PhocusWire

@Google has launched a conversational interface and updated navigation features in Maps, both powered by @Gemini. #Travelers can use natural language within the #AskMaps experience, asking questions about recommended scenic stops on the way to a destination or to identify something specific, like public tennis courts with lights to play at night. Read the full story now on #PhocusWire. bit.ly/4sPq6Xv

#ElectricAirTaxi developers @jobyaviation and @flyarcher plan to deploy #aircrafts in multiple U.S. states as part of a federal pilot program designed to test how electric vertical takeoff and landing (#eVTOL) vehicles operate in real-world conditions. The eVTOL Integration Pilot Program aims to accelerate regulatory progress and infrastructure development by facilitating early operations as advanced air mobility aircraft are integrated into the national airspace. Read the full article on #PhocusWire now bit.ly/4ryMrHs

#Stablecoin is being viewed as gamechanger for the #travelindustry for its ability to save costs, drive efficiency and help eliminate #fraud. “It's a #cryptographic transfer of #money, and it's backed one-to-one with a #fiatcurrency. So you have stability with a U.S. dollar, with a Euro, with a British pound, and then it's transacted in a very secure way. When you talk about a transaction, it's on-chain, so it's fully visible and trackable. You have your identity connected to the transaction,” says #AlexTaskey, founder and CEO of #Frame (a stablecoin orchestration layer). Get the full story on #PhocusWire now. bit.ly/4dpdvWi

@Expedia has partnered with @PredictHQ to bring contextual data around global events to the online travel agency’s (#OTA) hotel partners. The #PredictHQ data is integrated with #ExpediaPartnerCenter and aims to give hotels access to insights, such as demand #data, to boost #revenue strategies. Continue reading the fully article on #PhocusWire. bit.ly/3N55jQu

#Autonomousvehicle (AV) company @zoox has partnered with @Uber to launch #robotaxis on the #Uber app. This marks #Zoox’s first partnership with a third-party platform like Uber. The companies intend to launch robotaxis in #LasVegas this summer, with plans to launch additional vehicles in #LosAngeles by mid-2027. Once enabled, Uber users will see the option to match with a Zoox robotaxi for eligible trips. Zoox, which was acquired by Amazon in 2020, will continue to offer its rides through its app as well. Currently, Zoox robotaxis trips are free in Las Vegas and select neighborhoods in San Francisco. Read the full article on #PhocusWire bit.ly/4seI8T6

Spend management platform #Ramp has acquired #guesttravel startup #Juno, with plans to have it operate independently within Ramp while supporting its own travel offering capabilities, the companies announced Monday. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed. Juno—developed by Devon Tivona and Sam Felsenthal, the founders of guest travel management app #Pana—launched last year as a solution for coordinating, booking and managing guest travel. Over that time, it's announced attracting $6 million in #funding and broadened its focus to tackle "complex travel" uses cases outside of guest travel, including meetings management capabilities. Get the full story on #PhocusWire now.

An #AIeval is a structured process used to systematically test and measure an #AI system's quality, performance and reliability, assessing whether it meets goals like accuracy, safety and usefulness. Generic evals and benchmarks are insufficient—custom evals are the only way to truly understand an AI's readiness for deployment. Read the full story on #PhocusWire now bit.ly/4sQb8QX

While the tours and activities industry remains fragmented and largely offline, the sector is viewed as having significant growth potential. Recent research by @Phocuswright and #Arival revealed the sector is projected to reach $340 billion by 2029, up from today’s $271 billion. The Outlook for Travel Experiences 2019-2029 report also revealed that only a third of gross bookings take place through online channels, compared to 64% for the #globaltravelindustry. Experts from @civitatis, @Expedia and #Nezasa joined a panel at the recent #ITBBerlin event to discuss how #artificialintelligence (#AI) might transform the experiences segment. Continue reading the full story on #PhocusWire bit.ly/4cQuwZo

What impact will #artificialintelligence (AI) have on the #NewDistributionCapability (#NDC) standard first introduced by #IATA in 2012? Will #AI confine it to the history books? Will AI mean structural change or just become an optimization layer on top of existing services? What’s the right mix between direct and indirect business for airlines? These were some of the questions discussed during sessions at the #AirlineDistribution2026 conference last week. Below, we’ve shared some of the key insights, thoughts and concerns from airlines and technology specialists at the #UATP-hosted event. Continue reading the entire story on #PhocusWire bit.ly/4lzwX4Q

Spend management platform Ramp has acquired guest travel startup Juno, with plans to have it operate independently within Ramp while supporting its own travel offering capabilities, the companies announced Monday. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed. Juno—developed by Devon Tivona and Sam Felsenthal, the founders of guest travel management app Pana—launched last year as a solution for coordinating, booking and managing guest travel. Over that time, it's announced attracting $6 million in funding and broadened its focus to tackle "complex travel" uses cases outside of guest travel, including meetings management capabilities. Now with Ramp, Tivona said Juno will have additional resources to continue its growth. Read the full article on #PhocusWire. bit.ly/3PmQ2eo

Spend management platform #Ramp has acquired #guesttravel startup #Juno, with plans to have it operate independently within Ramp while supporting its own travel offering capabilities, the companies announced Monday. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed. Juno—developed by Devon Tivona and Sam Felsenthal, the founders of guest travel management app #Pana—launched last year as a solution for coordinating, booking and managing guest travel. Over that time, it's announced attracting $6 million in #funding and broadened its focus to tackle "complex travel" uses cases outside of guest travel, including meetings management capabilities. Get the full story on #PhocusWire now.

@Google has launched a conversational interface and updated navigation features in Maps, both powered by @Gemini. #Travelers can use natural language within the #AskMaps experience, asking questions about recommended scenic stops on the way to a destination or to identify something specific, like public tennis courts with lights to play at night. Read the full story now on #PhocusWire. bit.ly/4sPq6Xv

#Stablecoin is being viewed as gamechanger for the #travelindustry for its ability to save costs, drive efficiency and help eliminate #fraud. “It's a #cryptographic transfer of #money, and it's backed one-to-one with a #fiatcurrency. So you have stability with a U.S. dollar, with a Euro, with a British pound, and then it's transacted in a very secure way. When you talk about a transaction, it's on-chain, so it's fully visible and trackable. You have your identity connected to the transaction,” says #AlexTaskey, founder and CEO of #Frame (a stablecoin orchestration layer). Get the full story on #PhocusWire now. bit.ly/4dpdvWi

@Expedia has partnered with @PredictHQ to bring contextual data around global events to the online travel agency’s (#OTA) hotel partners. The #PredictHQ data is integrated with #ExpediaPartnerCenter and aims to give hotels access to insights, such as demand #data, to boost #revenue strategies. Continue reading the fully article on #PhocusWire. bit.ly/3N55jQu

#ElectricAirTaxi developers @jobyaviation and @flyarcher plan to deploy #aircrafts in multiple U.S. states as part of a federal pilot program designed to test how electric vertical takeoff and landing (#eVTOL) vehicles operate in real-world conditions. The eVTOL Integration Pilot Program aims to accelerate regulatory progress and infrastructure development by facilitating early operations as advanced air mobility aircraft are integrated into the national airspace. Read the full article on #PhocusWire now bit.ly/4ryMrHs

#Autonomousvehicle (AV) company @zoox has partnered with @Uber to launch #robotaxis on the #Uber app. This marks #Zoox’s first partnership with a third-party platform like Uber. The companies intend to launch robotaxis in #LasVegas this summer, with plans to launch additional vehicles in #LosAngeles by mid-2027. Once enabled, Uber users will see the option to match with a Zoox robotaxi for eligible trips. Zoox, which was acquired by Amazon in 2020, will continue to offer its rides through its app as well. Currently, Zoox robotaxis trips are free in Las Vegas and select neighborhoods in San Francisco. Read the full article on #PhocusWire bit.ly/4seI8T6

#CaeciliaChu has been leading @youtrip since its founding, describing the company as her "life's mission." The company is actively expanding across regions, officially launching in #Australia, its third market, in December. #YouTrip previously raised $50 million in a Series B round in 2023, intending to put funds toward "market development growth plans," and $30 million in Series A #funding in late 2021. Read more on #PhocusWire bit.ly/4dnDNYT

Travel in the cloud with Tedd Evers of AWS on the latest #InPhocus #podcast Migrating to the cloud is transforming how travel companies operate, innovate and serve travelers. In this week's episode, Tedd Evers, Global Partner Leader of Travel and Hospitality at #AmazonWebServices (AWS), explains why cloud adoption is about more than cost savings. Listen now on #PhocusWire 🎧 bit.ly/46MPK6H

Younger generations have befuddled a generation of marketers for their perceived resistance to #loyalty and their brand-agnostic attitudes. But these attitudes suggest that loyalty isn't unimportant to them; it's simply at odds with another one of their prized #travel values. And when novelty and loyalty are forced to compete, #novelty frequently emerges as the winner. According to @Phocuswright’s Beyond Points: Rethinking Loyalty and Brand Consistency in Travel, #GenZ expresses a strong proclivity towards diverse experiences, but their participation in loyalty programs is far from obsolete. Keep reading on #PhocusWire bit.ly/3PBtM0n

@Airbnb is keeping up with the times, implementing #artificialintelligence (AI) initiatives, expanding pricing flexibility and leaning into Gen Z-fueled interest in off-the-beaten-path travel. Beyond that, the #shorttermrental giant is also actively pursuing its #hotels vertical. “We’re starting in a focused way, in particular, in the cities of #NewYork, #SanFrancisco and a few others,” Airbnb co-founder and chief strategy officer Nathan Blecharczyk said during a fireside chat at ITB Berlin last week. Speaking with #MitraSorrells, SVP of content for @Phocuswright, Blecharczyk added that #Airbnb is adding hotel-specific functionality such as the ability to choose room type. Read the full article on #PhocusWire now. bit.ly/4rxQCn7