Expedia Group’s new AI Trust Gap report suggests that travelers are increasingly open to using AI for discovery and planning, but remain cautious when money, booking control, and post-trip support are involved. The findings highlight a growing split between where travel inspiration happens and where transactions still feel safe.
Booking.com has warned some customers that unauthorized parties may have accessed reservation-related personal information. The company says payment data was not taken from its systems, but the incident is likely to deepen concerns around travel-platform security and phishing risks.
Minor Hotels is building a new global data and AI platform as hotel groups race to own more of the guest relationship directly. The project is less about adding another digital tool than about redesigning how personalization, booking, and service work across a global portfolio.
Meta’s new Muse Spark model may matter to travel less as a standalone AI launch than as an ecosystem move. If its multimodal and reasoning features spread across Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and smart glasses, Meta could tighten its influence over how trips are imagined, planned, and navigated.
Royal Caribbean Group is extending its loyalty strategy beyond the ship with new credit cards that work across Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea. The move reflects a broader push to make guests think about the company’s brands as one connected vacation system rather than separate cruise lines.
Uber’s planned acquisition of Blacklane shows how ground transport is splitting into clearer service tiers. The deal gives Uber a stronger foothold in chauffeur and executive travel, where reliability and pre-booked service matter more than instant pickup.
Uber’s latest autonomous partnership is less about a single city launch than about testing whether its marketplace model can work in Europe’s tighter regulatory environment. Starting in Zagreb gives the group a manageable entry point, but the bigger question is whether the model can scale across borders.
Krakow and Warsaw lead a new ranking of Europe’s best cities for remote work, highlighting Central Europe’s growing edge in affordability, safety, and connectivity.
Bilt has acquired travel commission platform Sion for $30 million, aiming to strengthen its travel rewards ecosystem and support travel advisors.
OpenAI’s shift away from direct checkout inside ChatGPT highlights how complex travel booking really is and why travel platforms still play a key role.