Technology
TravelAI acquires Sonder brand, relaunches as 'AI-powered guide'
TravelAI, based in Vancouver, Canada, announced the acquisition of the Sonder brand and intellectual property, including trademarks and domain names. The acquisition does not include Sonder's operational business. The new Sonder website is positioned as a 'curated, AI-powered guide,' leveraging TravelAI's memory infrastructure to provide personalized recommendations to users.
Wyndham Q2 U.S. RevPAR Growth, Fundamentals Continue to Improve
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts released its second-quarter 2026 earnings, with U.S. RevPAR up 2% year-over-year, driven by improvements in occupancy and average daily rate. Global RevPAR declined 1% year-over-year, with international business down 6%. The company raised its full-year global RevPAR growth guidance to 0%-1% and announced adjustments to its loyalty program points redemption framework.
Survey: AI is becoming a 'mainstream travel planning tool'
The Global Travel Confidence Index jointly released by Allianz Partners and Ipsos shows that AI has moved from experimentation to the mainstream, with 37% of American summer travelers using it to plan their vacations. Hoteliers are responding to this trend through tools such as generative AI and conversational assistants.
Hotel Technology Watch: How Dual-Track Loyalty Programs Deliver Instant Rewards
In response to travelers' evolving demands for flexibility and personalized experiences in loyalty programs, Laasie leverages AI and behavioral data to build a dual-track reward system for independent hotels, offering a choice between instant rewards and point accumulation to boost direct booking rates and customer retention.