Heavy incumbent presence from traditional travel companies; online booking and alternative accommodation lead activity

Incumbent activity in the space is concentrated around traditional travel companies (online travel and marketplace platforms), including Expedia Group, Booking Holdings, Trip.com, Airbnb, and TripAdvisor, which mainly focus on B2C solutions, such as the online booking of flights, hotels, and/or alternative accommodations. The presence of Big Tech firms in the space—which include Google, Microsoft, and Amazon—is limited, compared to that of traditional travel incumbents. 

Non-travel-related incumbents include SaaS firms like SAP, SAS Institute, and PROS Holdings and financial services firms such as US Bancorp and American Express, which mainly operate in B2B subsegments. Incumbent activity remains sparse in the guest management solution and smart luggage provider subsegments, which are dominated by startups.

Incumbent strategy from travel-related firms has been heavily geared toward acquisitions and customer partnerships that enable the integration of travel portfolios (e.g., flights/accommodations, destinations, and tours). Notable players such as Booking Holdings and Expedia Group have made several acquisitions to establish a global presence and serve multiple segments, with only a few incumbents being pure-play firms (e.g., Samsonite and SAP). Non-travel-related incumbents have entered the space through acquisitions (e.g., Samsonite and SAS), supported by product partnerships (e.g., API integrations) with travel-related incumbents.