Traveling Blog: Europe Weekend Review: Merger Fever Strikes Tours Biz + Accor Goes Local

April 21, 2018

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Note From the Editor

Is something happening three times in a very short time period the sign of a trend or just a coincidence? This week, three travel companies of varying size chose to invest in the tours/activities/experience/trips space.

For years, we've been saying that this is one of the last bits of travel that needed connecting up to the internet. When I went traveling around Southeast Asia in the mid 2000s, most of the activities we booked were either done by email or in person. All we had was a Lonely Planet guidebook and unreliable internet cafes.

A decade later, and things are only just beginning to change. Clever startups have realized there's a market bringing these disparate operators online, and their success has attracted the attention of some of the industry's biggest players. The market is still pretty fragmented and much of it is offline, but we're starting to see some consolidation.

On Thursday, Booking Holdings bought experiences booking-software provider FareHarbor, a day later TripAdvisor announced a deal for Iceland's Bokun. Both of these acquisitions followed UK hotel booking platform Mr and Mrs Smith's purchase of SideStory. Granted, these companies aren't exactly the same but it shows an overall desire to get deeper into the tours and activities space.

Three deals happening so close to each other is probably just random chance, but the fact that they all occurred within the same travel sector isn't.

— Patrick Whyte, Europe Editor

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We said there would be more consolidation in the tours and activities space, and the ink was hardly dry when TripAdvisor announced the acquisition of Bokun. This enables TripAdvisor to provide an end-to-end solution without having to rely on third party vendors to bring tours and activities suppliers on board.

Booking Holdings Buys Activities Distribution Startup FareHarbor

Only a couple of years ago, the CEO of family owned activities distributor FareHarbor said the company would never sell. But never say never. For Booking Holdings, this is further proof that the giant wants to be full-service.

Mr and Mrs Smith Joins Tours and Activities Rush With SideStory Acquisition

Trips, experiences, tours, activities – you call them what you like, travel brands want a bigger piece of the sector. For plenty of companies, it's no longer just about the flight or hotel.

An Aviation Schmooze Fest in Hamburg Reveals a Passenger's Wish List for Jet Travel

Yes, there's some innovation on display at the annual Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. But mostly, the three-day show is about networking and building relationships.

AccorHotels CEO on the Importance of Reaching Non-Travelers

He's never shy, so you won't want to miss what Bazin has to say about the hospitality and travel industry at Skift Forum Europe in Berlin, especially since he's not afraid to speak his mind.

Booking Holdings CEO: We're on the Road Toward Going Full-Service

Evolve or be crushed. That's CEO Glenn Fogel's philosophy about business in general and Booking Holdings in particular. But the move toward becoming more of a full-service online travel agency comes with the risk of losing focus on accommodations. No one ever said all this online travel agency stuff is easy.

Airbnb Launching an Effort to Address Overtourism It Helped Create

The Airbnb effect has helped transform many neighborhoods around the world, and some before they were fully ready for mass tourism. The company is acknowledging that it knows it has an impact. But let's see if major cities where the real problems exist will get the same treatment as rural villages in Africa.

Booking Holdings CEO on the Foolishness of a Short-Term Focus

Stocks go up and stocks go down. That's one of the perils of being a public company and exposing yourself to such pressures. Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel expresses a commitment to focus on the long term regardless of short-term complications. If Airbnb goes public, it would have to deal with a similar dynamic.

Booking CMO Adds Apartments to Complex Marketing Mix

Booking.com has a test-and-learn culture, and chief marketing officer Pepijn Rijvers will be doing plenty of that over the next few years as he tries to sort out the complexities of marketing a widely diverse set of accommodation types. Ask anyone, though: It's a great problem to have.

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