Distribution et Revenue Management

💸 Visa2fly, an Indian startup specializing in AI-powered visa processing, secured a $2 million funding round (equivalent to €1.7 million) led by M Venture Partners with contributions from Flipkart Ventures, FinSight Ventures, and Thinkuvate. With its base in Gurgaon, the company aims to enhance technology-based verification tools, improve visa processing automation, and strengthen partnerships with travel platforms. Visa2fly has processed 1.5 million visa applications and collaborates with travel OTAs such as Ixigo and WeGo, payment companies like Niyo Global, and airlines including Spicejet. Founded in 2022, Visa2fly offers visa services to over 70 destinations and is committed to using AI to streamline key processes and improve travel document management's efficiency, contrasting with firms like Visamundi that doubt full automation. The travel technology market is projected to reach $31.38 billion by 2030, as per Mordor Intelligence.

🏠 D-EDGE collaborated strategically with the Sukhothai hotel's marketing team, leading to frequent performance reviews and planning sessions. This partnership enabled the timely launch of promotions, including the new Spa at Sukhothai, through search-related ads, display advertising, and photo optimization in Performance Max campaigns to boost visibility and engagement.

🏨 Since 2021, Google provides hoteliers with a free feature in Google Hotel Ads: Free Booking Links. These allow hotels' direct rates to be displayed on Google search results without additional commission. GuestDiary connects hotel reservation engines automatically to Google Free Links, increasing visibility and direct bookings at no extra cost. Hoteliers are advised to update their Google My Business listings to maximize the impact of Free Links. GuestDiary offers a turnkey solution to leverage this opportunity for hoteliers.

🏨 KHP Capital Partners, an American investment firm, finalized its sixth discretionary real estate fund, KHP Fund VI, raising $300 million. The fund targets financing 8-10 projects over the next two years, with a purchasing power of nearly $1 billion including leverage and co-investment effects. Founded in 2015 by Mike Depatie, Joe Long, and Ben Rowe, former leaders of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, KHP focuses on the creative repositioning of urban and heritage hotel assets. Their investment strategy involves acquiring underperforming hotels for rebranding, rehabilitation, or reconversion, such as transforming Pan Pacific Seattle into 1 Hotel Seattle (opening May 2025), and redeveloping Le Méridien San Francisco into The Jay Hotel, now part of Marriott's Autograph Collection.

🎮 Dubai's premier gaming event, the Dubai Esports & Games Festival (DEF), returns for its fourth edition from April 25 to May 11, 2025. Organized by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), the festival aligns with Dubai's D33 Economic Agenda, aiming to bolster the city's global status in business, tourism, and entertainment. The event will feature exclusive gamer meet-ups, esports competitions, cosplay contests, and more, driving innovation and unveiling local talent in the gaming industry.

🏖️ The Club du Tourisme de Saint-Martin became an associate union of UMIH after an official validation by UMIH's administrators. The collaboration includes a signed agreement between both parties. This strategic partnership will offer Club du Tourisme's members access to UMIH's expertise and services and enhance local representation at the national level. Key figures include Patrice Seguin, President of the Club du Tourism, and Thierry Marx, UMIH's President, emphasizing the strengthened voice and support for tourism professionals in Saint-Martin.

📝 Over 90% of French consumers consult customer reviews before making a purchase. Reviews are crucial for artisans in sectors like renovation and emergency repairs, influencing visibility, mission acquisition, and professional image enhancement. Recommended strategies include soliciting reviews post-service, responding to all feedback, and using professional tools like Guest Suite to automate collection and manage online reputation, ultimately driving more business and improving service quality.

💸 Over 1,300 establishments generated €149M using Console SecretBox by 2024. The platform offers an interconnected gift box solution for the hospitality industry, including PMS (e.g., Nymphea, Infor), POS (e.g., Micrologic), and table reservation systems (e.g., Zenchef, Guestonline). 65% of sales occurred from January to November, showing year-round viability. Console SecretBox streamlines management, synchronizes systems, and offers real-time sales tracking, aiming to reduce teams' workload before summer.

📱 OpenAI's ChatGPT Search had 41.3 million active users in Europe over the past six months, a significant increase from the 11.2 million active users in the six months before October 31, 2024. LLMs accounted for 0.55% of online searches as of February 2024. ChatGPT Search generated 80% of the LLM-sourced traffic, with Perplexity at 11%. Google handled 373 times more queries than ChatGPT Search. SEO traffic in travel grew by 17% in 2024, with 70% captured by reservation centers like Booking.com or Expedia in France. Booking.com and Airbnb commanded 19% and 18% respectively of French reservation center traffic. Mobile devices were used for 84% of travel queries.

💳 Opinion Way's study, conducted with 1043 French participants from February 19-21 in partnership with Adyen, reveals payment behaviors abroad. A majority (82%) prefer booking with known platforms, with 86% of 18-24-year-olds valuing recognized sites for reservations over older travelers. Younger travelers also favor single-use cards for booking security (73% of 18-24 vs. 56% of older respondents) and prefer card payments over cash when abroad (55% of the youth vs. 38% of older travelers). Income influences payment caution, with wealthier travelers showing more flexibility. A third of French people seek last-minute deals for vacation bookings (36%), with younger and lower-income groups more inclined towards last-minute discounts (43% under 35, 44% of lower-income vs. 26% over 65). Concerns over foreign transaction fees are common (84% fear them), and half prefer cash over cards when traveling internationally (52%). Modern financial practices include nearly half using instant transfers (47%) and a third favoring installment payments for vacation bookings (38%).