This week the travel industry trade press has been reporting on speculation that Uber might buy Expedia: Skift – https://skift.com/2024/10/17/uber-expedia-super-deal-our-answers-to-10-big-questions/ PhocusWire – https://www.phocuswire.com/why-uber-not-buying-expedia-but-think-amazon-should None of this analysis talked about AI agents or autonomous vehicles so I thought I should add my perspective including these two key strategic elements. The frequency perspective Traditionally, success in the […]
On the business & technology of digitally operated tourism & hospitality experiences
Will Uber or Amazon acquire Expedia? How does AI influence the decision?
October 20th, 2024 by Alex Bainbridge
What is the right number of Rome Colosseum tours for an OTA such as GetYourGuide to feature?
October 13th, 2024 by Alex Bainbridge
Question came up at the Arival San Diego sector conference when Douglas Quinby was interviewing Tao Tao from GetYourGuide. It is a clever question as it sounds simple but the answer goes to the heart of how GetYourGuide see themselves, with many nuances and future looking aspects. Are GetYourGuide a marketplace representing what tour operators […]
The Touring Test
September 2nd, 2024 by Alex Bainbridge
Unless you are living under a rock, you will know that generative AI is coming to your phone. Within the next few months we will see: new iPhone hardware with Apple Intelligence Google Pixel 9 with Gemini ChatGPT app with Advanced voice mode supporting more human-like conversations AI is not just coming to existing phone […]
Does GetYourGuide get what their position in the future sightseeing sector is?
June 29th, 2024 by Alex Bainbridge
Why this question today? In the last few weeks: Google (Waymo) now open access in San Francisco with their robotaxis (i.e. available to tourists with no waiting list), becoming one of the largest growing US city based attractions and a significant sign of what is to come to all US cities in the next few […]
Two key travel industry themes from Apple WWDC 2024
June 11th, 2024 by Alex Bainbridge
Yesterday I watched the Apple keynote from WWDC 2024, their annual developer conference. If you haven’t watched it yet, here it is, it is 1 hour 43 minutes long but worth it. As I was watching (and cooking dinner) a couple of key themes stood out that are relevant to the travel industry AI discussions […]
