Expedia Group announced an agreement to acquire CarTrawler, an Ireland-based B2B platform providing car rental, ground transport, and Insurtech solutions. The acquisition will enhance Expedia's ability to deliver mobility and Insurtech solutions, expected to close in H2 2026.
Alibaba's Chairman Joe Tsai and CEO Eddie Wu released a letter to shareholders, emphasizing the company's entry into the AI agent era and increased investment in full-stack AI. Cloud Intelligence Group's external revenue growth accelerated to 40%, with AI-related products accounting for 30%. The company launched the Qwen app and Wukong enterprise platform, and is focusing on quick commerce.
Saudi National Bank (SNB) and Almosafer have signed a strategic partnership to offer premium travel services to private banking and elite clients, including Almosafer Concierge, Saudi Arabia's first fully integrated luxury travel concierge service, and bespoke itinerary planning.
Expedia Group announced the Expedia Trails Fund, a multi-year commitment to restore, protect, and future-proof trails, parks, and coastlines. Initial projects include partnerships with The Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and Trust for Public Land, with $4.3 million in grants supporting 11 projects, benefiting over 1 million visits annually.
Expedia Group announced it is moving its media business (Expedia Group Advertising) under Chief Marketing Officer Jochen Koedijk, making it part of the global marketing organization. This move aims to bring marketing and advertising closer together to productionize solutions faster. The advertising business is growing 20% year over year, and the company sees it as a growth engine. The integration will foster a more unified and measurable system connecting performance marketing, brand-building, and media.
Globe Thrivers, founded in 2023, uses AI to convert creator content from platforms like TikTok and Instagram into structured, collaborative, and bookable itineraries. The company generates revenue through hotel booking margins and platform fees on advisor-led bookings, and has partnered with Nuitée to expand lodging inventory. Its goal is to provide social-commerce infrastructure for travel and experiences, capturing and monetizing socially-driven travel demand, and addressing fragmented travel planning and broken attribution.
This week's travel tech news includes: Emburse launches AI agent for automated expense reporting; Agoda launches multi-product booking engine; NextTrip appoints new CTO; Yanolja acquires Indian hotel platform InnKey; Lufthansa City Center partners with Acai Travel; Perk partners with CLEAR for airport services discounts. These developments showcase AI applications in expense management, booking, and hotel operations, as well as industry consolidation trends.
FCM Travel will widely release a 'fundamentally reimagined' version of its AI tool Sam next month across more than 90 countries. Sam will act as a new AI ecosystem, working seamlessly with travelers, travel managers, and agents. The tool adheres to spending thresholds, approval processes, and supplier preferences configured by travel managers, and will not show out-of-policy hotels or premium fares. Sam can also hand off travelers to live agents. FCM emphasizes its proprietary technology architecture prevents hallucination and ensures enterprise-grade accuracy.
Gharage Ventures, a Berlin and Singapore-based early-stage VC, has launched a €40 million Fund I focusing on early-stage startups in travel and retail. The firm uses a thesis-driven approach, targeting emerging markets like AI and travel memory. Despite historically low funding for travel startups, they believe passenger growth and AI-driven democratization of distribution present opportunities. The firm plans about 30 investments, with check sizes of €250,000 to €500,000.
India-based OTA Ixigo launched a rebuilt AI-native mobile app at its Ixigo NEXT event, featuring an upgraded TARA assistant supporting voice, text, or tap interactions in English, Hindi, and Hinglish. New features include Trip Mode consolidating boarding passes, gate/terminal details, baggage claim info, and travel alerts, plus Agentic Travel Flows that automate tasks like sending boarding passes via WhatsApp, updating Apple Wallet and Google Wallet passes on flight changes, monitoring delays/cancellations, and coordinating with hotels for room readiness. Most agentic features are permission-based and opt-in.
TikTok formally announced TikTok GO, allowing U.S. users to discover and book lodging and experiences through in-app search, video, and location pages. Partners include Booking.com, Expedia, Trip.com, Viator, GetYourGuide, and Tiqets. TikTok GO is available to 200 million U.S. users, with users 18 and older able to complete bookings. Partners set their own pricing, and creators can connect content to bookings and earn commissions. TikTok tested accommodation booking with Booking.com last year.
Perk, a travel and spend management platform, announced an industry-first partnership with CLEAR, offering customers preferred pricing on CLEAR+, CLEAR Concierge, and TSA PreCheck. CLEAR+ members can speed through security at over 150 lanes across 60 US airports. Perk's 2025 report found 89% of business travelers were affected by disruptions, and 25% believed they missed new business due to disruptions.
Expedia Group announced it is combining its B2B and global supply organizations under Alfonso Paredes, who becomes President of B2B and Chief Commercial Officer, adding oversight of global supply. The move aims to align supply and partner distribution more closely as it expands B2B beyond wholesale. In Q1, B2B revenue grew 25% year-over-year to $1.2 billion, with B2B bookings up 22%. Greg Schulze will leave after a transition period.
Startup Voyagier launched an AI-powered luxury travel platform combining AI trip planning, community discovery, embedded luxury travel advisors, and booking infrastructure. Founded in 2025, it publicly launched in March 2026. Its proprietary AI agent VIA uses MCP protocol to enable AI agents like ChatGPT and Claude to execute real bookings via API. Voyagier has integrated with Sabre Mosaic GDS for real-time flight and hotel inventory and uses Stripe for payments. Revenue comes from travel design fees, commission splits, and property placement.
This week's travel tech briefs cover partnerships and personnel moves: Airbnb and Delta expand partnership for miles; Ripe integrates with GuideGeek for real-time lodging data; BizTrip AI appoints head of product strategy; Casago partners with Roam for flexible cancellations; Homhero appoints CTO; Key Data CEO retires; Duetto promotes chief sales officer; Visiting Media partners with UpMail; Not In The Guide Books secures investment; Agoda partners with Macao Tourism; TravelX appoints APAC director; Porter Airlines partners with Hopper for delay assistance.
Expedia Group reported its highest Q1 profitability in history, driven by an AI-focused overhaul. Adjusted EBITDA rose 83% year-over-year to $542 million, gross bookings reached $35.5 billion (up 13%), and revenue totaled $3.4 billion (up 15%). AI improved personalization, conversion, and operational efficiency. B2B revenue grew 25% to $1.2 billion. The company also announced a partnership with Uber to distribute hotel inventory.
MSC Cruises has launched an AI-powered concierge called MSC Concierge in its MSC for Me app, available 24/7 in over 90 languages. It can answer questions, offer entertainment recommendations, and manage bookings. The assistant is connected to guest accounts for personalization and accessible without a paid internet plan. During a pilot, over 170,000 guests exchanged more than 1 million messages, with a 93% satisfaction score.
Tripadvisor reported Q1 2026 revenue of $382 million, down 4% YoY. Net loss was $13 million, and adjusted EBITDA was $22 million, down from nearly $44 million. Experiences revenue grew 4% to $168 million, with bookings up 11%. The company is restructuring and exploring AI partnerships.
Hospitality loyalty startup Journey has acquired Epicurate to add experience packaging to its platform. Boutique hotels and short-term rental operators can sell experiences like private dining, wellness, and excursions through the same system, and travelers can book via the Journey app and earn rewards. Epicurate's founder joins Journey as head of dining and experiences. Journey also expanded its seed round to $15 million.
New Despegar CEO Gonzalo Estebarena shared that the company is investing $100 million annually for three years in AI development and plans to triple in size. As part of Prosus, Despegar will leverage the Prosus ecosystem, focus on Brazil expansion, and develop a 'large commerce model' to predict customer actions.
Booking Holdings announced that CEO Glenn Fogel will participate in a fireside chat at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference in Boston on May 20. A live audio cast and replay will be available.
Long Lake Management will acquire American Express Global Business Travel for approximately $6.3 billion in an all-cash deal, valuing shares at $9.50 each. Expected to close in H2, making Amex GBT private again. Long Lake's AI capabilities will drive corporate travel transformation.
American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) has announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by Long Lake Management for $9.50 per share in cash, valuing the company at approximately $6.3 billion. The transaction is supported by investors including General Catalyst and Alpha Wave, and is expected to close in the second half of 2026. Amex GBT will become a private company, and the American Express brand licensing agreement will remain in place.
American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) reported strong Q1 2026 financial results, with revenue up 35% year-over-year to $840 million and adjusted EBITDA of $150 million. The company highlighted total new wins value of $3.4 billion and a 96% customer retention rate, and launched AI-powered Complete and next-gen Egencia. Due to the announced acquisition by Long Lake, the company has suspended earnings calls and financial guidance.
This week's travel tech news briefs cover multiple partnerships and product launches: Klook partners with Korail for real-time rail booking in South Korea; Spotnana integrates with Air Canada via NDC, enabling Flight Pass credits; Wizz Air teams with Hopper for disruption assistance; Roomex launches Best Rates Display comparison tool; 12Go launches ChatGPT app; Kayak introduces Ask AI; Fareportal launches Enterprise Solutions; Duffel launches Duffel Cars; WEX partners with Extend for virtual cards in Concur Invoice.
Uber has expanded into hotel bookings via a partnership with Expedia Group, offering over 700,000 hotels globally. Uber One members receive at least 20% discounts and 10% back in Uber Credits. Uber also introduced AI-powered voice booking, travel recommendations, and plans to add vacation rentals via Vrbo later this year. This move is part of Uber's super app strategy.
Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta said the company plans to open its app to more large language models, including Gemini and OpenAI, in the coming weeks. Despite rapid AI developments, he doesn't see the distribution landscape changing significantly anytime soon. Hilton will use AI to become more efficient and continue building direct business, which already accounts for over 80% of its business.
Booking Holdings is positioning its AI efforts as a moat against general AI models, with early testing showing lifts in conversion and reduced customer service interactions. CEO Glenn Fogel shared progress on AI initiatives across Priceline's Penny, Booking.com's search and self-service, and Agoda's efficiency. The company reported strong Q1 results, though Middle East conflict impacted growth.
Alibaba Group announced it will report unaudited financial results for the quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, before the U.S. market opens on May 13, 2026, and will hold a conference call at 7:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (7:30 p.m. Hong Kong Time) the same day. Participants must pre-register and will receive dial-in numbers, a passcode and a unique PIN. A live webcast will be available, with a replay accessible for one week from the conference date.
AirAsia MOVE CEO Nadia Omer spoke at Travel Tech Thursdays Kuala Lumpur, stating that travel desire in Southeast Asia is strong but the product hasn't caught up. She noted Gen Z is more experience-oriented, and the industry needs creative product thinking to convert aspiration into booking. She believes AI agents can't access social content like TikTok, and organic content is key to building trust.
Booking Holdings reported first quarter 2026 results: room nights grew 6% year-over-year, gross bookings increased 15% (8% on a constant currency basis), and revenue grew 16% (10% constant currency). Net income rose 225% and adjusted EBITDA grew 19%. The Middle East conflict negatively impacted room night growth by approximately 2 percentage points. The company effected a 25-for-1 stock split on April 2.
Booking Holdings will release its first quarter 2026 financial results on April 28 and hold a conference call to discuss the results.
Ctrip Corporate Travel held its first Global Business Travel Partner Conference in Shanghai, unveiling its 'Ctrip Corporate Travel AI Ecosystem' and the '2025-2026 Business Travel Management Market White Paper'. The AI ecosystem covers the entire travel process with 7 AI agents, reducing booking time to 1-2 minutes. The white paper shows Chinese enterprises' outbound business travel has grown over 30% for three consecutive years, with destinations shifting to Belt and Road countries, and Vietnam orders up 100% year-over-year.
At the Short Stay Summit in London, Casago CEO Steve Schwab and Forge Holiday Group CEO Graham Donoghue discussed the costs and value of AI in the short-term rental industry. Forge spends $30,000-$50,000 monthly on Anthropic tokens and is considering a token optimizer role. Schwab predicts a 'token economy' and warns of rising compute costs. Despite expenses, both see value: Forge's Vivid Stay tool converts static images to video in 25 minutes, previously costing $2,000-$3,000. They also shared failures, including conversational search not gaining traction and employee resistance to change.
JTB Corp. announced that AOMI Tomo, current Managing Executive Officer, will become President and CEO effective June 30, 2026. Current President YAMAKITA Eijiro will become Chairperson, and current Chairman TAKAHASHI Hiroyuki will become Advisor. Aomi previously led JTB Americas, strengthening MICE and business travel through M&A.
Tripadvisor and Viator launched on Anthropic's Claude chatbot and expanded partnership with Amazon's Alexa+, including voice search. Users can get recommendations and book via Claude, and Alexa+ can generate personalized itineraries.
eDreams ODIGEO announced AI updates including a proprietary AI trip planner and a ChatGPT app. The planner, integrated into mobile apps, uses natural language in English to generate day-by-day itineraries and allows booking directly. The ChatGPT app enables conversational flight search, redirecting users to eDreams for purchase. Additionally, the company scaled its agentic voice AI to handle 90% of inquiries in five languages, reducing transfers by 33% and improving resolution velocity by 15%.
Short-term rental management company Veeve (part of UnderTheDoormat Group) has taken over management of 200 high-end homes from Onefinestay in London and Paris, expecting additional revenues of ~£2.3 million annually. Onefinestay will support the transition for continuity. CEO Merilee Karr says this reinforces Veeve's position in the high-end market. The move follows the successful onboarding of over 700 properties during the UnderTheDoormat-Veeve merger. Onefinestay plans to expand in Europe, the Caribbean, and the US.
Intrepid Travel has acquired French adventure travel company Altaï Group, its largest acquisition to date. Altaï, headquartered in Lyon, operates brands including Atalante, Altaï Travel, and uses a vertically integrated model. The deal expands Intrepid's presence in France, making it the fourth-largest market, and strengthens operations in Chile and Canada, including a Montreal base. It aims to engage French-speaking travelers in Quebec and drive inbound demand to Canada, Peru, and Chile. This follows Intrepid's purchase of Dutch operator Sawadee Reizen.
Booking Holdings announced that CFO Ewout Steenbergen will participate in a fireside chat at the Barclays 18th Annual Americas Select Conference in London on May 5. Live audio cast and replay will be available to the public.