<div>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Travel planning platform, Tourlane secured USD 26 million in Series D funding led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Target Global, Jared Smith, and HV Capital.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        The funds are allocated to support the company's goal of achieving profitability, enhancing its technological infrastructure, advancing its AI systems, and exploring opportunities to enter markets beyond France and Germany.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        Tourlane is a Berlin-based company that offers an online platform for planning and booking personalized multi-day trips, allowing users to arrange flights, accommodations, tours, activities, and transfers in one place. The platform combines technology with expert travel consulting to streamline individual travel experiences.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/14/tourlane-the-german-travel-startup-raises-26m-led-by-sequoia/">
      TechCrunch
    </a>
  </p>
</div>


Travel Tech

<div>
 <p>Berlin-based travel planning platform, Tourlane raised USD 26 million in Series D funding. The round was led by Sequoia Capital and also saw participation from Target Global, Jared Smith, and HV Capital.</p>
 <p>Intended use for the obtained funds is towards the goal of bringing the company to profitability, enhancing its technical infrastructure, advancing its AI systems for better service efficiency, and exploring possibilities for market expansion beyond its current strongholds, France and Germany.</p>
 <p>Offering an easy-to-use platform for arranging multi-day personalized trips online, Tourlane allows its users to book flights, accommodations, activities, and transfers all in one place. Merging smart technology with expert travel consultancy, the platform makes individual travel planning a hassle-free experience.</p>
</div>

Tourlane raises USD 26 million in Series D funding for product development and global expansion

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 <p>The One Key loyalty program by Expedia Group has been extended and new features have been added to the app to enhance travel booking. Customer service has also been improved across all platforms. </p>
 <p>Updates to the app include the function to compare destinations, a flexible date search, a live flight tracker, and personalised suggestions based on item and category. GenAI is also now being utilised to summarise property reviews and provide in-depth details for travellers. </p>
 <p>The membership for the One Key loyalty program has increased by 7% globally. Most notably, nearly half of the room nights were booked by higher-tier members (silver, gold, and platinum), who only make up 30% of the total user base. </p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> This move aligns with Expedia's efforts to refine its loyalty program and make the platform more user-friendly. In <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/35466"> October 2024 </a> , Expedia Group collaborated with Microsoft Bing to link travel rewards programs.</p>

Expedia Group enhances app features and loyalty program with GenAI capabilities to improve user experience

<div>
 <p>Acai Travel, an AI-powered travel operations platform, has raised EUR 3.7 million (~USD 3.8 million) in seed funding. The funding round was led by Nauta and included contributions from DraperB1 and existing investor One Travel Ventures.</p>
 <p>The company plans to use these funds to create a comprehensive operating system for travel agencies, aiming to double agent efficiency and transforming travel call centers. This system will also provide better insights into traveler behavior, thereby contributing to improved customer experiences and increased customer loyalty.</p>
 <p>Founded in 2023 and based in Spain, Acai Travel creates AI-powered tools to streamline operations and improve efficiency and customer service within travel companies. Its platform features AI Helpers, GDS Overlay, AI Translation, and Intelligent Routing tools. Some of its notable clients include Kiwi.com, lastminute.com, and World Travel Inc.</p>
</div>

Acai Travel raises EUR 3.7 million in seed funding to modernize travel operations

<div>
 <p>Sojern, a travel marketing platform, and Cloudbeds, a hospitality management software provider, have partnered to integrate their respective hotel technology solutions. Through this amalgamation, Sojern's travel advertising and guest experience solutions can function smoothly with Cloudbeds' property management system. This will enable hotels to utilize demand-oriented advertising over digital channels and only pay after a guest's stay. It also offers tools for advanced customer segmentation and for executing efficient loyalty marketing across multiple properties.</p>
 <p>The collaboration is intended to simplify hotel operations and boost direct bookings by offering better tracking capabilities and personalized marketing features on both platforms.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> This integration between Sojern and Cloudbeds could simplify travel marketers’ access to data, enhancing the ability to reach potential guests more efficiently.</p>

Sojern partners with Cloudbeds to integrate digital marketing with hospitality management platform

<div>
 <p>The hospitality cloud platform Mews, which serves over 5,500 customers in 85 countries, has recently acquired Quotelo, a French provider of event management solutions. </p>
 <p>Quotelo offers automated solutions for event quotations, bookings, and management in the hospitality industry, with features such as a MICE-focused booking engine, automated quotations, room planning, and digital function sheets for event execution. </p>
 <p>Mews' acquisition of Quotelo, which is its first in France and tenth overall, is aimed at enhancing its research and development presence in France and expanding its range of event management tools. The whole Quotelo team will join Mews as part of this deal.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> This acquisition aligns with Mews' global expansion strategy; in <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/29443"> May 2024 </a> , the company acquired HS3 Hotelsoftware to strengthen its foothold in the German market.</p>

Mews acquires French event management platform Quotelo to enhance R&D activities

<div>
 <p>Hipcamp, a digital camping marketplace operating in four countries with over 140,000 sites, has bought BookOutdoors, a platform for booking RV parks, cabins, campgrounds, and glamping resorts.</p>
 <p>This acquisition is targeted at meeting the increasing demand for diverse camping site choices among travelers.</p>
 <p>BookOutdoors serves as an online portal for travelers to find and book a wide variety of outdoor accommodation options.</p>
</div>

Hipcamp acquires BookOutdoors to expand camping locations

<div>
 <p>Expedia Group and Microsoft Bing have partnered to unite their loyalty programs to improve travel booking rewards. Bing users can now earn both Microsoft Rewards and Expedia's One Key travel rewards when they book accommodations through Bing. This collaboration utilizes Expedia's rapid API technology to facilitate access to over 750,000 hotels and holiday rentals.</p>
 <p>The service is presently active in 16 markets which include the US, Canada, UK, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, and Australia. In these regions, Expedia Group is the preferred provider.</p>
</div>

Expedia Group partners with Microsoft Bing to integrate travel rewards programs

<div>
 <p>Blacklane, a premium chauffeur service provider, raised USD 65 million in a Series G funding round. The round was led by TASARU Mobility Investments and saw contributions from existing investors including Mercedes-Benz Mobility, Gargash Enterprises, Al Fahim Group, Alstin Family, and RI Digital Ventures.</p>
 <p>The funding aims to broaden Blacklane's operations in its major US market, bolster its presence in the Middle East, and maintain its business activities in Europe.</p>
 <p>Operating in over 50 countries, Blacklane provides services such as airport transfers, city-to-city connections, and in-city mobility solutions in cities like Dubai, Miami, and London.</p>
</div>

Blacklane raises USD 65 million in Series G funding to expand operations

<div>
 <p>Serko Limited, an online travel technology firm, has agreed to acquire GetThere, a business travel management solution from Sabre Corporation.</p>
 <p>The GetThere brand will remain after the acquisition, with Serko aiming to streamline operations and reduce hurdles in travel disruptions, payments, and expense reconciliations. The collaboration will involve using Sabre and Google's joint innovation framework for corporate travel solutions.</p>
 <p>GetThere is an online booking tool for corporate customers, boasting a solid history of serving large and intricate managed travel companies. The platform offers NDC capabilities and an enhanced air shopping experience that fosters positive business outcomes for both suppliers and corporate clientele.</p>
</div>

Serko acquires Sabre's GetThere business to improve travel operations

<div>
 <p>Cloudbeds, a firm offering a property management system for hospitality industry, has launched Cloudbeds Intelligence. This smart hospitality engine integrates hotel operations into a single network, using causal and multimodal AI technology to deliver real-time insights and suggestions.</p>
 <p>This platform amalgamates various data types, such as images and text, discerns cause-and-effect associations within the data, and provides actionable guidance across areas like revenue management, marketing, operations, and guest experience. Its exclusive features include unified revenue management and marketing, data-driven upselling and personalization, and staff enhancement through real-time search abilities.</p>
 <p>Cloudbeds asserts that the new platform is expected to boost occupancy rates by up to 10%, while preserving efficient workflows. The company also suggests that the platform will assist hotels in rate optimization based on demand triggers, executing targeted promotions, facilitating personalized guest experiences, and cutting staff onboarding duration.</p>

</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Cloudbeds’ smart hospitality engine, integrating causal and multimodal AI, sets a new standard by unifying hotel operations in one intelligence network. This approach enables hoteliers to make precise, data-driven decisions for enhanced guest experiences, optimized operations, and increased revenue.</p>

All Updates

Tourlane raises USD 26 million in Series D funding for product development and global expansion

Expedia Group enhances app features and loyalty program with GenAI capabilities to improve user experience

Acai Travel raises EUR 3.7 million in seed funding to modernize travel operations

Sojern partners with Cloudbeds to integrate digital marketing with hospitality management platform

Mews acquires French event management platform Quotelo to enhance R&D activities

Hipcamp acquires BookOutdoors to expand camping locations

Expedia Group partners with Microsoft Bing to integrate travel rewards programs

Blacklane raises USD 65 million in Series G funding to expand operations

Serko acquires Sabre's GetThere business to improve travel operations

Cloudbeds launches AI-powered hospitality management platform; Cloudbeds Intelligence to improve hotel operations

Travel Tech

Tourlane raises USD 26 million in Series D funding for product development and global expansion

Contact us