RateGain Highlights Findings from Sojern’s 2026 State of Destination Marketing Report: Measuring Economic Impact Ranks as DMOs’ Top Priority Amid AI Disruption
2026-02-18 03:25
India, 18th February 2026: RateGain Travel Technologies Limited (NSE: RATEGAIN), a global leader in AI-powered SaaS solutions for the travel and hospitality industry, today announced that Sojern, its recently acquired digital marketing platform built for hospitality, has launched the “State of Destination Marketing 2026” Report. The report examines how destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are navigating economic pressure, rising performance expectations, and accelerating AI-driven change across the travel industry. Based on insights from more than 350 DMOs worldwide, the report finds that the ability to measure economic impact ranks as the top strategic priority in this year’s survey, ahead of metrics such as visitation and engagement, as destination marketers face growing scrutiny to demonstrate tangible return on investment. The findings point to a broader shift toward performance-led marketing, with accountability and measurable outcomes increasingly central to destination strategy. “Destination marketers are under more pressure than ever to show measurable impact,” said Mark Rabe, CEO of Sojern. “This year’s report shows how DMOs are rising to that challenge—rethinking success metrics, investing more intentionally, and adapting their strategies to stay visible as AI reshapes discovery. At Sojern, we’re proud to support destinations globally as they navigate this moment of change with confidence and clarity.” From Visibility to Value: Performance Takes Center Stage The ability to measure economic impact ranks above traditional measures such as visitation and engagement in DMOs strategic priorities. As budgets tighten, the question facing marketers has become more direct: Is this driving the business forward? Globally, conversion and ROI metrics (72%), economic impact data (72%) and customer engagement data (41%) are now the most important proof points for stakeholders. In North America, 79% of DMOs prioritize hotel room nights and direct revenue over brand awareness. In Europe, where longer-term brand building still matters for 51% of DMOs, performance nevertheless comes first amid growing financial uncertainty, with 31% of DMOs saying their funding is at risk. In the Middle East, Asia, and Africa (AMEA), 88% of DMOs say conversion is the most important metric. The Funnel Isn’t Linear, and Strategy Isn’t Either DMOs are evenly split between stage-specific (47%) and full-funnel (47%) campaign strategies, but priorities vary by region. In North America, performance dominates: 51% of DMOs focus primarily on mid-and lower-funnel activity, with 31% now citing conversions as their main goal, up from 15% last year. Globally, focus on awareness has dropped sharply, from 59% in 2025 to 25% in 2026, raising questions about the long-term impact of underinvesting in brand visibility. AI Is Changing Discovery—And DMOS Are Responding AI is no longer a future concern. More than half of DMOs (51%) say they are concerned or actively preparing for AI-driven search disruption, and 31% expect their website to become a “source of truth” for AI-generated answers. Adoption is accelerating. Two-thirds of DMOs (66%) now use AI to support content creation, while use of AI for data analysis and insights jumped from 28% to 51% in just one year. Still, maturity remains uneven: 16% say they are not using AI at all. Personalization, Data, and the Resource Gap Despite growing intent, personalization progress has stalled. Only 9% of DMOs describe their advertising as “advanced,” while the share reporting only basic personalization rose from 14% to 22% year over year. Data is widely trusted but underutilized. DMOs say it delivers the most value during planning (45%), and post-campaign reporting (44%), yet just 7% say it plays the most valuable role during live campaign execution. Demographic data (74%) remains the dominant targeting input globally, while Europe leans more heavily into audience and foot traffic data. AMEA leads in more advanced tactics, with 78% using behavioral and destination insights and 56% using psychographic data to personalize at scale. Channels Reset, Not Replaced Paid social remains the most widely used digital channel, with 88% of DMOs investing globally. Instagram and Facebook continue to anchor social strategies (97% and 90% adoption, respectively), while YouTube usage has grown to 55%, reflecting its role across inspiration and consideration. Channel strategies are becoming more selective. Display advertising usage fell from 75% in 2025 to 45% in 2026, while TikTok adoption declined from 49% to 28%, signaling a sharper focus on channels that more clearly support performance. While fewer teams now prioritize Connected TV (CTV) as a primary channel, 58% of DMOs still say CTV is somewhat to critically important within their overall media mix. Why Co-Op Still Matters Co-op marketing remains a critical lever. Eighty percent of DMOs run co-op campaigns, primarily to reach wider audiences (70%), increase total investment (64%), and share costs (63%). However, complexity remains a barrier, with 27% of DMOs citing partner management as too difficult for lean teams. This year’s report was produced in partnership with Dynata and supported by Brand USA, the U.S. Travel Association, Destinations International, Destination Canada, the European Travel Commission, City DNA, the Caribbean Tourism Organization and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). To view the full findings and survey methodology, download the “State of Destination Marketing 2026” report here. About RateGain RateGain Travel Technologies Limited is a global provider of AI-powered SaaS solutions for travel and hospitality that works with 13,000+ customers and 700+ partners in 160+ countries helping them accelerate revenue generation through acquisition, retention, and wallet share expansion. RateGain today is one of the world’s largest processors of electronic transactions, price points, and travel intent data helping revenue management, distribution and marketing teams across hotels, airlines, meta-search companies, package providers, car rentals, travel management companies, cruises and ferries drive better outcomes for their business. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in India, today RateGain works with 33 of the Top 40 Hotel Chains, 4 of the Top 5 Airlines, 7 of the Top 10 Car Rentals, and all leading OTAs and metasearch websites, including 25 Global Fortune 500 companies, in unlocking new revenue every day. About Sojern Sojern is the leading AI-powered marketing platform built for hospitality, designed to boost growth and profitability for the travel industry. The Sojern marketing platform is a set of easy-to-use
The post RateGain Highlights Findings from Sojern’s 2026 State of Destination Marketing Report: Measuring Economic Impact Ranks as DMOs’ Top Priority Amid AI Disruption appeared first on RateGain.
RateGain reports 94% YoY revenue growth in Q3 FY26; 42% increase in EBITDA; expands AI capabilities with Sojern integration on track
2026-02-13 08:27
New Delhi, 13th February 2026: RateGain Travel Technologies Limited (NSE: RATEGAIN), a global provider of AI-powered technology solutions for the hospitality and travel industry, today announced its financial results for Q3FY2026 ended December 31, 2025, reporting revenue growth driven by strong performance across its DaaS and MarTech businesses. This quarter also marks the first full consolidation of Sojern’s financial performance following the completion of the acquisition in November 2025. RateGain’s unified AI-powered travel technology platform continued to gain strong validation during the quarter across multiple strategic regions. By bringing together marketing, distribution, and data capabilities within a single, connected environment, the company is enabling travel and hospitality enterprises to operate with greater precision, agility, and measurable growth impact. With Sojern now part of this ecosystem, RateGain has significantly expanded its global marketing scale, deepening its media activation and traveler intelligence capabilities to shape demand creation worldwide. During the quarter, RateGain expanded Sojern’s engagement with major clients including the rollout of an enhanced AI Concierge solution with Red Roof. This reinforces RateGain’s commitment to delivering AI-driven customer engagement tools that drive direct revenue and enhances guest experiences across hospitality segments. RateGain reported highest ever operating revenue of INR 5,400.3 Mn in Q3FY2026, growing 93.8% year-on-year, and delivered an operating margin of 16.1%. PAT stood at INR 264.5 Mn, impacted by the increase in amortization cost related to the recent acquisition of Sojern and one-time exceptional expense incurred related to the acquisition costs. Adjusted for one-time exceptional expense the PAT stands at INR 610.7 Mn, an increase of 8.0% over the same period last year. Our Cash Flow from Operations stood at INR 1,517.4 Mn on a YTD basis, reflecting the strength of the business model as the company generates healthy cash flows every quarter. Basis the strong organic cash flow generation, RateGain has repaid nearly 20.2% of its acquisition-related debt, amounting to USD 25.25 Mn. Out of this USD 19.0 Mn was prepaid along with the quarterly installment of USD 6.25. For Q3 FY26, compared to the same quarter last year, the company reported: Operating Revenue of INR 5,400.3 Mn v/s INR 2,787.1 Mn (+ 93.8% YoY) Total Revenue at INR 5,565.9 Mn v/s INR 2,990.4 Mn (+ 86.1% YoY) EBITDA at INR 871.2 Mn v/s INR 614.7 Mn (+ 41.7% YoY) PAT at INR 264.5 Mn v/s INR 565.4 Mn (- 53.2% YoY) EBITDA margin at 16.1% v/s 22.1% PAT margin at 4.9% v/s 20.3% For 9M FY26, compared to the same quarter last year, the company reported: Operating Revenue of INR 11,080.0 Mn v/s INR 8,159.8 Mn (+ 35.8% YoY) Total Revenue of INR 11,667.7 Mn v/s INR 8,719.0 Mn (+ 33.8% YoY) EBITDA at INR 1,904.2 Mn v/s INR 1,714.7 Mn (+ 11.1% YoY) PAT at INR 1,244.0 Mn v/s INR 1,541.2 Mn (- 19.3% YoY) EBITDA margin at 17.2% v/s 21.0% PAT margin at 11.2% v/s 18.9% Bhanu Chopra, Founder and Managing Director, RateGain, said, “Building on the quarter’s financial performance, it’s worth noting that the completion of the Sojern acquisition in November 2025 marked one of the largest strategic moves in RateGain’s history, bringing together complementary AI-powered marketing, distribution, and revenue technologies and creating a combined platform serving over 13,000 travel brands globally. This positions RateGain as a category-leading AI-driven travel tech provider with unparalleled customer reach and product breadth.” Rohan Mittal, Chief Financial Officer, RateGain, said, “We delivered healthy revenue momentum and strong free cash flow generation during the quarter, underpinned by disciplined operating execution. The integration of Sojern is progressing well across cost synergies and organizational alignment, with early benefits beginning to reflect in operating leverage. We are also advancing toward a more unified go-to-market structure to drive scalable growth. Supported by a strong balance sheet, we remain well positioned to invest in growth while maintaining a focus on sustainable profitability.” As RateGain continues to scale its operations, strengthening organizational depth remains a key priority. The company is now a 1,250+ strong global team and, to support integration and growth, made key leadership appointments across its People & Culture function. Alongside this, RateGain continues to embed AI into internal workflows and decision-making processes to build a future-ready, high-performance organization. The company was also certified as a Great Place to Work® for the seventh consecutive year and recognized among India’s Best Workplaces. Further strengthening brand recognition, RateGain was named Emerging Company of the Year at the ET Corporate Excellence Awards. About RateGain RateGain Travel Technologies Limited is a global provider of AI-powered SaaS solutions for travel and hospitality that works with 13,000+ customers and 700+ partners in 160+ countries helping them accelerate revenue generation through acquisition, retention, and wallet share expansion. RateGain today is one of the world’s largest processors of electronic transactions, price points, and travel intent data helping revenue management, distribution and marketing teams across hotels, airlines, meta-search companies, package providers, car rentals, travel management companies, cruises and ferries drive better outcomes for their business. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in India, today RateGain works with 33 of the Top 40 Hotel Chains, 4 of the Top 5 Airlines, 7 of the Top 10 Car Rentals, and all leading OTAs and metasearch websites, including 25 Global Fortune 500 companies, in unlocking new revenue every day. PRESS CONTACTS: Aastha Khurana (RateGain: media@rategain.com    
The post RateGain reports 94% YoY revenue growth in Q3 FY26; 42% increase in EBITDA; expands AI capabilities with Sojern integration on track appeared first on RateGain.