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Automatic

3021 posts

When pricing gets personal

💸 On Dec 10, 2024, surveillance pricing was detailed as setting personalized flight costs using data like browsing habits, location, and income. For instance, using a MacBook might result in higher flight prices than a cheaper PC. Expedia and other platforms use AI, such as PROS WTP, to predict and optimize for the highest price a customer is willing to pay. Key factors affecting prices include repeated searches, indicative of urgency; income-based pricing, with higher fares for those in wealthier postcodes; and preference-based offers, where searching for luxury hotels could prompt pricier travel package offers.
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How digital experience shoppers are shaping retail

🛒 On Dec 10, 2024, PwC's 2024 Holiday Outlook Survey highlighted Digital Experience (DX) Enthusiasts in the US who mix physical and digital retail, influencing stores to adopt technologies like smart fitting rooms and virtual try-ons. These shoppers seek personalized, technology-driven shopping experiences and favor digital/mobile payments for speed, while also valuing brand reputation and image for loyalty and purchases.
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Booking.com says typos exposing trip details aren’t a bug

🛅 On December 9, 2024, a Booking.com user identified a significant privacy issue when a typo in an email address led to sharing private travel information with strangers, sometimes allowing unauthorized account access and control over bookings. This incident, resulting from Booking.com linking bookings to accounts with matching email addresses, was not considered a system error or security breach by the company, despite user concerns. The user received no immediate resolution from Booking.com and had to delete the trip manually from their account.
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European travel trends to watch in 2025

🌎 On Dec 9, 2024, despite efforts to divert tourists to less crowded cities, overtourism persists in Europe. Rail Europe reports a rise in rail travel, favored by Gen Z and Millennials for sustainability. Tourists prefer day trips from major cities, while events such as Rome's upcoming Jubilee are significant tourist attractions, indicating that the "swap & dupe" trend sees travelers adding destinations rather than substituting them.
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OTAs vs. AI Agents: The evolution of travel booking

📈 Online travel agencies (OTAs), utilizing economies of scale and network effects, currently dominate the travel industry. On December 9, 2024, a shift is predicted as AI agents, especially those driven by large language models (LLMs), are expected to challenge this dominance by autonomously searching, comparing, and booking travel without the need for OTAs' scale, contracts, and branding. This technological advancement enables highly personalized travel options, presenting a significant challenge for OTAs and platforms like Google to innovate or pivot to remain relevant in the face of AI disruption.
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GDS helps smaller hotels succeed in corporate travel

💲 By connecting to a Global Distribution System (GDS) on Dec 9, 2024, smaller hotels gain visibility to compete with major brands for corporate bookings. The GDS network links hotels to thousands of travel agents and managers globally, allows dynamic pricing, real-time availability, and efficient management of corporate rates. This results in higher occupancy, longer stays from premium business travelers, and an increase in revenue per available room.
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Traction for sustainable lodging?

🌱 On Dec 9, 2024, the HRS Green Stay initiative, an ISO-certified program, influences business travel trends by promoting environmental and economic benefits. Average trip durations post-pandemic are longer, increasing hotel emissions. European travelers are favoring rail over air travel, which is shifting the emissions focus to hotels. Companies are prioritizing sustainability, especially in Europe with stricter regulations, leading to more bookings and RFP success for Green Stay-labeled hotels.
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Decarbonizing hotel food systems

🍴 The global hospitality industry could slash food-related emissions by 30% by 2030. The World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, Iberostar Hotels & Resorts, the Sustainable Markets Initiative, and Systemiq released a white paper on Dec 9, 2024, detailing methods such as waste tracking, which may cut food waste in half. With the industry accountable for 1% of food production emissions and 3% of food waste, there's potential for significant environmental impact. Iberostar Hotels is striving for net-zero emissions by 2030, implementing AI waste management and removing single-use plastics.
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Luxury hotel demand grows

🏡 North American travelers flock to European luxury destinations post-pandemic; luxury in hospitality now complex and varied. Robert Mangan of Bain Capital notes trend affects all hotel tiers. "Lean luxury" exemplified by Ruby Hotels in London with 20 European locations, merges high-end amenities with efficiency. European luxury hotels see a 5.2% increase in average daily rate to $489.09, while the Middle East and Africa average $313.56, as of October 2024. - Source: HNN.
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