澳洲航空忠诚计划宣布与Expedia Group达成战略技术合作，覆盖Qantas Hotels & Holidays与Jetstar Holidays平台的数字预订体验与技术能力。Expedia Group B2B将基于其Composable Agentic Template为澳航打造端到端旅行体验，客户可在单一入口预订酒店与假期套餐、赚取和兑换澳航积分并管理整个行程。升级后的平台计划于2027年上半年上线，建设与整合工作正在进行中。
Expedia Group B2B总裁兼首席商务官Alfonso Paredes表示，CarTrawler收购已于9月1日完成，Tiqets已全面整合，其活动库存已上线Expedia Rapid API，并在英国Travel Agent Affiliate Program小范围测试。Expedia B2B第二季度收入同比增长23%，已连续20个季度实现双位数增长，但利润率因合作方组合与整合成本承压。Paredes称最大风险是失去专注，并强调AI是界面、Expedia B2B是基础设施。
At Skift Global Forum, Air Canada Chief Commercial Officer Mark Galardo and ZS Managing Partner Kunal Shah said premiumization should be a structural company strategy rather than layered on top of existing operations. Galardo said premium revenue share at Air Canada grew from about 20% a decade ago to 30% today, with a target of 35% by end of decade. Shah said the industry too often equates premium with upscale, but midscale and economy properties can also capture value through pricing and personalization, and premium travelers prefer digital-first experiences. Galardo said premium demand is directly correlated to the health of the economy and strength of equity markets, and warned against…
Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin said at Skift Global Forum that Expedia will be on Meta's Muse AI agent, with the partnership announced the day before she spoke. She described a case-by-case, experimental approach to emerging agent platforms, with teams engaging Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta. Gorin said AEO (answer engine optimization) is now Expedia's fastest-growing channel and that paid advertising in AI environments is starting to evolve. Expedia reversed course from a single end-to-end agent to modular AI agents reused across brands, while strengthening direct channels through bundling, servicing and loyalty.
Vicious Biscuit's COO Amanda Kahalehoe, with a Marine Corps and IT background, has built a technology architecture designed for 150 units while operating only 12. She adopted middleware Olo and built proprietary layers for data integration. Through loyalty programs and AI analysis, the brand makes data-driven decisions during expansion, such as discovering that turning off third-party ordering spiked call-in orders by 40-70%.
Blaze Pizza and The Coca-Cola Company collaborate to enhance guest experiences and drive profitable growth by evolving Blaze's digital ecosystem, focusing on ordering, loyalty, and omnichannel engagement.
Mad Monkey, a hostel operator, targets young travelers on extended trips through Southeast Asia who are unlikely to return. The company uses social media as a demand-generation strategy, with a creator ecosystem, Takeovers program, branded group trips, and redesigned loyalty to keep travelers engaged during their journey. Managing social in-house, it has grown to 50,000 Instagram followers and over 1 million monthly organic reach.
7 Brew launched its first mobile app with features for advance ordering, exploring 20,000+ drink combinations, tracking rewards, and saving favorites. The app unlocks secret menus and updates the loyalty program, allowing members to bank points for merchandise. The brand has over 800 locations in 38 states.
Booking Holdings reported progress on its connected trip strategy in Q2, with connected trip transactions growing in the low double-digits, more than twice the rate of total transaction growth. The company leverages AI and its loyalty program, with higher-tier Genius members representing over 30% of active customers and accounting for a high 50% share of room nights. AI customer service is reducing contact rates and costs, while Booking.com tests AI discovery, Agoda launches Gallery View, and Priceline deploys agentic AI assistant Penny.
TikTok GO launched in the US in May 2026, allowing users to book hotels, tours, and experiences directly within the app, with partners including Booking.com, Expedia, Trip.com, and others. This shifts where hotel bookings begin, as travelers no longer need to leave the app. AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini are also becoming entry points for travel planning and booking. This results in hotels losing first-party data, challenging loyalty programs. The article suggests hotels capture data at owned touchpoints and ensure loyalty value is clear within platforms.
Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill, with 65+ locations, relied on vendor data showing top 75th percentile performance, but store metrics didn't match. VP of Technology Laurens Pitts shared at an RTN Town Hall how the brand formed a cross-functional team to observe stores in person, discovering only one in four customers are loyalty members, and that high-frequency customers may not be digitally connected. Analyzing DoorDash heatmaps revealed dedicated customers living 5-10 miles away. The brand shifted focus to the three out of four customers not in the loyalty platform, balancing tech tools with operational awareness.
Sun Group launched Sun Signature, Vietnam's first fully integrated loyalty program, powered by Amadeus Loyalty and Rewards. It brings together aviation, hospitality, entertainment, healthcare, real estate, and banking under a single loyalty account.
Air India and Booking.com announced a strategic partnership to deliver a co-branded platform on Air India's website and app, offering access to Booking.com's global accommodation inventory. Maharaja Club members earn 5 points per INR 100 spent, with exclusive discounts up to 15% for a limited period. The partnership aims to provide a seamless, end-to-end travel booking experience.
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.
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.
Google has updated its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) with new capabilities, including a Cart option enabling agents to save or add multiple items to a shopping basket from a single store. Through Identity Linking, shoppers on UCP-integrated platforms can access the same loyalty or member perks as on a retailer's site. Catalog functionality allows agents to retrieve product details such as inventory and pricing in real time. The move follows OpenAI's decision to shift Instant Checkout in ChatGPT to apps.
Phocuswright's research 'Beyond Points: Rethinking Loyalty and Brand Consistency in Travel' reveals that Gen Z is not disloyal but values novelty. When novelty and loyalty compete, novelty often wins. However, Gen Z and millennials show high engagement in loyalty programs, with higher redemption rates than other generations. They prefer credit card points and OTA programs for their diverse redemption options. The report suggests loyalty programs need to offer variety in both earning and burning to attract younger travelers.
Phocuswright report notes APAC travel is 'digital-first', with AI personalization, predictive search, and automated planning accelerating online shift. Experiences spending is growing, with APAC travelers more willing to increase spend than Western counterparts. Loyalty is trending toward cross-brand ecosystem collaborations.