Data analysis shows that global interest in the UK as a destination “remained strong,” said Expedia, with major cities and regions across the UK experiencing double-digit growth.

Much of this growth was driven by visitors from the Far East with demand from Chinese travelers to the UK rising by almost 160 percent, the OTA revealed.

The travel platform found that this growth was supported by further increases in demand from visitors from Japan (30 per cent), Malaysia (45 per cent), Korea (20 per cent) and Thailand (more than 30 per cent).

TripAdvisor's total revenue rose 8% in the fourth quarter of 2018 to $346 million and grew 4% for the full year to $1.62 billion.

The company said it now has 2.2 million accommodation listings on its site, including 1.3 million hotels, inns, bed and breakfasts and specialty lodging and 875,000 rentals.

CEO Steve Kaufer said the new TripAdvisor publishing platform that launched in November 2018 is reinforcing the brand as "the de facto hub for travel planning."

TripAdvisor: Big Bets on Experience Bookers Rather Than Hotel Shoppers

The process of bringing the suppliers together began last year and involved working with hotel partners who were working with one or more of the three bedbank brands – Tourico Holidays, GTA and Hotelbeds – prior to Tourico Holidays and GTA joining Hotelbeds in 2017.

Under the new contract, hotels are now able to distribute their accommodation under the same terms and conditions while benefiting from standardised and centralised processes for billing and account management.

The advent and rapid expansion of the sharing economy are changing the accommodations industry. The avatar of this change, of course, is the rise of Airbnb, which has grown from a tiny San Francisco seedling called “Airbed and Breakfast” into a global player – but the change is much broader than that.

A number of major short-term rental players now offer over a million listings each, and investments have been pouring in. The hotel industry has begun to innovate and adapt in response.

As travelers are stowing their electronics along for their trips, their charging needs have become more crucial. According to the PR Newswire Association, 81 percent of a study group said their smartphone is their primary travel accessory. Most people juggle several mobile devices, including laptops, tablets and e-readers.

With plenty of electronic devices, hotels must provide enough outlets to cover all the chargers. But appliances already in the room, like lamps and a bedside clock, may take up several outlets. Conveniently placed ones are what pleases guests. Additional tech provided by the hotel is attractive, but most guests are focused on the devices they brought along.

Stay in the loop with the must-know trends of the quarter including the new redesign of the Google Hotel local pack, Pinterest launching traveler personas to help advertisers reach their best audience, and advances in voice search with the Google Assistant.

Get inspiration from some of HEBS Digital's most creative clients who use the hotel website to provide a compelling look at the property while driving direct bookings.

DAT offers travel brands a way to reach different audiences at various stages in their travel journey with customized messages, helping to drive early attention and boost direct bookings. Based on our analysis, DAT is able to deliver a higher ROAS than standard retargeting, making it an invaluable resource for all hotel marketers.

Facebook’s dynamic retargeting ads are different than standard retargeting as they let you target users with ads based on the actions they’ve taken on your site, their stay dates, room types, and other more specific details that they may have provided.