Travel Industry news and trends

Booking CFO: Inflation Continues to Scare US Travelers
Travel Payments // December 17, 2024

Booking.com says the impact of inflation continues to hamstring the U.S. travel industry. Demand is down as cautious consumers hold off on making their vacation plans, Ewout Steenbergen, the online travel platform’s finance chief, told Bloomberg News in an interview published Tuesday (Dec. 17). “We...

CellPoint Raises $30 Million for Travel Sector Payment Orchestration
Investments // November 21, 2024

Travel-industry-focused payment orchestration firm CellPoint Digital has raised $30 million in new funding. The financing, from Toscafund and Penta Capital, will help speed the launch of CellPoint’s Offer Order Service Delivery (OOSD) payment orchestration platform, created to power the travel industry’s transformation toward modern airline retailing, the company said in a...

One in Every Ten Dollars Globally Spent on Travel in 2024
Travel Payments // September 03, 2024

Travel spending will generate a record 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year. That’s according to a report Monday (Sept. 3) by Reuters, citing data from World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), a non-profit membership group. The WTTC estimates show the travel industry contributing...

Lighthouse Debuts AI-Powered Solution for Independent Hoteliers
Travel Payments // July 18, 2024

Hospitality/travel industry commercial platform Lighthouse has debuted an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solution. Channel Manager, announced Thursday (July 18), is designed to erase what the company calls “long-standing limitations” of static pricing, promotion and distribution technologies. “Independent hotel owners, general managers and sales leaders have traditionally...

Interviews & Exclusives
GenAI Is Cleared for Takeoff in Travel Payments

January 23, 2025
The future of payments isn’t just about what’s possible — it’s about how effectively those possibilities are realized. When it comes to advancements like generative artificial intelligence (AI), where the opportunities are vast, balancing innovation with stability becomes crucial. That’s particularly the case for sectors as critical as payments. “There’s so much blurring of the […]

AI-Powered Chatbots and Searches Punch Travel Industry’s Ticket

March 11, 2024
Kayak’s new chatbot lets users seek travel advice and discover flights via screenshots, in the latest sign of how artificial intelligence (AI) is driving the digital transformation of business and...

Digital Tools Streamline Payments for Budget-Conscious Travelers

October 12, 2023
Despite ongoing economic uncertainty and inflationary pressures, travel saw a significant rise this summer. According to findings detailed in “The Credit Economy: How Consumers Financed Their Summer Travel,” a collaboration...

COVID-19’s Chilling Effect on Summer Vacation Rentals

March 23, 2020
The travel industry is being decimated by the coronavirus. The cascade effect of multi-state lockdowns has had a chilling effect on any number of verticals, from airlines, of course, to...

Quick Reads
Booking CFO: Inflation Continues to Scare US Travelers

December 17, 2024
Booking.com says the impact of inflation continues to hamstring the U.S. travel industry. Demand is down as cautious consumers hold off on making their vacation plans, Ewout Steenbergen, the online travel platform’s finance chief, told Bloomberg News in an interview published Tuesday (Dec. 17). “We haven’t seen so much of a movement in the U.S. […]

CellPoint Raises $30 Million for Travel Sector Payment Orchestration

November 21, 2024
Travel-industry-focused payment orchestration firm CellPoint Digital has raised $30 million in new funding. The financing, from Toscafund and Penta Capital, will help speed the launch of CellPoint’s Offer Order Service Delivery (OOSD) payment orchestration platform, created...

One in Every Ten Dollars Globally Spent on Travel in 2024

September 03, 2024
Travel spending will generate a record 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year. That’s according to a report Monday (Sept. 3) by Reuters, citing data from World Travel and...

Lighthouse Debuts AI-Powered Solution for Independent Hoteliers

July 18, 2024
Hospitality/travel industry commercial platform Lighthouse has debuted an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solution. Channel Manager, announced Thursday (July 18), is designed to erase what the company calls “long-standing limitations” of static...