Ronan Daniel

🚀 EHang, October 2025, Hefei: EHang launches the VT35, an autonomous eVTOL with a 200 km range, priced at 6.5 million yuan (€790,000). The aircraft, suited for interurban and cross-border travel, carries two passengers and luggage, flying approximately one hour per trip. It features 8 horizontal rotors, a vertical rear propeller, and fixed wings for efficient cruising. It is undergoing CAAC certification, aiming to revolutionize urban-interurban air mobility.

📱 SG Entertech, a leader in VR from South Korea, is expanding its Snack VR platform in Southeast Asia as of 2025, seeking local partners across tourism, education, and commerce sectors. Their VR kiosks, equipped with headsets, offer mini-games and digital postcards to enhance visitor experiences. COO Kook Sun Pyo emphasizes the cost-efficient design of Snack VR, aiming for rapid, widespread deployment in geolocated entertainment, contrasting with traditional VR arcade challenges.

🚀 Virgin Voyages collaborates with Google Cloud to deploy 50 AI agents, enhancing operations and customer experience. ???? Aeroitalia extends its tech partnership with Navitaire to streamline processes. ✈️ Travelport partners with Farenexus to automate commission management, boosting profitability. ???? Hostaway joins France's UNPLV to promote vacation rentals. ???????? Compass Hotel Consulting launches a proprietary tech system for hotels. ???? SITA and Tellabs introduce a scalable fiber optic solution for airports on October 9, 2025. ???? Chubb unveils Travel Pro, a digital travel insurance, at Lisbon's World Aviation Festival. ????

📈 Boom, une start-up américaine, a levé 12,7 millions de dollars (11 millions d’euros) en octobre 2025. Basée à Miami, elle utilise l'IA pour automatiser les opérations hôtelières dans 20 pays. Le financement, dirigé par Avenue Growth Partners, implique des figures comme Ian Carter (ex-PDG de Hilton International). La technologie de Boom gère jusqu’à 80% des messages clients, libérant du temps pour le développement commercial. L'investissement vise l'expansion internationale et l'amélioration technologique.

💻 Booking.com, the online booking leader, announced AI-driven tools on October 9, 2025, to automate and personalize the travel experience. New features like Smart Messenger and Auto-Reply aim to improve communication with hotel partners, increasing satisfaction by 73%. AI Trip Support and AI Voice Support assist travelers 24/7. Auto-Reply is globally available, while Smart Messenger is for English-speaking partners in the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The deployment aligns with Booking.com's ChatGPT integration.

🌐 Expedia Group introduced a new suite of AI-driven tools for Asia-Pacific partners in October 2025. Featuring 350 AI models, these tools enhance service personalization and effectiveness. Key offerings include Smart Trip AI for travel planning, an API for optimized merchandising, and Typehead for destination suggestions. Additionally, a beta-stage affiliation API facilitates monetizing sponsored ads. Alfonso Paredes and Karen Bolda emphasize enabling partners to grow intelligently amidst a dynamic tourism landscape.