parent Flight Centre Travel Group is investing $5 million in Blockskye for early access to its blockchain-based payments platform.
PhocusWire All News Expedia Group to Acquire CarTrawler in Bid to Become B2B 'One-Stop Shop'
Expedia Group announced an agreement to acquire CarTrawler to expand its B2B offerings, including car rental, ground transportation, and ancillary services. The transaction is expected to close in H2 2026. Expedia also launched an AI toolkit and Intelligent Experience Platform to help partners launch AI-driven travel booking experiences faster. The CarTrawler acquisition follows the Tiqets acquisition and aims to expand Rapid API beyond lodging to flights, cars, activities, and trip protection.
Booking.com Newsroom Booking.com Launches Car Rentals App in ChatGPT and AI Tools
Booking.com unveiled AI-driven innovations for car rentals, including an app in ChatGPT, AI Car Rental Helper, AI review summaries, and Smart Search. These tools aim to simplify the rental process from discovery to booking and management. Data shows 26% of travelers plan road trips this year.
Alibaba Group News Alibaba Chairman and CEO Letter to Shareholders: The AI Agent Era and Full-Stack AI Commercializati…
In a letter to shareholders, Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai and CEO Eddie Wu said the company stands at a critical inflection point in AGI development, with AI agents becoming the primary interface between humans and the digital world. Cloud Intelligence Group's external revenue growth accelerated to 40% in the final quarter of fiscal 2026, with AI-related products contributing 30%. The company launched the Qwen app and Wukong, an AI-native agentic platform for enterprises, and named quick commerce a core strategic pillar for Taobao and Tmall.
Expedia Group Newsroom Expedia B2B Launches AI Toolkit and Platform for Future Travel Distribution
Expedia Group B2B announced at Explore 26 a new AI toolkit and Intelligent Experience Platform to help partners build travel experiences more easily. It also announced the acquisition of CarTrawler to expand ground mobility and Insurtech solutions, along with new marketing and media capabilities.
Alibaba Group News Alibaba Group Files Annual Report on Form 20-F for Fiscal Year 2026
Alibaba Group announced it filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, dated May 20, 2026. The report is accessible under the SEC Filing section of the company's investor relations website. The company will provide a hard copy of the annual report containing audited consolidated financial statements free of charge to shareholders and ADS holders upon request.