Online travel agents in the United States now have 39% of the digital travel market and continue taking market share from the suppliers whose products they sell, according to new research from Phocuswright. Phocuswright says the OTA online US travel market share will reach 41% by 2020, with US$81.4 million in online gross bookings. Hotels […]
Category: Insights
Qantas targets $15 billion in cost savings over next three years
While so many airlines around the world are finding their way to cut costs and keep operations running, this trend unfortunately has also impacted Australia’s most popular airline. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce expects the airline group to cut $15 billion from its operating costs over the next three years, mostly through reduced flying with just […]
TripADeal founders sell majority stake to private equity
TripADeal founders Richard Johnston and Norm Black have ceded control of the business they founded in 2011, selling 55% of the company to BGH Capital, which is in the process of buying theme park operator Village Roadshow. Like so many travel companies, TripADeal, which describes itself as an “online travel agent offering bucket list experiences […]
Bannisters Hotels keeps it simple
Hospitality has a multitude of moving parts but is, at its heart, a deceptively simple business, says Peter Bacon, GM of Bannisters Port Stephens. “If you get the basics of hospitality right then everything flows from there.” And for those wondering what are the basics, he unfolds: “Customer service: people being friendly, people lifting their […]
Australia’s Hottest 100 Travel Websites
As references change online all across the world, Australia’s 100 travel websites ranking also witnessed a significant shift: Can we say Farewell to Webjet and Adios to Wotif? Not quite, just joking, but they are no longer top of the heap. Booking.com is now Australia’s biggest and fast-fastest growing online travel agent, leaving local rivals […]
Not so happy campers as new Youcamp owner Hipcamp levies hefty service fees
Youcamp, which pioneered the concept of camping on private land in Australia, has been sold to US company Hipcamp, which in rapid succession has closed the site, migrated its content to the parent portal, rebranded it Hipcamp Australia and introduced a controversial customer service fee that can exceed 20 percent. Closing the Youcamp website has met […]
Stayz finally moves to all commission model, just 10% buts gets slammed by property owners
Stayz, Australia’s largest holiday home rental site, has eliminated its combined listing/booking fees and moved to a flat 10% commission on all homes booked, creating a kerfuffle among some property owners who are threatening to shift all their business to Airbnb. Now owned by Expedia, Stayz had previously charged a $164 annual listing fee plus […]
Report: Top 100 Travel Startups
Premium Report: Top 100 Travel Startups As the travel industry slowly starts recovering from the pandemic hit, we looked into the future and researched the most promising startups shaping the industry. We examined travel startups from all around the world that were founded between 2018 and 2021, and looked into their business model, employee count, […]