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by Donald Wood Last updated: 8:00 AM ET, Mon November 10, 2025 While many stars shone bright at the 2025 Travvy Awards, one of the night’s biggest highlights was the car rental industry’s success.During the 11th annual Travvy Awards, which took place on November 6 at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center, the Northstar Travel Group’s TravelPulse.com and AGENTatHOME presented a series of awards to the top car rental companies. In the domestic car rental category, Enterprise Rent-A-Car took home the gold statuette, Hertz the silver, and Avis Budget Group rounded out the top three with a bronze…
Autonomous vehicles are having a moment, and it’s making it a lot easier for smaller companies to raise money. Vay, a German startup offering remote-controlled rental cars, will get $60 million in cash from Singaporean tech heavyweight Grab, the company announced on Monday. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close by the end of the year, may be followed by “an additional $350M as joint milestones are achieved within the first year,” Vay CEO Thomas von der Ohe wrote on LinkedIn. The Berlin-based startup uses its technology and human operators to remotely drive rental cars…
by Lacey Pfalz Last updated: 8:45 AM ET, Mon November 10, 2025 Marriott International, Inc. is terminating its licensing agreement with Sonder Holdings Inc. after just over a year, citing the hospitality company’s default. The end of the contract means that Marriott’s system will no longer feature Sonder’s properties or rooms for booking. It also means that Marriott’s net rooms growth for the year is expected to decrease 0.5 percent from its third-quarter prediction, at 4.5 percent total growth from 2024. This is the only metric Marriott mentioned would shift due to the break in contract. Marriott and Sonder penned the long-term…
Nearly seven years after announcing its first fund, Sapphire Sport — the venture fund focused on sports, media, and entertainment — is spinning out from Sapphire Ventures. The fund will rebrand as an independent venture firm, 359 Capital. The firm’s new name is a tribute to the sub-four-minute mile, a feat once deemed humanly impossible but ultimately achieved through rigorous dedication and perseverance. 359 Capital co-founder and managing partner Michael Spirito said that the name reflects the firm’s core principle of helping its portfolio founders achieve the impossible. The separation from Sapphire Ventures, an investment firm with about $11 billion…
Emirates and Delta Air Lines have been named two of the best air carriers in the world, according to a new ranking of outstanding companies in the travel industry. Both airlines were recently awarded the gold prize for best international and domestic carrier, respectively, in the Travvy Awards. The annual awards ceremony recognizes top travel providers across all aspects of the industry, with more than 100 award categories honoring everyone from cruise lines and tour operators to car rental companies and tourism boards. The Travvy Awards are especially prestigious because they are selected by true industry insiders: travel advisors themselves.“The real…
Amazon Music announced on Monday the launch of “Fan Groups,” a new beta feature that lets users create and join groups based on their favorite genres and artists. The feature allows fans to chat, post, and listen to songs shared within these groups. The feature is currently being tested in Canada on iOS and Android devices. Users can access Fan Groups through the “Find” tab located beneath the search bar at the top of the app. From there, they can explore over 30 different groups dedicated to various musical interests, ranging from indie rock and country to Punjabi and K-pop,…
Starbucks workers and supporters practice picket outside a Starbucks location in New York, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesMore than 100 lawmakers urged Starbucks to resume bargaining talks with Workers United, the union representing the coffee giant’s baristas, in letters sent to CEO Brian Niccol on Monday.The two letters, from the Congressional Labor Caucus and a group of senators led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., come as the union threatens a strike in 25 cities starting Thursday. That coincides with Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, one of its biggest sales days of the holiday…
Tuesday, November 11, is Veterans Day and the travel industry is showing its appreciation to all who served.This week, and all month long in many cases, brands are honoring U.S. military personnel with spectacular deals and perks, from discounted hotel stays to free entry to premier attractions. Here are some of the top travel deals to take advantage of this Veterans Day.Hotels and ResortsEligible military members can score awesome deals at hotels across the country this Veterans Day. For example, the Boardwalk Inn & Suites in Daytona Beach, Florida, is honoring veterans by offering 35 percent off stays during the month…
Five years ago, when Miles “Deuce” McBride moved to New York as a 20-year-old rookie playing for the Knicks, he found the transition to a big city overwhelming and struggled to find the right crowd. “When I got up here, everybody on my team was married with kids or just kind of loners,” he told TechCrunch, reflecting on his initial feelings of loneliness being the youngest player on the team. “I wish there was a way to meet people organically who have the same interests. I feel like with social media, everybody is so superficial.” Recognizing a common pain point…
President Donald Trump’s administration returned to the Supreme Court on Monday in a push to keep full payments in the SNAP federal food aid program frozen while the government is shut down, even as some families struggled to put food on the table. The request is the latest in a flurry of legal activity over how the program that helps 42 million Americans buy groceries should proceed during the historic U.S. government shutdown. Lower courts have ruled that the government must keep full payments flowing, and the Supreme Court asked the administration to respond after an appeals court ruled against…