Capital One closed a deal this month to acquire the Hopper tech that powered Capital One Travel, and hired around 150 Hopper employees. I reported exclusively five months ago that this deal was going to happen.
Capital One is now focused on building out that Hopper tech to go along with its acquisition of the Discover Network last year and more recently the Brex payments and business travel company. That's an interesting portfolio to boost competition against American Express and Chase Travel in going after big-spending travelers.
A smaller Hopper still exists. Capital One was its flagship customer, but it did not acquire all of Hopper's tech. Hopper has been focused on B2B in recent years. Meanwhile, the two Hopper co-founders, Frederic Lalonde and Dakota Smith co-founded climate company Deep Sky in 2022 so their focus is divided, at best.
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EDITOR’S PICKS
Capital One Closed Hopper Tech and Employee Deal in April, Focuses on Travel Expansion
April 22, 2026
The Hopper tech acquisition, along with that of Discover and Brex, position Capital One Travel to get much more competitive with American Express and Chase Travel in going after luxury and business travelers.
NYC Finds 27% of Approved Short-Term Rental Listings Are Now Illegal
April 21, 2026
Turns out you can probably find some entire-home short-term rental listings in New York City, after all, because hosts take lawfully registered listings and convert them into illegal ones. Airbnb isn't required to take any action to limit the practice — and apparently isn't doing so.
New Guide: The Identity Gap Holding Back Travel Marketing Performance
April 21, 2026
Despite significant investment in marketing technology, most travel brands still cannot identify the majority of their audience. A new guide from Wunderkind argues that identity resolution is central to performance, helping brands drive more direct bookings and get more from existing channels.
The travel industry is moving from AI experimentation to execution, with real impact across distribution, operations, and customer experience. The Skift Data + AI Summit returns June 3 in New York City, bringing industry leaders together to share the next wave of AI applications and data strategies shaping travel.
SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK
AI is everywhere in travel, but is it actually better?
In this clip from Good Morning Hospitality, a Skift Podcast: Brandreth Canaley and Jamie Lane discuss how most AI tools today feel incremental, not transformational. From chatbots to search, the experience hasn’t improved as much as the hype suggests.
AI may be evolving fast but real innovation in travel is still lagging.
SKIFT TRAVEL 200
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