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。
With only three working days between Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day in 2026, the '3 days off for 13' leave strategy has created a super-long golden week, pushing the lodging market into an early booking boom. As of September 21, Huazhu Group data showed overall hotel booking rates for September 25 to October 7 rose about 2 percentage points year on year, with room nights up 22%. Top 10 first- and second-tier cities include Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing; top 10 third- and fourth-tier destinations include Luoyang, Yangzhou and Guilin; top 10 county destinations include Jiuzhaigou, Yangshuo and Antu.
Tongcheng Travel data shows that on September 25, the first day of the Mid-Autumn holiday, family visits and nearby vacations formed a travel peak. Cross-city orders departing the day before and on the day rose 18% versus the same period of this year's Dragon Boat Festival. Local and nearby bookings accounted for over 60% of the total, showing a two-stage pattern of returning home for reunion first and then vacationing nearby. Nearby scenic-spot ticket bookings rose 36% versus Dragon Boat day one, with gardens, ancient towns, cultural venues and theme parks most popular, and Chinese-style night tours especially hot. Hotel family-room bookings rose 21% year on year, and hotel-plus-scenario p…
A China Tourism News article analyzes four booking peaks for the Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays: Mid-Autumn, extended-leave shoulder, National Day main period and late-holiday shoulder. Citing platform data, it says hotel bookings in popular cities rose over 35% year on year, county-level hotel interest grew 32%, long-haul travel bookings rose over 25%, and high-quality hotel bookings increased nearly 10 percentage points. It advises hotels to manage time, space and experience accounts, and prepare pricing curves, products, staffing and public-opinion plans.
With only three days between this year's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, the 'take 3 days off for 13 days' leave strategy has gone viral, pushing hotel bookings into a peak period. Meituan data show Shaanxi's overall culture and tourism bookings rose 50% year on year during the holiday, with hotel and homestay bookings up 49%. Gao Wen, manager of Xi'an Yaman Oriental Courtyard Hotel, said Mid-Autumn was the hottest period, with occupancy near 80% on Sept 25-26, while the National Day peak shifted to Oct 2-3. Platform data show users booking flights to two or more destinations rose 70% year on year. Hoteliers report a rising share of 4-5 night stays, with both average spend and…
With the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays approaching, autumn travel bookings for Heilongjiang, China's northernmost province, have surged, with Hong Kong and Macao visitors leading the "north-seeking autumn-viewing" segment. The Heilongjiang Meteorological Bureau forecasts the 2026 colorful-mountain foliage season will run from mid-September to early October, progressing from north to south. Tongcheng Travel's 21 September "2026 National Autumn Travel Trend Watch" shows Heilongjiang autumn-holiday product search heat up 121% year on year in the past week; the Greater Khingan Range ranked third in autumn destination heat with hotel booking heat up 40%, and Yichun ranked fourth…
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at the Skift Global Forum in New York that the company's April launch of hotel booking in its app through a partnership with Expedia was part of a "generalized bet" on the direction of the travel industry. He said that because Uber operates in more than 70 countries and delivers in more than 100, the traveler comes to Uber.
Perk has formed a strategic partnership with lodging distribution and payments platform Katanox, giving Perk access to Katanox's platform to streamline how hotel bookings are made, paid for, reconciled and settled. The two companies will also collaborate to broaden Perk's hotel partner network through Katanox. Katanox uses account-to-account payment infrastructure that reduces the need for card-based payments for hotel bookings, and its platform connects hotels and travel agents to bring together payments, reconciliation, settlement and distribution. Katanox began pursuing TMC partnerships in 2022, positioning itself as a challenger to global distribution systems, with TMC partners includin…
Tongcheng Travel, together with the Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, launched the 2026 Guangdong 'Golden Autumn Culture and Tourism Consumption Season' subsidy program on September 11, issuing vouchers to inbound and domestic visitors to Guangdong. The platform is also participating in Mid-Autumn and National Day voucher programs across more than ten destinations including Suzhou, Xuzhou, Lhasa, Harbin, Nanchang, Yibin, Guizhou and Jiangxi, with total voucher value exceeding RMB 60 million. Validity generally covers the holiday period, with some extending to end-November.
New research from Expedia Group and PredictHQ finds that 18 major US summer sporting events across basketball, baseball, tennis, golf and hockey were forecast to attract more than 4 million attendees and generate over $537 million in visitor spending, including roughly $259 million on accommodation and $233 million on hospitality. Four New York events alone accounted for $304 million, rising to over $423 million for the wider region when the Southampton golf event is included. Demand spilled into surrounding counties, with Solano County, California up 180% year on year. Canada was the largest inbound market by travel intent, while Brazil, Mexico, the UK and Japan also grew.
On September 10, train tickets for the eve of Mid-Autumn Festival went on sale, accelerating flight and hotel bookings. Qunar data shows this week's Mid-Autumn and National Day flight-hotel bookings rose 119% week-on-week, entering peak season. With only 3 days between the 2026 Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays, the 'take 3 days off for 13 days' plan went viral, unlocking the longest concentrated travel window in nearly a decade. Mid-Autumn first-day flight prices are 30% lower than National Day first-day; travelers booking flights to 2 or more destinations rose 25% YoY. Mid-Autumn 'moon-viewing flight' searches grew 200% YoY; treasure small-town product searches rose over 60% month-on-m…
Navan announces strategic partnership with Engine to integrate its content, infrastructure, and payment capabilities, enabling more flexible hotel cancellations, stay modifications, and group booking features. First capabilities roll out this month.
On September 2, tourism stocks were active against the trend. Yunnan Tourism hit the daily limit, closing at 5.25 yuan, up 10.06%, with a total market value of 5.315 billion yuan. Shaanxi Tourism, Western Region Tourism, and Tibet Tourism followed gains. Many universities announced a 13-day combined holiday for Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day. Qunar data shows hotel advance bookings during the holiday increased nearly 40% year-on-year.
TourMind Group released its hotel booking Skill for AI agents, packaging search, price comparison, booking, and payment into standardized APIs. Users can complete bookings via natural language, with access to over 2.2 million global hotels.
Google introduces hotel booking in AI Mode in Search, allowing US English-speaking users to discover and book hotels through conversational search. Initial partners include 10 travel websites and hotel chains such as Choice Hotels, Hilton, and Wyndham.
A Skift investigation found that AI-generated videos and influencers are promoting hotels through TikTok's new TikTok Go booking feature, often depicting rooms, amenities, and landscapes that don't exist. The Ambiente Sedona luxury resort was a focal point, with 17 videos flagged as AI-generated (80%+ confidence) by Resemble.AI, including fabricated suites, a non-existent pond, and merged footage. TikTok Go functions like a travel-focused TikTok Shop, enabling bookings via partners such as Expedia, Booking.com, Viator, and Trip.com, with creators earning roughly 5% commissions. This incentivizes low-effort, high-volume AI content. Hoteliers worry about brand control and misleading guests, b…
Hilton is connecting the trip-planning journey through new AI tools on Hilton.com, the Hilton Honors App, Google AI Mode, and ChatGPT. Travelers can now discover Hilton hotels within Google's AI Mode and incorporate Hilton Honors Points in searches via natural-language prompts. Hilton is also developing a Claude Connector to bring property information into Claude.
Google is rolling out hotel booking within AI Mode in the U.S., allowing travelers to search, compare, and book hotels through natural language chat and pay with Google Pay. The hotel or OTA remains the merchant of record, handling charges, confirmations, and support. Launch partners include Booking.com, Expedia, Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Choice, Wyndham, Priceline, Hotels.com, and Trip.com. Google emphasizes the tool is not fully autonomous, but it reduces partners' visibility into the customer's decision journey.
Accor is automating its annual corporate hotel rate negotiation process using AI, addressing the issue of negotiated rates not being visible at booking time, thereby reducing leakage. The automation covers data collection, bid flow, and eventually AI-generated pricing recommendations.
IHG Hotels & Resorts highlighted its involvement in Google's agentic AI booking pilot during its H1 2026 results, which enables guests to book hotels directly within Google's AI Mode. IHG is also part of Google's Direct Offers pilot, surfacing promotions in AI-assisted trip planning. Additionally, IHG is upgrading its tech stack, including a cloud-based PMS expected in 4,000 hotels by end of 2026. CEO Elie Maalouf said AI has unlocked revenue uplift and market share gains.
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.
IHG Hotels & Resorts has announced the beta launch of AI-powered conversational search on IHG.com and the IHG One Rewards app, starting in the US. The feature allows travelers to describe their needs in natural language and receive tailored hotel recommendations with rich content, including interactive maps, real-time availability, and property details. IHG also plans an AI-optimized hotel content platform to improve property visibility in AI searches.
Aer Lingus digital product manager Valentina Borovaya won the RouteStack Build Challenge with her product StandByStay, a conversational hotel concierge for airline employees flying standby. It searches candidate destinations in parallel and completes checkout through RouteStack once the flight is confirmed. Second place went to HotelZippo, which compresses family-friendly hotel research, and third to MatchRoute for group trip planning. All winning products transact through RouteStack.
Startup Hotel Splitter has launched a hotel booking platform that compares traditional single-hotel stays with split-stay itineraries to identify cost savings. Launching first in London, it targets longer city breaks where nightly rates fluctuate. Founder Aaron Johal aims to make split stays a mainstream booking option and expand to other expensive urban markets.
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.
Mirai launched AI infrastructure enabling hotel bookings through natural language interactions. The platform supports chat, email, WhatsApp, phone, and AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, with payments handled within the system. Mirai redesigned its infrastructure to connect via MCP, making hotels discoverable, understandable, and bookable by machines.
Startup Go With Rosie launched this month offering a free platform that recommends destinations and properties for families. The platform scores venues from 0 to 100 for family-friendliness and provides itinerary tools that account for nap times. The company makes money from hotel bookings. Founder Tyler Heilberger says the beta generated $30,879 in bookings with zero marketing spend.
Navan has introduced Navan Edge, an AI-powered personalized travel assistant for business travelers without access to managed travel programs. It offers hyper-personalized recommendations and, with approval, can rebook flights, alert hotels about delays, and adjust dinner reservations. Currently available on iOS in the U.S., it supports hotel bookings only, with flight and restaurant bookings expected soon. Navan Edge aims to serve frequent travelers who lack corporate tool support.
SAP Concur launched the Hotel Connector API for new Concur Travel, displaying TMC or hotel aggregator rates directly in the platform to combine consumer-grade choice with corporate compliance controls. The feature supports connecting to multiple content aggregators, giving access to up to six million accommodation options versus 650,000 with GDS only. HRS is the first hotel-focused technology provider to go live with fully certified features through Hotel Connector. Features include richer content and amenities, omni-search, optimized booking workflows, sustainability indicators, more payment options, and e-receipt integration.
SAP Concur's 2017 EMEA hotel data shows that the lowest median rates can be found 0-3 days before stay, but most rooms are booked 15 or more days out. Travelers are paying more by booking earlier than when prices are at their lowest. Data also shows that rates in Germany hold slightly higher than the median until 4-7 days, while the U.K. sees a 26% drop below the median in the 0-3 day window, compared with Germany's 13% drop. High-end Paris hotel prices are consistently 50% to 90% above the median. The article recommends booking within the cancellation period, signing up for hotel loyalty programs, and avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach.
SAP Concur announced that Concur TripLink customers can now connect their SAP Concur account with Hyatt via the Hyatt App Center or by enrolling their World of Hyatt loyalty account. Over 120,000 World of Hyatt member accounts are connected, allowing travel managers to capture booking data from Hyatt.com or mobile apps, providing spend visibility and policy monitoring.