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3019 posts

Tiktok adds hotel bookings

📅 Aug 12, 2025, TikTok has introduced hotel booking in the US within the app via Booking.com. The TikTok Go program now enables creators with 1,000+ followers to earn commissions by promoting hotels and businesses. TikTok users can explore hotels’ rates, amenities, and reviews. This initiative is part of TikTok’s e-commerce strategy, building on the success of TikTok Shop and aiming to drive travel sales. Influencers can earn by creating content that leads to bookings.
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Expedia lifts 2025 outlook on B2B, advertising, and international growth

💼 Aug 12, 2025: Expedia Group boosts 2025 guidance as Q2 drives gains. Gross bookings and revenue are now expected to grow 3–5%, with EBITDA margin expanding 100 basis points. Q2 saw a 17% B2B revenue rise, 19% ad increase, and 7% more room nights, totaling 105.5 million. The Southwest partnership adds 5% to its passenger volume. International bookings rose high single digits, including a 30% B2B Asia increase. Shares soared over 15% post-trading.
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Global lawsuits challenge Booking.com’s business practices

💶 Aug 12, 2025, Booking.com faces multiple lawsuits from Europe to the US over anti-competitive tactics and deceptive pricing. Key cases include a Dutch class action potentially costing hundreds of millions, and a European hotel lawsuit involving 10,000+ hotels over "parity clauses." In 2024, Spain fined Booking.com €413.2 million for market abuse. Ongoing cases involve Texas deceptive practices (2023) and illegal Israeli settlement listings (2023–2025). Booking.com denies allegations, asserting transparency.
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U.S. hotel growth forecast downgraded again

📈 Aug 12, 2025, U.S.: CoStar and Tourism Economics downgraded hotel forecasts for 2025-26, citing weaker demand and economic uncertainty. 2025 demand, ADR, and RevPAR growth cut by 0.6, 0.5, and 1.1 points; 2026 by 0.5, 0.3, and 0.7 points. Inflation, consumer spending, and weaker international travel are key drags. GOP margins revised down 0.3 points for 2025 and 2.3 points for 2026 due to rising expenses. Possible improvement from policy changes anticipated by late 2026.
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  • 1 min

The Future of Travel Booking: AI Powered, Instant, and Hyper Personalized

💻 In a dynamic Live session by HyperGuest, hospitality tech experts explored AI's transformative role in travel booking, highlighting conversational interfaces and autonomous inventory management. Key insights from a panel and industry report showed AI's impact on B2B hospitality distribution, enhancing real-time data, hyper-personalization, and operational intelligence. The session emphasized AI's current significance in the travel industry, offering valuable competitive insights for hoteliers, tech providers, and strategists in a data-driven market.
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  • 3 min

The barriers Agentic AI must overcome to emerge as a hotel distribution channel

💻 In hotel reservations, agentic AI faces substantial challenges before becoming a mainstream distribution channel. Privacy concerns, especially in regions like the EU (due to GDPR) and California (CCPA), and payment friction under PSD2 regulations, hinder seamless transactions. Major hotel chains resist losing customer relationships to AI intermediaries. Loyalty program integration, booking complexity, and the absence of a clear monetization model further complicate adoption. While niche opportunities exist, widespread acceptance remains uncertain.
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Booking.com challenges hotel lawsuit

📑 Aug 7, 2025: Over 10,000 European hotels join a class action against Booking.com, supported by HOTREC, over price parity clauses claimed to harm competition. The lawsuit seeks fair competition, especially for small hotels. Booking.com defends, citing no anti-competitive ruling by the EU court. The registration deadline extended to August 29, 2025, due to interest. In 2023, Booking Holdings had a 71% European market share. More details at the Luxembourg Times.
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Amex GBT targets $155 million in cost synergies from CWT merger

💸 Aug 7, 2025, Amex GBT plans to finalize the CWT acquisition by September's end after the U.S. Department of Justice withdrew its lawsuit. The merger is expected to yield $155 million in savings over three years. $3.2 billion in new customer wins over the past year included $2.2 billion from SMEs. Q2 saw a 4% rise in adjusted EBITDA and a 1% revenue increase to $631 million. Corporate travel transactions rose 2% between May and June.
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Accor reinvents travel loyalty with global subscription relaunch

👤 Aug 7, 2025: Accor revamps its Asia Pacific loyalty program, Accor Plus, into ALL Accor+ Explorer, launching October 1, 2025. This premium subscription offers Gold status, two free nights annually, and exclusive global discounts. Subscribers stay five times more nights and spend 2.3 times more than non-members. Accor targets a $2 trillion subscription economy, driven by insights from over 7,000 members, AI-driven personalization, and a focus on building a community and lifestyle ecosystem.
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  • 1 min

Booking.com launches first U.S. credit card

💳 Booking.com launched the Genius Rewards Visa Signature in the U.S. on August 7, 2025, to boost direct bookings. Cardholders earn travel credits, not points, with 6% back on hotel/rental bookings via the app and 5% on other services. Benefits include no annual fee, Genius tier 3 perks, and $150 travel credits for $1,500 spent in 90 days. A $100 bonus is earned annually for $15,000 spent. The initiative aims to increase U.S. market presence.
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