Only 1 in 3 LGBTQ+ Travelers Feel Comfortable Being Out on the Road, Booking.com's 2026 Travel Proud Report Finds

Market Pulse 2 min read

LGBTQ+ Workers Are Turning Down Jobs and Business Opportunities Over Travel Safety Fears, Booking.com Research Finds

Booking.com's 2026 Travel Proud research found that 42% of LGBTQ+ employees have turned down business opportunities over travel safety concerns, and 44% have avoided applying for jobs at companies without clear LGBTQ+ travel protections.

Sarah · May 28, 2026

Strategy 2 min read

Airbnb Opens Free World Cup Exhibition and Hugo Sánchez Fan Experience in Mexico City

Airbnb opens a free community-powered football exhibition in Mexico City and launches a fan day with Hugo Sánchez — the latest activation in what the company calls its biggest-ever event.

Sarah · May 27, 2026

Strategy 2 min read

Booking Holdings Launches Unified Ad Platform Spanning Booking.com, Priceline, and Agoda

Booking Holdings is launching BKNG Ads, a unified advertising platform spanning Booking.com, Priceline, and Agoda — the first time partners can buy across all three brands through a single buy.

Sarah · May 21, 2026

Strategy 2 min read

Airbnb's 2026 Summer Release Turns It Into a Full-Service Travel Platform

Airbnb's 2026 Summer Release adds car rentals, airport pickups, grocery delivery, boutique hotels, and FIFA World Cup Experiences — marking the company's most ambitious expansion beyond home-sharing to date.

Sarah · May 20, 2026

Tech Deep Dive 2 min read

Booking.com Brings Car Rental Search to ChatGPT and Launches Three AI Tools for the Road Trip Season

Booking.com has added car rental search to its ChatGPT app and launched three AI tools covering post-booking support, review summaries, and smarter search filters.

Sarah · May 20, 2026

Tech Deep Dive 2 min read

Expedia Group B2B Launches AI Toolkit and Intelligent Experience Platform at Explore 26

At Explore 26, Expedia Group B2B unveiled its Intelligent Experience Platform — a composable AI toolkit letting partners build branded travel experiences on Expedia's supply infrastructure, signaling a major bet on agentic travel distribution.

Sarah · May 19, 2026

Strategy 2 min read

Google Moves Toward Direct Hotel and Flight Booking Inside AI Search

Google's I/O 2026 announcements confirm the company's move from search intermediary to active travel booking platform — with Booking.com and Expedia among the first named OTA partners for direct hotel and flight booking in AI Mode.

Sarah · May 19, 2026

Market Pulse 2 min read

Expedia Group to Acquire CarTrawler in Second B2B Deal of 2026

Expedia Group has agreed to acquire CarTrawler, the Dublin B2B platform connecting 550+ car rental suppliers with 300+ travel brands, for approximately $350 million — its second B2B acquisition of 2026.

Sarah · May 19, 2026

Market Pulse 2 min read

MakeMyTrip Posts Record $10.4B in Gross Bookings for FY2026

MakeMyTrip reported record gross bookings of $10.4 billion for FY2026, up 10.4% in constant currency, with operating profit growing 30% despite West Asia headwinds in Q4.

Sarah · May 19, 2026

Travel Trends 2 min read

European Travelers Are Booking Closer to Home This Summer, Airbnb Data Shows

Airbnb data for summer 2026 shows one in four European travelers staying domestic, Sweden's median booking distance down 26% since 2023, and rural properties outperforming urban across Germany and France.

Sarah · May 18, 2026

Tech Deep Dive 2 min read

Agoda Launches Single Checkout for Hotels, Flights, and Activities

Agoda launched a multi-product checkout on May 18, allowing travelers to book hotels, flights, and activities in a single transaction, positioning the platform more directly against Expedia and Booking.com.

Sarah · May 18, 2026

Tech Deep Dive 2 min read

KAYAK Launches Ask AI for Conversational Trip Planning in US, UK and Canada

KAYAK has launched Ask AI, a conversational search tool that lets travelers plan trips through natural-language questions across flights, hotels, and car rentals. It is available to all users in the US, UK, and Canada.

Sarah · May 14, 2026