As the short list of stories below reveals, last week was another quiet week in the online travel world. Enjoy.
Hopper Is the Fastest Growing Travel App in
2021
("Hopper outperformed all other OTA apps in 2021,"
March 25, 2022 via Phocus Wire)
By now, we probably shouldn't be surprised. This past year has
been quite a year for the online booking platform and fintech
purveyor. Powered by the popularity of its fintech products (on
average, every user purchases two fintech products with each
booking), Hopper was not only the fastest growing travel app in
2021 (growing 494 percent), but in June, it bypassed Airbnb as the
market share leader for active users. The other better known
booking platforms also enjoyed strong growth this past year with
Expedia (coming in second) growing 49 percent, Expedia's
Hotwire (coming in third) growing 33 percent and Booking.com
(coming in fourth) growing 23 percent. Expedia's vacation
rental platform, Vrbo, also faired well, growing active sessions on
its app by 43 percent (outpacing Airbnb) and in February this year,
enjoying 1.5 million new downloads of its app. Overall, apps
featuring vacation or home rentals faired better this past year
versus those travel apps that did not.
Sustainability in Travel Takes Another Step
Forward
("Booking Holdings Publishes Climate Plan," March 22,
2022 via MarketWatch)
While politicians may still debate climate change and its effects,
it is becoming increasingly clear that major travel companies
seeking to appeal to a younger customer base that increasingly
takes climate change and sustainability seriously, are not. The
latest evidence...Booking Holdings recently published its first
ever climate action plan detailing the steps it intends to take to
achieve near zero emissions from operations by 2030. As part of its
effort, Booking's brands intend (like so many other platforms
recently) to make it easier for users to identify and book
sustainable travel options.
Canada Jetlines Chooses
Fareportal
("Fareportal OTA's Chosen as Canada Jetlines First
Travel Agency Partner," March 14, 2022 via Yahoo
Finance)
Interesting announcement, particularly given our story from last week.
Other news:
Mysa Unveils Corporate Alternative Accommodation
Booking and Management Tech
March 21, 2022 via Phocus Wire
The Myo platform offers a booking engine and duty of care protocols
as part of its push into corporate travel.
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