Marketing

🗺️ Departure growth at lastminute.com soared in 2025, with increases of 7% in September, 12% in October, and 23% in November, marking November as the fastest-growing month. Shoulder season travel now constitutes 19% of annual trips, reaching 58% of summer's peak size. Top destinations include Mallorca, Tenerife, Crete, Amsterdam, and Barcelona. Notably, bookings to London surged 30% during late November, coinciding with Radiohead's concerts. Beach breaks account for 60% of autumn travel.

📊 Expedia Group plans to acquire Tiqets in Q1 2026 to enhance its global offerings in the tourism sector. Operating in over 60 countries and 1,000 cities since 2014, Tiqets will integrate its experiences into Expedia's platform, aiming to personalize trips for millions. The acquisition aims to leverage Expedia’s global reach and B2B capabilities, strengthening their inventory and innovation in the travel industry. Morgann Lesné from Cambon Partners highlights Expedia's selective partnership approach.

📈 Independent hotels across the U.S. lose thousands monthly due to poor online visibility. Major brands dominate search results. Problems include low Google and OTA presence, inconsistent branding, and outdated listings. RevOptimum’s Hotel Visibility Program improved one property's direct bookings by 35% and RevPAR by 25%, focusing on discoverability rather than promotions. Effective visibility requires understanding traveler behavior and custom strategies. Hotels can consult RevOptimum for tailored solutions.

📅 Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and Chinese New Year provide opportunities for hotels to engage guests through digital campaigns. An Advent calendar campaign boosts website traffic during Christmas. A New Year’s Eve countdown drives bookings with striking visuals. From February 10, a Chinese New Year campaign targets travelers in China, Korea, and Singapore, offering personalized incentives. Blue Monday, the third Monday in January, offers a 30% discount to lift spirits. Personalized, timely offers can maintain guest engagement throughout winter.

📅 Spotnana partnered with Booking.com to integrate their global itinerary for partners and customers. This integration allows access to corporate rates and supports the entire travel journey from booking to servicing. Travelers and agents can manage trips through Spotnana's platform. Benefits include flexible payment options, loyalty rates, last-minute deals, and multi-language support. Mark van der Linden of Booking.com and Bill Brindle of Spotnana highlight the partnership's aim to ease travel management and enhance inventory access.

📅 Emerging Travel Group (ETG) partners with H10 Hotels Group to offer over 65 H10 properties directly to ETG's 20 million monthly users. H10 Hotels, known for premium seafront and all-inclusive resorts, operate in 25 destinations, including Spain, Italy, and the Caribbean. This integration, facilitated by Connectycs, aims to boost booking management and visibility. Spain leads ETG's platform bookings, with a 25% year-on-year increase. Victoria Shamshurova emphasizes the milestone's significance in expanding quality accommodation options.

🛩 Fliggy, Alibaba Group's travel platform, reported a 30% year-on-year surge in gross merchandise value (GMV) during the Double 11 Global Travel Festival. Over six million promotional products were sold, including nearly one million flight passes. Premium 88VIP memberships rose by 30%, contributing 70% of top merchants’ sales. GMV for promotional items via livestream increased by 70%. Major brands like Marriott and ANA surpassed RMB100 million in GMV, with outbound travel making up nearly half of the orders.

🛫 Global fintech, Revolut, teams up with Booking.com to broaden its travel offerings. With almost 9 million Revolut users already booking via Booking.com, this partnership enhances payment options for millions. Revolut Pay, now with 2 million monthly active users, allows seamless one-click booking with biometric security. From November 17 to January 3, users earn 10x RevPoints. Revolut's Alex Codina highlights faster, secure, rewarding checkouts, while Booking.com's JC Rodriguez emphasizes the value for travelers globally.