On August 21, Tongcheng Travel announced the completion of its tender offer for Dida Chuxing, receiving valid acceptances of 911 million shares, representing approximately 88.74% of the total issued share capital. Post-acquisition, Dida Chuxing will maintain brand and operational independence, and Tongcheng Travel plans to seek to maintain its Hong Kong listing status.
Bernstein analysts argue that Airbnb's recent revenue acceleration is structural rather than temporary, with management guiding to a fifth consecutive quarter of roughly 10%-plus room-night growth, helping push shares up more than 25% since early August. Growth drivers include Reserve Now, Pay Later; single-fee migration lifting take rate to ~15.5%; dynamic pricing; hotel expansion; AI search; loyalty program; ancillaries; sponsored listings; and Asia growth. Bernstein views current 13% revenue growth as conservative but flags risks: unproven AI and dynamic-pricing assumptions, execution strain, rising regulation, and uncertain success in new Asian markets.
Luxury tour operator Black Tomato has transferred 75% of the business into a newly established Employee Ownership Trust, in a deal completed in early July and led by advisory firm Grant Thornton, which conducted an independent valuation (undisclosed). The three founders retain a 25% minority stake via a new B share class while preserving decision-making power, with existing management and the board staying in place under trustee oversight. Rather than selling to private equity, co-founder Tom Marchant framed the move as an "evolution, not an exit," designed to lock in independence, protect the company's culture, and offer employees future upside. The structure uses deferred consideration pa…
On Skift's Good Morning Hospitality podcast, new StayTerra CEO Amy Kothari discusses accelerating PE-backed short-term rental consolidation, what a successful rollup model looks like, and implications for independent operators. The episode also covers Airbnb abandoning its in-house experiences strategy to partner with Tripadvisor, and Expedia Group cutting eight senior executives in a week as it reorganizes around AI, with consequences for Vrbo hosts.
Church's Texas Chicken, operating over 1,500 locations across 25 countries with $1.6 billion in system-wide sales, deployed the Schoox learning platform globally in January 2025 to replace its legacy LMS from 2019. The new frontline-first architecture includes native enterprise hierarchy, automated onboarding, and micro-learning at the point of work, addressing challenges of consistency, speed, frontline support, and visibility. Future plans include linking learning data to store KPIs via the Schoox Learning Impact Suite, using AI-driven pattern sensing to identify engagement lags early and deploy targeted interventions before performance dips.
Tongcheng Travel announced 1H2026 results: revenue up 10.5% YoY to RMB 9,992.8 million, adjusted net profit up 14.6% to RMB 1,792.0 million. Core OTA business grew 12.7%, with accommodation revenue up 11.1% and transportation ticketing up 2.1%. The company continues to deepen its presence in the mass travel market and embrace AI for efficiency.
Tongcheng Travel's Q2 2026 revenue was RMB4,987.0 million, up 6.8% YoY; adjusted net profit was RMB850.9 million, up 9.8%. Average MPUs decreased 5.8% to 43.7 million. Transportation ticketing revenue fell 2.3%, while accommodation reservation revenue grew 8%.
Based on a survey of 127 mid-to-large enterprises, this review evaluates integrated business travel and expense control platforms. Fenbeitong ranks first with 91 points, followed by SAP Concur at 88, Ctrip Corporate Travel at 74.2, and Alibaba Business Travel at 69. The evaluation covers pre-trip control, financial automation, resource procurement, overseas capabilities, system integration, and service. The article provides selection recommendations by annual travel spend and highlights the advantages of native integrated platforms in control and cost reduction.
This article analyzes three types of business travel solutions for enterprises with annual travel spend over 2 million RMB: pure TMC, pure expense control, and native integrated platforms. It emphasizes the advantages of integrated platforms in pre-trip control, financial integration, and cost reduction, and provides five evaluation dimensions and scenario-based selection recommendations, suggesting that enterprises over 2 million should prioritize native integrated platforms.
This article addresses group enterprises with both domestic and overseas operations, analyzing visible and hidden pain points in travel management, and comparing three platform types: pure TMC, pure expense control, and integrated platforms. It provides six evaluation dimensions with weights and a horizontal comparison of seven major platforms, with Fenbeitong leading at 88 points. It offers selection recommendations for different business scenarios, emphasizing the advantages of integrated platforms in unified domestic-overseas control and data consistency.
BCD Travel has published a blueprint for travel program resilience, emphasizing that resilient programs help organizations support travelers, manage costs, and keep business moving when flights are canceled, routes change, or unexpected events disrupt plans. The blueprint covers why resilience matters, program design, and intelligence and visibility, offering a framework for corporate travel managers to build robust programs.
BCD Travel has published a guide on assessing travel program resilience. By identifying strengths, vulnerabilities, and priorities, organizations can determine where to strengthen resilience. The content emphasizes that every organization starts from a different place and needs a tailored assessment approach.
BCD Travel has published a guide on supporting travelers during disruption. When disruption occurs, travelers need clear guidance, timely communication, and access to support when it matters most. The content emphasizes that policy and communication, supplier strategy, and intelligence create resilience before disruption.
BCD Travel emphasizes that resilient travel programs need visibility and intelligence. Visibility understands current situations; intelligence helps anticipate change, evaluate options, and respond quickly. Practices include real-time traveler tracking, proactive travel monitoring, market monitoring, destination risk intelligence, data-driven insights, and automated workflows. Intelligence extends beyond traveler safety to supplier performance and market shifts.
BCD Travel states that resilient travel programs are built on flexible policies, strategic supplier relationships, cross-functional ownership, and connected digital experiences. Supplier strategy is key; over-reliance on few suppliers increases risk. Diversify supplier portfolios, build contract flexibility, maintain alternatives in key markets. Continuously evaluate supplier performance, not just annual sourcing cycles.
This opinion piece by Skift founder Rafat Ali argues that Kayak remains the best travel search tool, despite parent Booking Holdings writing it down by $457 million in October 2025 and co-founder and CEO Steve Hafner stepping down in February 2026. The article contends that Kayak's struggles stem from rising Google-driven customer-acquisition costs and stalled revenue (around $500 million, down from ~$600 million pre-Covid), not a failing product. Meanwhile, competitors like Trivago and Skyscanner are growing but require higher ad spend. Booking is investing in a new AI travel brand, Lola, built by Kayak's founders, rather than leveraging Kayak's 21 years of brand recognition and user base.
BCD Travel has introduced travel solutions for finance teams, aiming to consolidate booking, invoicing, and expense management, providing full spend visibility, reducing manual reconciliation, and supporting VAT compliance and expense reimbursement. The solution helps finance teams control travel costs and improve policy compliance without adding an internal travel management team.
BCD Travel has launched a business travel solution tailored for office managers, operations managers, and executive assistants, aiming to simplify booking, reduce manual coordination, and provide direct traveler support. The solution integrates booking, communication, and support in one place, handles VIP and guest travel, and helps organizations without a dedicated travel manager manage travel efficiently.
TravelDaily reports that the homestay industry is shifting from accommodation to experiences. Meituan Homestay data shows users staying 7+ nights grew nearly 30% YoY, with young users up 75%. Meituan launched 'Special Experience' tags covering 8 experience types in 136 cities; listings with such tags have occupancy nearly 3 times that of ordinary ones. Global OTAs like Expedia and Tripadvisor are also expanding into experiences.
Expedia Group has cut eight senior leaders, including Sachin Singh, SVP of book-to-trip technology, and seven other VPs covering payments, fraud and risk, and self-service tools. Their responsibilities will be divided among remaining tech executives, the CISO, and finance. The reorganization aims to shift authority to smaller AI-focused squads that can build closer to the brands they support. Roughly half of Expedia's 16,000 employees work in technology, with about 5,000 engineers.
The article analyzes the distinct capital allocation strategies of three multi-day tour operators: Lindblad focuses on acquiring founder-led brands, with its land segment contributing ~84% of operating income; Travelopia is divesting assets to address 2027 debt maturities; Intrepid uses net cash to acquire brands and integrate its ground delivery network. These strategies reflect different views on value creation.
Alibaba Group announced results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026: revenue was RMB 268.953 billion, up 9% YoY. Cloud revenue accelerated to 45% growth, with AI-related product revenue growing triple digits for the 12th consecutive quarter. The group underwent strategic integration, forming Alibaba E-commerce Group and AI Cloud & Computing Services. AliExpress achieved operating profit.
Fenbeitong published a guide for enterprises with high travel volume and multiple branches, analyzing pain points in travel management, proposing six evaluation dimensions, and comparing seven major platforms. The article emphasizes multi-organization adaptability, pre-control, data consistency, and multi-entity accounting, with recommendations for different travel scales.
Fenbeitong's article points out that for enterprises with mature expense systems, simply integrating a TMC does not achieve integrated travel and expense management. Cross-vendor integration has data gaps and control failures; native integrated platforms can achieve full-chain closure and support integration with existing ERP.
Fenbeitong published a selection guide proposing six evaluation dimensions: business scenario fit, travel resources, corporate settlement, system integration, control analysis, and implementation service. Comparing seven platforms, Fenbeitong scored highest, with recommendations for different travel scales.
Fenbeitong's article points out that a travel platform is a control tool, not a magic bullet for cost reduction. Cost reduction requires a combination of policies, platform, and operations. The platform can block non-compliant spending but cannot eliminate reasonable expenses from business growth. Enterprises should focus on data analytics and continuously optimize travel policies.
HomeToGo reported in its H1 2026 earnings that internal AI adoption has improved operational efficiency. With 100% of its workforce having access to 15 AI tools, customer email responses are three times faster and chat escalations reduced by 85%. AI-generated search ads drove a 44% lift in return on ad spend in tests, and video production costs cut by over 60%. New products are built in weeks instead of months. B2B business HomeToGo_PRO grew 250.5% YoY to €105.2 million, now 66% of total revenue.
Zaxbys CTO Mike Nettles has completely overhauled the brand's tech stack since 2021, with the brand now surpassing 1,000 locations and over 70% of transactions occurring at the drive-thru. Partnering with Hi Auto, they piloted voice AI across 25 stores, fine-tuning for nine months before rollout. The AI improved dynamic upselling but created kitchen operational challenges, leading to integration with PAR Brink POS and QSR Automations kitchen display systems to streamline order flow.
Disney introduced a new 'global guests' metric in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, blending park attendance and passenger cruise days, up 4% year-over-year. The metric made its debut in an August quarterly report, reflecting the company's global and diversified experiences strategy. Disney plans to more than double its cruise fleet to 13 ships by end of 2030, part of a 10-year, $60 billion investment in experiences, with about 20% earmarked for cruise expansion.
Perk (formerly TravelPerk) has expanded its Model Context Protocol (MCP) capabilities, allowing employees to manage travel, submit expenses, and create events directly from AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT. The MCP server has evolved from an insight tool to an action engine, enabling tasks such as setting up team offsites, managing visa checks via Entry Ready, and routing out-of-policy bookings through existing approval flows. The new capabilities are live for all customers, with a Slack connector launching in September.
Fenbeitong published a guide to selecting business travel reimbursement systems, noting that mature systems reduce costs through centralized procurement, pre-control, financial automation, and data-driven optimization. Selection should evaluate six dimensions: procurement resources, no-advance reimbursement, system integration, travel control, financial automation, and service support. It also compares seven platforms including Fenbeitong and Ctrip Corporate Travel.
Fenbeitong's article points out that when travel volume surges, relying solely on reimbursement systems cannot control costs; control must be moved to the booking stage. Five common pitfalls in selection include: focusing only on reimbursement document processing, equating simplified submission with financial burden reduction, comparing only purchase price, ignoring system compatibility, and lacking intelligent capabilities. The article also provides six evaluation dimensions and platform comparisons.
Perk, formerly TravelPerk, announced that via its Model Context Protocol Server, customers globally can perform tasks such as trip booking and expense management through AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT. For example, a traveler can ask to find a flight or cancel a booking, while a manager can approve expenses under a certain amount. Perk also plans to launch Perk Agent in Slack next month.
BCD Travel has launched a business travel solution for IT teams, integrating travel with existing systems such as expense, HR, and finance tools, eliminating data silos and reducing manual handoffs. The solution helps organizations scale travel without adding complexity and improves data reliability and visibility.
BCD Travel introduces business travel integration solutions for IT teams, connecting travel systems with existing HR, finance, and expense tools to eliminate data silos and reduce manual handoffs. The solution supports SSO, scales without major rebuilds, and helps organizations maintain efficiency as travel volume grows.
Perk (formerly TravelPerk) announced it is the first platform to let customers book and manage trips, submit expenses, and create team events from AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT. Its MCP server turns from an insight tool into an action engine, tackling shadow work. Out-of-policy bookings and expenses go to the company's approval flow. Perk Agent for Slack is coming in September.
Uber has partnered with India-based OTA Ixigo to launch train ticket booking on the Uber app. The service enables users to book train tickets, check PNR status, and arrange rides to and from stations. Uber already has presence at major railway stations. The partnership builds on Uber's intercity services. Ixigo's co-CEOs said the partnership extends the experience beyond the train. Uber also expanded Uber Bike to 100 more cities, bringing its network to 225 cities.
JTB and H2O Retailing announced a collaboration on the 'Shokuiku Caravan' program, themed around Tamba chestnuts, allowing parents and children to experience the full process from harvesting, product-making to sales. The events will be held on September 26 and October 17 at Tamba City and Hanshin Umeda Main Store. The program aims to promote regional exchange and has received certification from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
On August 18, United Travel held the 'SET SAIL New Voyage' global cruise theme launch in Beijing, unveiling a cruise product matrix covering seven continents and four oceans, with over 50 routes. The company plans to release over 2,000 air seats and introduce long-haul cruise products in Europe, Australia, and the Americas, emphasizing a 'cruise+' closed-loop system.
Airbnb has quietly reversed its pandemic-era marketing pullback. SEC filings show search engine marketing resumed growth in 2022, brand and performance spending surpassed 2019 levels by 2023, and grew ~32% in H1 2026 against 17% revenue growth. The company's public claim that '90% of traffic is direct or unpaid' increasingly diverges from its actual paid growth initiatives.