Sector Deep Dives

Hospitality

A Deep Dive Into Vacasa and the Future of Branded Short-Term Rentals

Vacasa, like the short-term rental sector writ large, is coming off of a pandemic-fueled growth spree and faces the question of what comes next. Can Vacasa tap into first-party growth while scaling back cash-intensive investments? With investor patience running thin, the clock is ticking.

June 2023

Online Travel

Hopper’s Rise in Travel 2023

Hopper is the new kid on the block. Except it's not. Founded in 2007, it spent a decade building a huge database of flight information before selling its first flight booking in 2016. The time it spent on its cutting edge price prediction capabilities have paid dividends, leading to the launch of a suite of fintech products which have been fundamental in Hopper's disruption of the legacy OTAs.

May 2023

Hospitality

Progress in Sustainability: Hotel Company Analysis 2023

We've covered the environmental performance of hotel companies before, but that research was due an update. Much has happened in the world, and - probably unrelated - hotel companies have become better at setting emission reduction targets and reporting of current performance. Let's continue that trend.

March 2023

Hospitality

Recession Watch: Hotel Chain Scale Analysis 2023

A potential recession is on the horizon in the U.S., but we expect hotel performance to stay resilient in the face of economic uncertainty, buoyed by continued strength in the luxury segment - unlike what has been seen in prior downturns.

March 2023

Hospitality

Online Travel Booking Trends During the Pandemic

Are the channel wars coming back? The pandemic brought a wave of direct bookings but our latest survey data suggests that this trend may not last. Plus, we find surprising shifts in booking site usage and share among American travelers.

February 2023

Online Travel

Expedia and Booking in the Post-Pandemic Travel Landscape

Travel is back in full swing and Expedia Group and Booking Holdings are now fully recovered versus the pandemic. But under the hood, big changes are underway as these two booking sites revamp their strategies for the future.

December 2022

Technology

The Great Merging in the Hotel and Rental Tech Sectors 2022

Lines between hotels, short-term rentals and other accommodation types are blurring, but we see little merging in the business-to-business tech spaces that support these sectors. This will change, but there are some major barriers to overcome first.

July 2022

Online Travel

A Deep Dive Into Google’s Impact on Travel 2022

The metasearch wars are drawing to a close and Google is winning. The future of independent travel metasearch in the U.S. and Europe is at risk, in our view.

April 2022

Multi-Day Tour Operators 2021: Reshaping Supply Chains and Distribution

Anyone seeking to understand leisure travel overlooks tour operators at their own risk. It is one of the last great offline sectors in the travel industry but that cannot last. Changing consumer behavior and new tech is driving disruption in these businesses, the effects of which have only been compounded by the significant impact of COVID-19.

October 2021

Technology

The State of Hotel Payments 2021

Most hoteliers would rather not think about their payment tech, as long as it works. But payment habits are changing, and so is payment tech. Hoteliers - and hotel tech vendors and investors - will want to be on top of these changes, especially now that revenues are suppressed.

September 2021

Sustainability in Travel 2021: Environmental Impact of Hotel and Airline Loyalty Programs

Travel loyalty programs really are frequency programs. As frequency is directly linked to emissions in travel, how can travel companies find environmentally friendly ways to reward its most valuable customers?

July 2021

Destinations

Sustainability in Travel 2021: Quantifying Tourism Emissions for Destinations

Tourism is often assumed to be a ‘low Impact and non-consumptive development option,’ primarily because to date greenhouse gas emissions from tourism at a destination level are largely unaccounted for. Destinations have started taking sustainability seriously with growing media pressure and traveler awareness, but have a long way to go to make significant reductions in emissions long-term.

June 2021