Financial analyst Susquehanna International Group (SIG) says private (alternative) accommodation is expected to hit $106 billion in 2018, some 19% of the overall pie of global room bookings in the market of $555 billion.
Some 90% of the Chinese travelers visiting the U.S. are from China's first-tier cities while around 41% of the travelers visiting Asian destinations are from China's second-tier cities.
A study found 53% of regular users of Facebook Messenger and sister service WhatsApp claim to have interacted with a brand within the messaging environment.
A former-senior executive at Wotif has invested in mapping tech provider Avuxi, as the startup looks to take its TopPlace platform “to the next level”.
Investment house Rockaway Capital bought the assets of Unister Travel. Unister Travel had essentially been up for sale since November 2015.
Guangzhou-based international flight metasearch engine iGola has netted RMB 130 million in the series A+ funding round.
Airbnb is developing a service for booking air travel as the home-rental startup looks to compete with Priceline and Expedia for more of people's online travel spending.
Working with UK-based digital agency Melt Content, Expedia has created a microsite known as the Dream Holiday Home to get more of its core audience interested in and buying vacation rental trips.