News of technology upgrades and enhancements took top billing this week with both Airbnb and Expedia announcing latest initiatives and providing updates on existing projects.
While Airbnb's much anticipated refresh of its Experiences product was finally released, the platform's launch of "Services" which includes personal training, massage and catering is what really caused a stir. The idea of an Airbnb ecosystem powered by a new mobile application has continued to spark significant debate this week as hosts ponder where they sit on the move.
Expedia said it was adding car, insurance and activities APIs to its B2B vertical as well as helping partners engage travelers and grow through new advertising features.
The online travel agency also said it is improving its search and discovery capabilities through its integration with OpenAI's Operator and Microsoft Copilot and expanded on new artificial intelligence features.
An article on how technology is developing to help hotels think beyond just room revenue was also popular this week. The concept of revenue per available guest forces hoteliers to think like retailers, which comes with its own set of challenges.
As travel startups come and go, the industry often focuses on what went wrong from the vision to the execution and all things in between. But, investors get things wrong, too. An article from PhocusWire looks at the challenges for those parting with capital and the knock-on impact for the sector.
And, a piece on how hotel distribution is changing through AI is also an interesting read. Pablo Delgado of Mirai discusses what might happen when the technology can return live pricing and the role Model Concept Protocol could play.
- Linda Fox, executive editor | 
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