Automatic

🏨 Jul 3, 2025, Triptease launched a redesigned Messages product at the 2025 Direct Booking Summit. This platform revolutionizes hotel website personalization, boosting direct bookings through personalized campaigns, mobile-optimized designs, and seamless integration with paid channels. Key features include a drag-and-drop interface for intuitive message creation, enhanced multimedia engagement with videos and GIFs, and cross-channel integration for consistent messaging and simpler reporting. This empowers hotels to bypass OTAs by meeting modern guest expectations effectively.

🌎 Tripadvisor's rebrand, launched on July 3, 2025, focuses on user-generated content and experiential bookings. The company introduced a vibrant electric lime color and animated its iconic owl logo. With 72% of travelers relying on reviews, Tripadvisor emphasizes authenticity by integrating real photos and reviews. The strategy supports post-pandemic demand for local experiences. An AI-enhanced app and a global travel membership program are set to launch in Q3 2025. Design agency Koto spearheaded the visual transformation.

📈 Jul 3, 2025, Shiji unveiled an upgrade to the ReviewPro Reputation AI Responses tool for hotels, enhancing guest review responses. HM Hotels achieved an 82% response rate for 661 reviews in a month, with a 100% response rate on platforms like Google and Booking.com, addressing negative reviews in under 2.7 days. Features include customizable tones, bulk reply for 20+ reviews, and editorial control to ensure brand consistency while improving efficiency.

💳 July 3, 2025, U.S. and Canada: Airbnb tests "Reserve Now, Pay Later" for eligible guests, allowing bookings without upfront payments. It aims to improve affordability and flexibility. Payment is collected later using the original payment method, before a free cancellation deadline. If payment isn’t completed, bookings are canceled. Hosts are unaffected as Airbnb handles payments. This isn’t installment financing. The feature is still under quiet experimentation with no official launch announced yet.

🌍 Jul 3, 2025, Singapore – Agoda, an online travel agency, saw its revenue rise from $1.2B in 2020 to $2.2B in 2024, leveraging in-house technology and AI. With 1,800 tech staff mainly in Bangkok and India, Agoda focuses on GenAI for personalisation and cybersecurity. Their investment in technology is their second-largest expense after marketing. Agoda aims for a global reach with localised experiences, enhancing offerings and targeting tier II cities and domestic travel.