PhocusWire

Olaf Backofen, head of retail partnerships for Lufthansa Group, is scheduled to take part in an executive panel “Tech & Transformation in Aviation” on June 12 as part of the Phocuswright Europe 2025 Center Stage program. The panel will focus on the airline industry’s #technology-fueled transformation, ranging from #data-driven decision making to retailing strategies to operations. 🔦 Here’s a look at the challenges Backofen faces in his role, what excites him and his views on the wider industry in a short spotlight Q&A with #PhocusWire ⤵️

An alliance between Google and Amadeus might once have seemed strange, but the two companies have now partnered to help airlines with fare display on the search engine. While #Amadeus has been working closely with Finnair on adopting continuous pricing for some time as part of its retail transformation, the carrier saw the accuracy of fares dropping on #Google Flight Search. "What we saw with continuous pricing is the issue of non-discrete fares, availability and inventory, and that meant the target kept moving on us," said Asif Khan, head of travel partnerships at Google. Learn more in #PhocusWire's latest article.

Ride-hailing platform Lyft will establish its presence in Europe by acquiring #Germany-based mobility provider FREENOW for €175 million. Previously, #Lyft’s ride-hailing operations were exclusive to the United States and Canada, but with this acquisition they will be available in a total of 11 countries, including Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Poland, France and Austria. Learn more on #PhocusWire. #traveltech #traveltechnews #travelindustry #freenow #transportation

Short-term rental guests represent a desirable and lucrative consumer segment. #Travelers who book vacation rentals spend more and take longer trips compared to other travelers, and they are more likely to seek out new #travelexperiences. This report provides data and insights on the short-term rental guest based in the United States and highlights best practices to help hosts attract high-value travelers and grow their businesses. Check out this exclusive report produced by Phocuswright in partnership with Expedia Group in PhocusWire's latest article. #travelnews #traveltech #travelindustry #businessintelligence

Lufthansa Innovation Hub (LIH), the Berlin-based innovation arm of Lufthansa Group, is partnering with Munich Airport Terminal 2. The hub is operated by Terminal 2 company, a joint venture between #Lufthansa and #MunichAirport. One of their first moves is deploying two autonomous robots in collaboration with Ottonomy Inc, a robotics startup from Startup Gate, Lufthansa Group's venture clienting branch. The robots are being deployed at the terminal’s gates and baggage claim spaces this week. “Our robots, powered by Contextual #AI, are enabling enterprise customers to drive innovation, delivering better customer experiences and operational efficiencies in the aviation industry,” said Ritukar Vijay, CEO of #Ottonomy. Read more in #PhocusWire's recent article ⤵️

Japan-based #cabin accommodation #startup A Cabin Company has closed a pre-seed #funding round. This is the first investment for newly-launched venture capital fund Seveno Capital. Seveno, founded by entrepreneur and Park Hotel Group founder Allen Law, will be drawing from its five-year $70 million wellness fund, but the total amount allocated to A Cabin Company was not disclosed. The cabins are built on trailers, meaning they’re legally classified as vehicles as opposed to real estate, avoiding the process of permitting, land acquisition and construction associated with traditional hospitality development. This also allows it to start operations and generate revenue within three months of construction, A Cabin Company said. Read more on #PhocusWire ⤵️ #traveltechnews #traveltech #startups #travelindustry

Online travel platform Fliggy, which is part of the Alibaba Group, has launched an artificial intelligence (#AI) assistant called “AskMe” powered by multiple intelligent agents. The assistant aims to “emulate the problem-solving and task-execution capabilities of professional travel consultants,” #Fliggy said in a statement. AskMe uses Fliggy's pricing engine and proprietary data, including flights, hotels, attractions and curated experiences, to create personalized, bookable travel itineraries. It is also integrated with Alibaba’s Qwen AI models. Learn more in #PhocusWire's recent article.

While we have become good at search engine optimization (#SEO) for Google and humans, artificial intelligence (#AI) reads and processes web content differently. #Travel websites, especially those with dynamic, multi-destination content, need to optimize not just for traditional search engines but for AI systems that will increasingly direct travelers to our content. What you need to know: AI doesn’t read your website like #Google does. Propellic - Travel Marketing's Brennen Bliss shares five tactical strategies to optimize for AI. #traveltech #traveltechnews #genai #chatgpt #travelindustry

Once booming, short-term rentals now face tighter competition, evolving guests, and growing pains. How are hosts, managers, and platforms adapting? Join this free webinar as Madeline List, Phocuswright's manager of #research and special projects, shares key insights from U.S. Short-Term Rentals 2025—a three-part report featuring hosts, property managers, and travelers. Learn how the #STR market is adapting to post-pandemic saturation, where #tech and service innovations offer growth, and how guest preferences are driving change. The presentation will be followed by a discussion with Becca Glenn of Expedia Group and Nicole Rogers of Avalara on the future of short-term rentals—from profitability pressures to platform power plays. 📆 Thursday, May 1 11:00AM ET Register now ⤵️

Phocuswright hosted the first of The New Age(nts) Trend series events online. Mike Coletta, senior manager of #research and #innovation, and Robert Cole, senior research analyst for lodging and leisure, were joined by Anna Jaffe, CEO of Mobi.AI, Bobby Healy, founder and CEO of Manna Air Delivery and founder and non-executive director of Meili and Tim Hentschel, CEO of HotelPlanner.com and Meetings.com. The panelists, entrepreneurs who deeply understand #artificialintelligence, are at the forefront of implementing it in their own organizations. Each offered valuable perspectives on why generative #AI and autonomous agents are poised to revolutionize how #travel companies operate this year. Get access to the full report & event recording now ⤵️