Venture Capital

Industry consolidation and innovation is ramping up as the tours and activities sector finally comes online. But a range of technical and logistical challenges still hold the sector back. How are tour operators adapting, and what strategies are helping them thrive in this dynamic environment?

A handful of major disruptive companies in travel and hospitality are enjoying sky-high valuations as they secure late-round funding, while an ever-increasing number of newer startups are vying for investment capital as they target more specific markets. Learn about the trends that are driving venture funding in travel, and what startups need to know as they vie to secure the capital necessary for their growth.

The on-demand economy is on the rise, but what does on-demand mean, exactly? In this report, a look at the nature of a technology-driven sea change in consumer behavior and the business models emerging to meet it in the travel industry.

With technology innovation and a thriving online distribution landscape, vacation rental owners are taking their businesses to new heights. Homeowners and property managers are more astute in digital marketing, by developing their own websites and managing calendars on billion-dollar distribution sites. Technology is revolutionizing the vacation rental at a multitude of touchpoints.

For the travel industry, online search is in the middle of significant transformations. From the mobile-first milieu to the evolving concepts of search and commerce, attribution and product-level innovation, avenues to reach travelers via search marketing are moving toward a future that brands can’t afford to bypass or ignore.

As consumers increasingly embrace wearables, those in the travel and hospitality industry are turning to this hardware to reach and engage their audience, and improve the customer experience. From technology that lets guests unlock their rooms to boarding passes displayed on your wrist, wearables are becoming an important part of the traveler’s journey.

While Trivago, Kayak, TripAdvisor, and Momondo are spending millions of TV dollars to introduce consumers to their metasearch services, Google is moving in on them with zero TV spend. A look at the factors, including the rush toward direct bookings, that are shaping the entire metasearch sector in 2015.

Discover what type of travel startups attract venture capital funding, see where smart money is going, and understand some of the common mistakes that startups make as they seek funding and strive to build new businesses.

Location data represents an entirely new layer of digital information that travel marketers can utilize to understand potential customers and engage travelers with compelling stories about destinations. The opportunity to use location data is particularly compelling for tourism organizations, which have traditionally served as an intermediary between travelers and local businesses.

Collaborative consumption, once an idealist niche for hitchhikers and backpackers, has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry thanks to the economic, social and technological changes of the past decade. How can incumbent companies learn from this fast-growing segment of the travel industry?