One-Third of Travel Bookings on Mobile

Criteo teamed up with PhocusWright to publish The Mobile Effect white paper, which details numbers in major markets of people using mobile to book their travel plans and other facts. Even though people trust hotels more than OTAs, “OTAs dominate the mobile space.” Plus, the traveler that books on mobile are more likely than PC users to book 3 or more trips a year – making them a customer you want to earn.
Read more at Tnooz >>>

Learn about Travel Media Group’s hotel websites, which are optimized for mobile and allow direct booking.

Travel Between U.S. and Brazil Gets Easier

President Obama met with Brazil President Dilma Rousseff on June 30, and one outcome was the goal of working on visa-free travel between the U.S. and Brazil. Currently, Brazilian and U.S. travelers pay a $160 application fee to travel between the two countries. If you’re in an area that enjoys a lot of international tourism, you might expect an influx of Brazilian travelers in 2016.
Read more at Travel Pulse >>>

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Launches Property-Wide Apple Pay

The trendy Strip casino is the first to offer Apple Pay technology to guests, who can leave their wallets in their rooms and use their smartphone to easily purchase food and services. Similarly, Marriott International has begun adding Apple Pay to a dozen choice properties, such as the Ritz-Carlton New York. The streamlined purchase process is likely to become more common – and not just in luxury hotels.
Read more at Travel Weekly >>>

All Eyes on Pluto This Week

As NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto after 9 years and 3.6 billion miles, it captured the attention of kids and adults alike. The astonishing images are putting interest in space exploration back on the map in a way that we haven’t seen in decades. If you’re near one of NASA’s Visitor Centers or can find a great place to stargaze nearby, now is the time to share that in social media posts to lure starstruck travelers to your hotel.
Read more about Pluto at CNN >>>

It’s World Emoji Day!

Millennials are having fun on Twitter today celebrating World Emoji Day. July 17 is displayed on the calendar Emoji, making today the perfect time to start using the cute characters in your social media posts.
Copy & paste Emojis here >>>