2nd October 2024: Here are some of the stories that caught our attention over the week with some of our takeaways.
Uber to introduce self-driving taxis in UAE: According to Travolution, Uber users in the UAE could soon be hailing self-driving robotaxis, following a tie-up between Uber and WeRide, the global autonomous driving technology company.
The service is expected to launch first in Abu Dhabi before the end of the year with a dedicated number of WeRide vehicles being made available to consumers using the Uber app.
After launch, when a customer requests a qualifying ride on the Uber app, they may be presented with the option to have their trip fulfilled by a WeRide robotaxi. WeRide already operates the largest robotaxi fleet in the UAE and holds the country’s first and only national license for self-driving vehicles.
Hilton Annual Trends Report Predicts 2025 to Be the ‘Year of the Travel Maximizer’: This article in Hotel News Resource talks about Hilton’s Annual Trends report. The report provides some great insights but also pushes the boundary on portmanteau words… There are some like Frolleagues and MeMooners which now makes Bleisure sound good!
A few fun trends/terms that we picked out
- “Hurkle-Durkling”: It’s described as a Scottish phrase meaning “lounging in bed all day” while on vacation. Apparently 1 in 5 global travellers indulge in it.
- “Frolleagues”: A portmanteau of “friends” and “colleagues,” referring to people who travel with coworkers for leisure. Nearly 30% of global leisure travellers often travel with “frolleagues”.
- “MeMooners”: This term is used for solo travellers. The report mentions that 64% of solo travellers consider a good book their favourite travel partner?!
- “Time Travel”: While not actual time travel, this trend refers to 58% of global travellers with kids revisiting destinations from their own childhood – an interesting twist on nostalgia-driven travel.
- “The Gen Alpha Effect”: The fact that 70% of global respondents with children choose vacation destinations based on their kids’ preferences shows an amusing shift in family travel dynamics.
- “Tempo Drinking”: This trend refers to the mindful practice of moderating the pace and volume of alcohol consumption.
Online price parity clauses at risk after EU Booking.com decision: Legaldive remarks that the clauses have been under scrutiny for years, so the impact of the EU’s top court prohibiting them for the travel sector’s biggest platform could resonate across industries. In its ruling, the EU court says Booking.com’s practice is hindering competition and potentially damaging the market for new and smaller players.
Here are a few key points:
- The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled against Booking.com’s use of narrow price parity clauses, considering them anti-competitive
- This decision could have significant implications for other online platforms and industries beyond travel and hospitality
- The ruling may lead to increased competition and potentially lower prices for consumers across various sectors
- The decision challenges the business models of online platforms that rely on price parity clauses to maintain their competitive edge
In short, the ECJ’s ruling against Booking.com’s price parity clauses represents a significant shift in how online platforms may operate in the EU.
Travel in top 10 sectors used by brand-based cybercriminals: Travelweekly quoting a DNS Research Study reports that travel is among the top-10 sectors targeted by cybercriminals using brand names to scam consumers.
Its research ranks travel and holiday brands as the ninth most-targeted sector, with Airbnb, Booking.com and Emirates described as “super-targets” because they are among the six most-targeted brands across all sectors.
Some of the highlights:
- Travel is among the top-10 sectors targeted by cybercriminals using brand names to scam consumers, ranking ninth according to a study by the DNS Research Federation.
- Airbnb, Booking.com, and Emirates are described as “super-targets” and are among the six most-targeted brands across all sectors.
- Nearly 900 fake travel and holiday brand URLs have been identified in the past 12 months, each involving thousands or tens of thousands of victims.
- UK adults receive an average of 240 scam emails or texts per year, with 11% admitting to falling for an online scam, losing an average of £1,169 each.
In summary, the travel industry is particularly vulnerable to cybercrime, with well-known brands being exploited to target consumers. We’d called this out in our 2023 trends article “Cybersecurity is more important than ever & distribution infrastructure can be a weak link” and it looks like things are just getting worse.
Mews brings in $100M in new financing to accelerate growth: Phocuswire reports that less than seven months after it raised $110 million in funding at a $1.2 billion valuation, Mews is at it again – this time bringing in another $100 million in financing led by Vista Credit Partners, the credit-investing arm of Vista Equity Partners. The Amsterdam-based hospitality technology company said it will use the fresh capital to become more aggressive with mergers and acquisitions to accelerate growth of its business.
With nine acquisitions in a short period, one cannot but help wonder about how Mews is addressing classical integration challenges that come with this type of growth in terms of these different companies’ technologies, cultures, and processes.
