Innovation

🏗 Osaka, Japan, will host the World Expo from April 13 to October 13, 2025, with the theme "Designing the Society of the Future, Imagining Our Lives Tomorrow." The event aims to promote sustainable daily actions and a happy lifestyle, attracting more than 160 nations and 28 million visitors to Yumeshima Island, an artificial island in Osaka. Exhibitions and conferences will focus on life preservation, inspiration, and connections, emphasizing human roles in disaster risk reduction, AI utilization, and society enrichment in harmony with nature.

📰 Priceline enhances its Trip Intelligence suite with AI-generated features, focusing on neighborhood recommendations for travelers. A study reveals 37% of travelers view neighborhood choice as a key part of their stay, with 34% seeking hotels in areas that align with their visit interests. The Neighborhood Edition includes the integration of Turo, a car-sharing service, within the app. Neighborhood Navigator and other AI tools are in beta in 35 U.S. cities, with potential international expansion. Priceline aims to support local exploration beyond typical tourist paths.

💾 At Food Hotel Tech, survey of 900 hospitality professionals revealed 75% use AI in their hotels, commonly for content and image generation (46%) and online review management (35%). AI is credited with "significant" time savings (80%), customer relations improvement (45%), and cost optimization (44%). However, concerns about AI include potential dehumanization (41%) and lack of control (19%). Methodology: In-person 15-minute interviews during the event on March 19-20, 2025. Respondents: 55% independent hoteliers, 45% chain-affiliated; roles varied from General Managers (35%) to marketing, HR, IT Directors (34%), and operational staff (31%).

🚗 Waymo (Alphabet subsidiary) and Toyota announced a partnership to create a new autonomous vehicle platform. The collaboration aims to combine strengths to develop autonomous technology with Toyota's subsidiary Woven contributing through its research and development. This strategic shift could lead to an expanded fleet for Waymo's autonomous taxis and a move into the consumer market, hinted at by Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on April 24. Toyota's executive VP Hiroki Nakajima emphasizes a shared commitment to safety through automated driving technology. Waymo's transition from research to operation now includes partnerships, such as with Uber, and Toyota's $500 million investment in flying taxis signifies its ambition to evolve from an automaker to a mobility company.

🔍 Google integrates AI into Google Business Profile to summarize customer reviews. SEO expert Todd Hayes spotted the feature that highlights an establishment's strengths and overall customer sentiment. Over 92% of consumers consult reviews before selection, making positive ratings crucial for visibility on Google and influencing consumer decisions.

💸 CleanMob secured €1.3 million in its first funding round to optimize corporate fleet management using AI. Investors include BPI France, 212Founders by CDG Invest, MNF Ventures, Tremplin Capital, and 4 business angels. Founded in 2021, CleanMob aims for 50,000 connected vehicles by 2027 and plans to bolster its sales team. Its proprietary technology uses virtual sensors for predictive AI, signal processing, and physical law modeling, allowing rapid deployment within 72 hours without physical intervention. Clients like Engie Home Services, and Asten Santé have thousands of vehicles connected. CleanMob, based at Station F and part of MoveLab's 13th cohort, targets mid-sized and large corporations for commercial expansion. CEO Salah El Hajji highlights the cost-effectiveness and precision over traditional OBD physical boxes.

💰 OpenAI's ChatGPT Search has become its most popular service, with more than a billion web queries generated. In February 2025, AI-driven internet searches accounted for 0.55% of online searches, per Eskimoz. ChatGPT Search now offers conversational e-commerce, allowing users to search for products, compare options, and make purchases without ads. Initially, features are tested on fashion, beauty, home goods, and electronics, with plans for expansion. Plus, OpenAI's language model has integrated into WhatsApp. Google, potentially facing a US breakup, hit a record 8.5 billion daily searches in 2022.

📱 GetYourGuide, a tourist experience booking platform, launched a new suite of tools in 2025 featuring AI functionalities to help operators of all sizes enhance their offerings. The AI Content Insights feature aims to identify inconsistencies in experience listings, such as contradictory information in activity descriptions or ambiguities about included services. Additionally, the AI analyzes customer reviews to enable operators to address complaints, highlight unique aspects of their offers, and present them more effectively, considering 91% of travelers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations. These updates also offer services like seat selection, last-minute bookings, and optimized routes for professional drivers. GetYourGuide's COO and co-founder Tao Tao emphasizes that these improvements provide operators with tools to create high-quality, unique offerings that stand out in a competitive market.

💾 Collaborating with HiJiffy, a leading hotel customer communication platform, an article outlines the steps to build a coherent, high-performing tech stack tailored to hotel management. It highlights the importance of choosing the right tools to optimize operations, enhance direct bookings, and improve customer communication, while avoiding common mistakes. The guide offers a detailed walkthrough for constructing a hotel tech stack, including essential tools, key steps, and best practices.

🚀 Sabre, a U.S. travel tech provider, contemplates selling its hotel software subsidiary SynXis for over $1 billion to reduce its $4.5 billion net debt, with SynXis generating around $300 million in annual revenue and serving over 40% of global hotels. Trainline plans to acquire Barcelona-based Trenes.com, which served more than 350,000 clients in 2024, pending Spanish regulator CNMC approval. Etihad Airways joins IATA's Turbulence Aware program, integrating over 100 aircraft to share real-time turbulence data, enhancing a network with over 25 airlines, 2,600 connected aircraft, and 51 million reports in 2024. Morocco aims to become an African TravelTech hub through a partnership announced at GITEX Africa in Marrakech, targeting TravelTech startup support, public-private partnerships, and digital transformation.