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Automatic

2839 posts

Booking Holdings stabilizes as travel growth normalizes

📅 Sep 18, 2025 - Booking Holdings maintains its position as the top intermediary for hotels, with nearly 90% of its revenue from hotel bookings. Its "Connected Trip" ecosystem bundles flights, dining, and insurance to capture the entire guest journey. Proprietary AI tools enhance personalized recommendations and search capabilities. Inflation is driving travelers towards budget options, and Booking's comparison model offers a competitive advantage. Despite steady profitability, growth is slowing as the travel market matures.
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Hotels adapt to the rise of bleisure travel

🏨 Sep 18, 2025, the global bleisure market, valued at USD 685.2 billion in 2024, is set to double by 2032. Hotels worldwide are adapting to this trend by offering flexible stays with extended bookings and work-ready rooms. Wellness amenities, from gyms to meditation rooms, are becoming standard. Authentic local experiences and tech conveniences like mobile check-ins enhance guest stays. Future innovations focus on sustainability, personalization, and local partnerships.
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US inbound tourism continues to decline

🛫 Sep 18, 2025, U.S.: International visits to the U.S. dropped again in August, declining by 2.9% year over year, reaching only 86% of 2019 levels. Visits from India saw the steepest decline at 14.8%. Mixed performance was noted among top markets: UK (+4.7%), Japan (+10.5%), but Germany (-9.4%), China (-8.3%) decreased. Canadian travel fell 34% by car, marking the eighth consecutive monthly drop. A new $250 "visa integrity fee" effective October 1 may further impact visitors.
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Kayak bets on AI search to change booking behavior

💻 Sep 18, 2025: Kayak will launch an AI-powered natural language search tool in two weeks, aiming to simplify travel bookings via conversational requests. Despite 80% of companies using generative AI, per McKinsey, most see no direct revenue gains. Marriott found AI helpful for engagement but not conversions. The challenge remains in shifting travelers from traditional searches to AI planning, with future prospects in autonomous "agentic AI" for managing bookings. Kayak aims to retain users within its platform.
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Airbnb is getting serious about boutique hotels

🏨 Sep 18, 2025: Airbnb is integrating boutique and independent hotels into its platform to boost growth. 🏨 This strategic shift targets New York and select cities as test markets. 💼 With a 15.5% commission rate, Airbnb offers a competitive edge for European hotels. 📈 CEO Brian Chesky emphasizes the need for growth acceleration. The platform leverages its 1.6 billion annual device accesses and uses infrastructure from Airbnb Experiences for scalability. 🏙️
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Amex Travel’s first app is here — but it’s more polish than breakthrough

📱 Sep 18, 2025, American Express Travel launches a standalone booking app for iOS, with Android soon after. The app integrates hotel, flight, and car rentals, offering Centurion Lounge wait times and blockchain “travel stamps.” It aims to enhance loyalty in a competitive market with rivals like Chase and Capital One. The app, distinct from the Amex card app, consolidates services without adding new inventory. Listings from Fine Hotels + Resorts remain unchanged.
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Tiktok avoids US ban after last-minute deal

📱 Sep 16, 2025: A framework deal between the U.S. and China keeps TikTok online, securing access for 170 million American users. The deal, reached just before a September 17 deadline, prevents a U.S. shutdown of the app. TikTok is crucial for travel brands, with 69% of users discovering travel brands on the platform. The app’s partnership with Booking.com, enabling in-app hotel bookings, remains. Previously, TikTok faced a 14-hour outage due to potential bans.
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Google Hotel Ads just got 40% more expensive

📈 Sep 16, 2025. Google ad costs for hotels surged by 20–40% in early 2025, pressuring budgets. Stricter privacy rules hinder tracking, complicating campaign measurement. Competition from OTAs is growing. AI-driven strategies resulted in up to 4x growth in bookings and revenue. These methods also cut customer acquisition costs by 19% while boosting conversions. Cendyn's report offers global insights across EMEA, Americas, and APAC. Download the full report from Cendyn for detailed analysis.
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The quiet gold rush in online travel

📈 Sep 16, 2025, the online travel sector is seeing a shift. Expedia leads with 70,000 partners and 160,000 agencies, obtaining 30% of bookings from B2B in Q2 2025, growing at 17% versus 1% for consumer. Booking Holdings consolidates its B2B efforts. Hopper’s B2B drives two-thirds of its revenue. B2B offers stability and global expansion, especially in Asia and Europe, but faces margin challenges. With consumer growth slowing, B2B is now crucial for online travel agencies.
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Tripadvisor admits SEO is slipping, stakes future on AI-driven search

🗺 Sep 16, 2025, CEO Matt Goldberg announced at the Communacopia + Technology Conference that Tripadvisor is adapting to AI-driven search by leveraging its brand's trust and authentic content. In six months, five AI partnerships with entities like OpenAI were formed. AI tools have boosted engagement and revenue, with small yet exponentially growing generative search traffic. Despite AI's rise, fundamentals of SEO remain vital, ensuring Tripadvisor's continued relevance in travel discovery and bookings.
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