Airbnb first launched this “total price display” in parts of Europe, Australia, Canada and Korea in 2019, added an optional toggle to turn it on in the U.S. and more than 200 other countries and regions in May 2023, and has now made it the standard pricing format globally, the company said in the release.

The total price displayed will include taxes in some countries and territories, but not all, according to the release. The total price, including both taxes and fees, will be displayed prior to checkout in all countries and territories.

“As a leader in pricing transparency, we know that value matters — especially today,” Airbnb said in the release. “With the global rollout of total price display, we’re making it easier for guests to better understand the price they’ll pay, and for hosts to succeed in a more transparent marketplace.”

In the nearly two years the optional toggle has been available for the total price display, almost 17 million guests have used the feature, showing “how much our users appreciated this option,” the release said.

Airbnb has also introduced several tools over the past few years to help hosts understand how much guests pay and to help them set more competitive pricing, according to the release. More than four out of five hosts used at least one of these tools in the past year.

It was reported in November 2022, when Airbnb announced its plans to start enabling customers to choose to see the total price of rentals, that the company had faced a backlash on social media from customers complaining about fees that were not immediately displayed as part of the price.

In some cases, the Airbnb fees, taxes and cleaning fee greatly increased the price that was displayed to the customer. 

During a November 2022 earnings call, Airbnb Co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said the company had heard from guests “loud and clear” that they would like more transparency when they first get to Airbnb.

“I think the north star for us on this matter is transparency,” Chesky said.

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Inflation’s still with us, and several recent economic reports from the likes of the University of Michigan and the Federal Reserve have shown that consumers across all age groups and income levels expect inflation to accelerate through the near term.  Discretionary spending, as a result, will likely be pressured as purchasing power is eroded somewhat and as households seek to pad their savings whenever and wherever possible.   

In terms of the preferred payment methods consumers use when they choose to spend, credit cards are popular when spending online. PYMNTS Intelligence has noted that the security of credit card transactions in anonymous transactions is a key feature that is prized; cardholders also value the loyalty and rewards offerings that are attached to those cards.

Browsing, Booking, Buying

For the issuers and the various stakeholders in the travel industry, the rewards — from airlines to hotels — the cash back, the miles and the points all can prove an incentive to get would-be customers to actually go a ahead and book the trip. The issuing banks also gain the dual benefits of spending that might not otherwise occur and customer loyalty; the airlines and other travel providers fill seats and hotel rooms.

As detailed in the PYMNTS Intelligence special report titled “Consumers Go Mobile-First on Travel Purchases,” there’s a missed opportunity here. The data gleaned from the responses of 2,290 U.S. consumers indicates that only about half of individuals who buy their travel online look at the perks featured by their issuing banks or other promotional offers when they do their research on where to go, where to stay, and how to pay. Only about 43% of baby boomers conduct this exploration, and these consumers tend to have the most disposable income on hand, and the leisure time to travel, as they may be enjoying the fruits of retirement.

As for the other demographics, more than 50% of younger consumers — for instance, nearly 56% of bridge millennials — delve into loyalty program particulars when shopping online for travel options.

Given the fact that 51% of our overall sample prefer to book their travel via mobile device, and 45% of boomers prefer to do so on a laptop or desktop, and 7 in 10 consumers overall use computers and phones to research trips and pay for them, forward-thinking providers have ample opportunity to engage with customers on those devices.

Seventy-three percent of shoppers who prefer to purchase travel digitally say they usually start by exploring and conducting research online. Gen Z leads, at 79%, but we find relatively little difference across age groups. Even 69% of baby boomers normally do online research before buying.

Issuers may find that using consumer-level data to craft rewards and incentives to use cards can pay significant dividends. PYMNTS Intelligence has found that travel is the category that most often sees purchases done online, and particularly on mobile device. While more than half of consumers buy travel services online, a relatively lower percentage, at 45%, use their mobile phones when purchasing something retail, followed by 42% for restaurants and 26% for groceries.

The post Travelers Go Digital, but Rewards Programs Are Still Flying Under Their Radar appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Spirit Airlines is marketing its “Big Front Seat” that offers more legroom and other perks for a price that can be three times that of a standard seat, while Air France and Lufthansa have added new first-class cabins, and carriers and credit card companies are continuing to expand their airport lounges, CNBC reported Monday (April 14).

They are focusing on these amenities — and the customers who will pay for them — because their premium segment business is growing faster than their main cabin business for both consumer and corporate travel, according to the report.

Airline CEOs have attributed the slowing bookings to the current trade war, government layoffs, fewer international visitors to the U.S. and weaker demand for domestic coach seats from consumers who are price sensitive, the report said.

“I think we’re acting as if we’re going to a recession,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC’s Squawk Box Wednesday (April 9), per the report. “I think everybody is going into a defensive posture.”

Delta said in a Wednesday earnings release that it saw continued resilience in its premium, loyalty and international businesses during the March quarter, while the domestic and main cabin businesses were soft, PYMNTS reported at the time.

“Coming into 2025, we were positioned for another year of strong growth,” Bastian said Wednesday during the company’s quarterly earnings call. “However, given broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled.”

It was reported in March that United Airlines announced changes to its lounge memberships and rewards credit card offerings, increasing annual fees while simultaneously introducing new benefits and incentives for cardholders.

Before its Wednesday earnings call, Delta revised its March quarter outlook downward on March 10, compared to the guidance it provided Jan. 10, saying that macro uncertainty had softened demand in the domestic market.

A day later, three more airlines — American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines — made similar comments about the macroeconomic environment and revised their outlooks downward or said they expected earnings to come in at the lower end of their guidance.

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The newest trend within that digital revolution: Consumers are using their mobile phones to purchase trips. But only people of certain ages and only certain kinds of trips.

A forthcoming study from PYMNTS Intelligence shows how mobile phones have taken the lead as the preferred tool for booking travel, transforming how consumers plan and purchase everything from Lyft rides and short-haul flights to cross-country adventures and overseas vacations.

The shift, detailed in the forthcoming special report, “Consumers Go Mobile-First on Travel Purchases,” reveals a consumer landscape in which convenience and instant access reign supreme.

The report, which will be published Monday (April 7) and is based on a survey of more than 2,200 U.S. adult consumers conducted in early February 2025, paints a clear picture: Mobile devices are now the dominant force in travel booking.

More than 7 in 10 U.S. consumers prefer using such devices when booking local travel. Nearly 6 in 10 say the same for long-distance travel and rental cars.

The mobile-first trend is notably stronger for travel compared to other common purchase categories such as restaurant orders and retail goods. Today, your next getaway likely begins and ends in the palm of your hand.

But the way consumers book isn’t uniform. Rather, it depends on their age and the type of travel they’re pursuing.

Mobile Phones Rule

Mobile devices have the biggest lead in local travel purchases, like taxi rides and public transportation fares. A striking 73% of shoppers who recently paid for these services via apps prefer using their mobile devices, compared to only 37% who favor computers. Interestingly, around 1 in 10 shoppers who recently bought any type of travel prefers using voice-activated devices.

But while mobile holds an edge for longer journeys and rental cars, computers remain surprisingly resilient. Nearly 6 in 10 consumers (59%) prefer mobile for long-distance travel, with 54% opting to book via a computer.

Similarly, for rental cars, 57% favor mobile, while 50% prefer computers. This suggests that for more complex itineraries, a  computer’s larger screen and potentially more detailed interface holds appeal for many travel buyers.

What Gen Z, Boomers Have in Common

Delving into generational differences uncovers some fascinating trends. The majority of consumers across age groups are now mobile-first when it comes to booking travel, ranging from 64% for Gen Zers to 53% for Generation X.

Baby boomers stand out as the only generation where computers are still preferred over mobile devices. Only 28% of that cohort prefer mobile for booking all types of travel, while 45% favor computers.

But there’s a twist. Gen Z, the cohort that grew up with smartphones, shows an affinity for purchasing travel via computers, with 40% preferring this method. This puts them closer to baby boomers in this regard than to millennials.

The report suggests that Gen Z’s preference for computers often revolves around purchases made through browsers rather than via mobile apps, and that the cohort is notably less likely to prefer mobile browsers compared to zillennials and millennials. One possible explanation is that many Gen Z consumers are students and frequently use laptops for coursework, giving them consistent access to both device types.

Across all three transit categories — local transportation, long-distance travel and rental cars — baby boomers were the least likely to have made travel purchases within the last 12 months, followed by Gen Z. This could reflect their respective life stages, with many baby boomers retired and Gen Z consumers often still in school or early in their careers.

Research Is Key

Regardless of how they book, a large majority of digital-first travel consumers prioritize research. More than 7 in 10 digital shoppers typically conduct research as part of their travel buying process, highlighting the smartphone’s role not just in booking a ticket but also in the earlier planning stage. This holds true across generations, with Gen Z leading at 79%. Even 69% of boomers engaging in online research before making a purchase.

Interestingly, only about half of shoppers who buy their travel digitally consider the perks offered by their credit cards or other payment plans when booking online. This indicates an area where merchants and service providers could better incentivize travelers to use their rewards programs. Bridge millennials lead in considering perks, followed by Gen X and millennials. Gen Z shoppers show less interest in this benefit. Baby boomers exhibit the least interest in perks and rewards.

As mobile phones become even more sophisticated, the dominance of smartphones in the travel sector is likely to strengthen. Businesses in the travel industry should recognize and adapt to these mobile-first behaviors to reach and serve travelers.

The post Mobile Phones Overtake Desktops as Consumers’ Preferred Travel Booking Tool appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

The new platform, Wirex Travel, also offers exclusive deals and allows users to pay with bitcoin, USDT or traditional currencies, the company said in a Thursday press release.

These new offerings join the benefits Wirex already provides to travelers, including zero foreign exchange fees, interbank exchange rates and crypto rewards, according to the release.

“With Wirex Travel, we’re helping users unlock incredible hotel deals while earning generous rewards when they pay with their Wirex card,” Wirex Co-founder Pavel Matveev said in the release.

Wirex’s digital payments platform, which enables users to store, purchase and exchange multiple currencies, has more than 6 million customers across 130 countries, per the release.

Blockchain technology offers transformative potential to address the current inefficiencies that plague cross-border payments, including high fees, slow settlement times and poor transparency, by streamlining processes and reducing costs, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence, Solana and Solana Foundation collaboration, “Can Blockchain Solve the Cross-Border Payments Puzzle?”

The report found that permissioned decentralized finance (DeFi) could lower transaction costs by up to 80% compared to traditional methods; automated recordkeeping and smart contracts could enhance transparency and efficiency; and stablecoins, pegged to fiat currency, could mitigate volatility concerns.

Wirex launched its decentralized payment method, Wirex Pay, in August, saying this blockchain-based payment method allows users to make transactions using cryptocurrencies at more than 80 million merchants in more than 200 countries.

In December, the company added two new stablecoins — VNX Euro (VEUR) and VNX Swiss Franc (VCHF) — to its digital payments platform, saying this enables users to spend these currencies directly through their Wirex cards.

“This addition allows our users to effortlessly spend stablecoins in real life, whether for daily purchases, remittances or managing their digital asserts,” Matveev said at the time in a press release. “At Wirex, our goal is to make digital currencies as convenient and versatile as traditional money, and VEUR and VCHF are another step toward achieving that vision.”

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The partnership is designed to offer WEX’s Over The Road Fuel Cards as a payment option for eligible customers, making Engine the first business travel company to accept WEX’s Fleet One and EFS fuel cards, per a Wednesday (March 26) news release.

“Truck drivers today face major challenges traveling on the road, from finding safe parking to managing fuel costs,” Engine founder and CEO Elia Wallen said in the release.

“By accepting WEX Fleet One and EFS fuel cards, we’re making business travel easier for trucking fleets — offering greater payment flexibility, streamlined expense tracking, and time-saving solutions that keep drivers moving.”

With the integration, the release added, WEX over the road (OTR) customers can let their drivers use Engine’s platform to book “truck-friendly lodging” with their WEX Fleet One and EFS fuel cards. WEX customers can even filter their search for facilities that offer things like parking for tractor trailers or free continental breakfast.

“Managing business travel expenses and logistics costs companies time and money, which makes this seamless integration of WEX’s EFS and Fleet One fuel cards with Engine’s expansive network a logical collaboration,” WEX Senior Vice President and Over-the-Road General Manager Tim Hampton said in the release.

“This move provides trucking companies and their drivers with a streamlined solution, combining hotel bookings on the Engine platform with the ease of using their existing WEX over-the-road fuel cards.”

In other travel-related news, PYMNTS recently examined the role treasury teams play in the sector. In many cases, these professionals find themselves sidelined from strategic decisions.

“This oversight is not just a missed opportunity; it’s a costly mistake,” PYMNTS wrote. “The transportation and logistics industry faces unprecedented financial pressures.”

Increasing costs and regulatory scrutiny, coupled with changing consumer demands, are forcing companies to reconsider their financial strategies. Treasurers can play a key role in navigating these challenges if presented with the opportunity.

“In 2025, the treasury department isn’t just some back-office bean-counting operation. It can be a secret weapon worth deploying,” the report added.

This argument is backed by PYMNTS Intelligence research showing a disconnect between treasurers and other department heads in the transportation industry.

Although 60% of treasurers see themselves as strategic players, just 33% of department heads recognize their influence, meaning that companies are failing to fully utilize the financial expertise necessary to drive stronger cash flow predictability, bring down debt and improve operational efficiency.

The post WEX and Engine Team to Help Truckers Cover Travel appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

The new collaboration will see Southwest use CellPoint’s new cloud-native orchestration platform to provide a personalized travel experience via an “advanced Offer & Order payment solution,” the company said in a Tuesday (March 18) news release.

The platform, the release added, allows for the combination of multiple payment methods, including credit cards, alternative payment methods and the airline’s Rapid Rewards points, within a single transaction.

“Our growing relationship with Southwest Airlines reflects both the strength of our existing partnership and our shared vision for the future of airline commerce,” said Kristian Gjerding, CEO at CellPoint Digital.

“With the launch of our new platform, we’re helping one of our most valued airline partners navigate the crucial transition to modern retailing, enabling them to take greater control of their shopping experience whilst delivering the payment flexibility their customers demand.”

CellPoint introduced its new platform last month, saying it was designed to bolster the airline and travel sector shift to “modern retailing practices” and simplify travel payments.

“The need for simplification has grown as the complexities of the travel ecosystem have exploded,” Gjerding told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster following the launch.

The traveler is not worried about the mechanics of the payment process, Gjerding added, but with getting what they want for the right price and without friction.

In a travel-transaction, “you’re touching a booking system or reservation system, and then you’re touching a loyalty platform … and then as you go through and pay, then you’re moving to the back-office part of it, where the reconciliation and transfer of funds takes place,” he said.

Gjerding also discussed efforts to turn travel into a bundled, “Amazon-like” experience, which will make payments orchestrators “tier one, mission-critical platforms … so that you’ll be able to split payments into different components” and use buy now, pay later offerings.

As he told Webster: “It’ll take 10 years, but you’ll see the entire travel industry transformed.”

Meanwhile, Southwest and other airlines are lowering their guidance due to economic uncertainty, as reported here last week.

During a presentation at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference, Southwest projected that its RASM — a revenue production metric based on available seat miles flown — would grow by 2% to 4% rather than the 5% to 7% it forecast in its prior guidance.

CEO Bob Jordan told conference-goers that the airline lowered its guidance mainly because bookings have weakened in the 2025 macroeconomic environment.

The post CellPoint and Southwest Expand Payment Orchestration Partnership appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

The company aims to compete with other vacation rental platforms by offering a user-friendly interface, a streamlined booking process, and lower fees that enable guests to pay less and property owners to keep more of their earnings, according to a Friday press release.

“As a host myself, I saw firsthand the challenges of high service fees cutting into earnings,” SnappStay founder and CEO Patrick Davis said in the release. “We created SnappStay to provide a fair and transparent marketplace where homeowners can maximize their revenue, and travelers can book accommodations without unnecessary costs.”

The SnappStay app is now live on the Google Play store and Apple’s App Store, and the platform has listings in New York, Paris, London, Dubai and Sydney, according to the release.

Short-term rental platform Airbnb said in February that it is investing in refining its mobile app, streamlining the booking process and offering a more tailored experience.

“We want the Airbnb app to be similar to Amazon, in that you only need one place to go,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said Feb. 13 during the company’s quarterly earnings call. “We’re going to start with things adjacent to travel. This goes along with our product optimization. We have 5 billion visitors a year to Airbnb. It’s important they can find the right Airbnb for them.”

Hostaway said in December that it secured a $365 million strategic growth investment to expand its vacation rental software and management system designed for short-term rental property owners and managers.

Hostaway said at the time that its platform supports customers with properties in more than 90 countries; provides a property management system and two-way API connection to major online travel agencies; and offers an integrated marketplace that provides access to vacation rental software and tools from more than 200 partners.

In April, Guesty raised $130 million in a Series F funding round to expand the capabilities and global footprint of its property management software platform for the short-term rental and hospitality industry.

Guesty said at the time that it operates in 80 countries and serves a variety of short-term rental hosts, including enterprises, small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and individuals.

The post SnappStay Launches Short-Term Rental Platform appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Guests arrive at a front desk, provide identification, hand over a credit card for pre-authorization, and receive a room key, often on a printed piece of plastic.

However, as customer behavior shifts toward frictionless experiences, the hospitality industry can no longer afford to stand still.

“Most people now are pretty used to running everything through their phone,” Mews founder Richard Valtr told Karen Webster. “If you think about just boarding a plane, how easy it is… most of the time you don’t need to go to a desk. Hotels are still stuck in the same paradigm that was there maybe 30 years ago.”

Hospitality’s reluctance to embrace digital transformation is not for lack of incentive. The industry has long recognized the need for modernization, but fragmented legacy systems, complex operational workflows and cultural concerns have stymied progress.

Still, Valtr said he envisions a new era of hospitality and is working to build it. Mews announced March 4 that it raised $75 million to expand its hospitality management platform and scale its transformation of outdated industry processes.

“You want your arrival at a hotel to feel like a welcome, rather than a [know your customer (KYC)] process,” Valtr said.

The Hospitality Sector’s Guest-Centric Digital Revolution

One of the fundamental shifts Valtr said Mews is bringing to hospitality is moving away from room-centric operations toward guest-centric services.

“In every other hotel system, all charges go toward a room,” he said. “That’s why you’re constantly being asked for your room number. But [guests] are not a room number. [Guests] are actual people with needs.”

By using artificial intelligence, Mews enables hotels to recognize and cater to returning guests in ways that were previously impossible at scale, including by providing guests with the ability to check in digitally and unlock their rooms with a mobile key. Imagine checking into a hotel where you’ve stayed before and being welcomed back by name. The system already knows that you prefer a room with a view, enjoy sushi and typically order room service at 7 a.m.

“The best hotels operate so that you don’t even notice all the little things being done for you, whether it’s trying to find ways to surprise and delight a guest, or having something prepared that they weren’t expecting,” Valtr said.

This level of hyper-personalization, once the domain of only the most exclusive luxury hotels, is now within reach for independent properties and smaller chains.

Rethinking the Hotel Experience From Check-in to Welcome

A common concern about AI’s role in hospitality is that it will replace human staff, removing the personal touch that defines great hotels. Valtr said it is the opposite, as AI-driven systems free staff from administrative burdens like manually photocopying IDs, stapling receipts or rekeying reservations.

Instead, employees can focus on providing exceptional, human-centered service.

Still, some hoteliers remain hesitant.

“They’re curious but not convinced,” Valtr said. “The biggest concern I hear is, ‘Will this eliminate human interaction?’”

His response is simple: “There’s no rulebook that says you need a front desk to create a hospitality experience. There’s no rule that says you need a concierge. AI doesn’t replace hospitality, it enhances it.”

“If you think about a receptionist, they’re often just data entry fingers,” Valtr added. “Rather than using them for that, why not empower them to truly sell experiences and create memorable stays?”

Beyond improving the guest experience, AI-powered personalization can also present a revenue opportunity for hotels. By proactively anticipating guests’ needs and preferences, hotels can drive higher ancillary revenue, from dining and spa services to exclusive experiences.

“If we know that you like sushi, why not reserve you a table at the hotel’s Japanese restaurant?” Valtr said. “If you always order breakfast at a specific time, why not offer lunch reservations as well?”

“It’s not just about yield management — filling up rooms every night,” he added. “It’s about total revenue management.”

Another key trend is the shift toward remote and flexible work, which has changed travel patterns. The shift presents a new opportunity for hotels to reimagine their role not just as places to sleep, but as potentially dynamic hubs for work, leisure and community engagement.

“People have learned that they don’t need to be in the office every day,” Valtr said. “They can take five-day trips while still working remotely.”

“We all want consistency and predictability,” he added. “Technology provides the baseline to deliver that, ensuring that no matter where you stay, you feel welcomed, recognized and valued.”

For all PYMNTS digital transformation coverage, subscribe to the daily Digital Transformation Newsletter.

The post Mews Founder Says It’s Time to Stop Treating Hotel Guests Like a Room Number  appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

In presentations made Tuesday (March 11) at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines revised their outlooks downward or said they expect earnings to come in at the lower end of their guidance.

American Airlines updated its first-quarter guidance to call for its first-quarter revenue to be flat compared to a year earlier, rather than seeing a gain of 3% to 5% as it had previously forecast, according to a presentation issued Tuesday.

The company attributed the change to wildfires, Sunbelt weather, the Flight 5342 crash, softness in the domestic leisure segment and “increasing macroeconomic uncertainty.”

Southwest Airlines said in a Tuesday presentation that it expects its RASM — a measure of operating revenue production based on available seat miles flown — to see a year-over-year increase of 2% to 4% rather than the 5% to 7% it forecast in its prior guidance.

Speaking at the conference, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said the airline lowered its guidance primarily because bookings have weakened in the current macroeconomic environment, the Financial Times (FT) reported Tuesday.

United Airlines said it now expects its first-quarter earnings to come in at the lower end of its forecast, Reuters reported Tuesday.

The airline said it had seen that government-related travel bookings were down 50% and that the domestic leisure market was also being impacted by government spending cuts, according to the report.

Delta Air Lines said in a Monday (March 10) press release issued ahead of the conference that it now expects its total revenue to grow 3% to 4% year over year during the March quarter, down from its earlier guidance of 7% to 9%, and its operating margin to be 4% to 5%, down from its previous guidance of 6% to 8%.

“The outlook has been impacted by the recent reduction in consumer and corporate confidence caused by increased macro uncertainty, driving softness in Domestic demand,” Delta said in the release. “Premium, international and loyalty revenue growth trends are consistent with expectations and reflect the resilience of Delta’s diversified revenue base.”

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