An honest view on tours and activities / Ruzwana Bashir in the green room / Venture capitalists and Google

  Today's news on travel technology, distribution and the digital economy Email not displaying correctly:  [View it in your browser](     Top Stories from the past 24 hours November 5, 2018 We wanted to do something slightly different for our next theme month. Rather than focusing on an industry sector or technology discipline (marketing, voice, blockchain, metasearch et al.), we've decided for November to concentrate on the figure at a company that has overall responsibility for its technology - thus Tech Heads month. This will mostly feature interviews with CTOs (or their equivalent title) from around the industry. But we kick things off today with a summary of what new technologies are most likely keeping these executives awake at night - ideas that will be explored in great detail at next week's Phocuswright Conference in Los Angeles. Also, look out for news on perhaps what could be the re-emergence of the usefulness of Foursquare for travel brands, the demise of TravelBird and an analysis on the so-called "content gap" in TMCs. Finally, today we welcome here those subscribers who have loyally followed tnooz. Following our acquisition of the company's assets last month, we've merged its database with PhocusWire's, so your daily dose of digital travel news will now come from one place. - Kevin May, editor in chief Today's Top Story   News  I  Technology [Tech Heads at a crossroads: All-in, shun or dabble?](   More Headlines   [How travel management companies are battling the content gap]( News | Distribution A TMC's first purpose was to print paper airline tickets and deliver them to travelers. They've since have diversified into duty of care, reporting and consulting, but in order to stay in the booking business they have to close the content gap. [READ MORE](   [Foursquare partners with TripAdvisor, wants to "make noise" in travel sector]( News | Technology TripAdvisor is the latest travel brand to partner with Foursquare, the company that began as a social check-in app for consumers but in recent years has evolved to focus on providing location intelligence data to businesses.   [READ MORE](   [TravelBird shuts shop after investment fails to arrive]( News | Online TravelBird, an online deals service that was one of the longer-term survivors of the early flash sales era, has shut, blaming a lack of funding. [READ MORE](   [Travel fraud trends you need to know]( From Our Partners | Technology Online fraud is rampant and travel brands are feeling the pain more than ever before. Fraud attack rates overall have increased by 13% since the beginning of 2017, and these rates show no signs of abating. [READ MORE](   [An honest view from the sharp end of tours and activities]( News | Distribution There's been a huge amount of attention on tours and activities during 2018 - perhaps more than any other sector in the industry. [READ MORE]( [MORE STORIES](   24 HOURS TO GO!   [WEBINAR ALERT! How to maximize hotel bookings by leveraging the right channel mix]( Join us for this webinar to learn why having a diverse distribution strategy can make the difference in keeping your hotel fully booked. Experts from Sabre Hospitality and Expedia are in the hot seats. [LAST-MINUTE REGISTRATIONS WELCOME!](   Trending Stories   [In the green room at Phocuswright with... Ruzwana Bashir]( Interview | Distribution As co-founder and CEO of Peek, Ruzwana Bashir has steered the tours and activities company through a number of funding rounds in recent years as well as the acquisition of rival Zozi in early 2017. [READ MORE]( [QOTW: Something about a losing battle for venture capitalists]( News | Distribution Quote from Christian Saller, general partner of Holtzbrinck Ventures, in an article on PhocusWire this week. [READ MORE]( [STARTUP STAGE: BedLinker plots distribution for hotels and marketplace for travel agents]( Interview | Startups Founded in December 2017, there are two parts to the startup: BedLinker, a B2B marketplace for travel agents, and BedAllocator, a distribution management system for leisure hotels. [READ MORE]( [Traits of a great chief technology officer]( Notated News | Technology A great chief technology officer can be a critical driver behind a technology company’s success. [READ MORE]( [Ctrip's plans for localization: A look at Trip.com one year in]( News | Online It’s been exactly one year since Ctrip purchased Trip.com - a strategic move by the Chinese online travel powerhouse to bring its services into local Asia Pacific markets. [READ MORE]( [Privacy]( [Subscribe]( Northstar Travel Group LLC. 116 West 32nd Street New York, New York  10001