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KAYAK to Group Chats Everywhere: Book the Trip

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New summer campaign turns “we should go” into “we’re booked” with billboard-sized reminders and AI tools that help group trips finally take off, so travelers can see more and spend less together

NORWALK, Conn., July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — This summer, KAYAK is on a mission to get group trips out of the chat and into the calendar. New KAYAK research reveals that 84% of travelers have had a group trip get stuck in the chat, with plans spending an average of one to three months in group chat limbo. The culprit? 90% of travelers say it comes down to one friend who just won’t commit.

To help those group trips finally take off, KAYAK is launching a series of BookBoards, billboard-sized reminders across New York, Chicago and Los Angeles that give that one friend a nudge they can’t ignore. The fleet of digital billboards will feature personalized callouts for nominated friends, popping up in Times Square, near their offices and neighborhoods that gently encourage them to commit while inspiring all travelers to make their group trips happen. Nominations are now open at kayak.com/bookboards.

Friends Who Travel Together, Save Together

The campaign comes as travelers look for smarter ways to stretch their vacation budgets. With domestic airfare up 23% year over year and hotel rates up 3%, group travel offers one of the easiest ways to make a trip more affordable. Splitting accommodations and experiences amongst a group means seeing more and likely spending significantly less. From upgrading to a larger hotel room to booking a standout vacation rental together, KAYAK helps groups compare those options side by side, making it easier to find the right trip at the right price.

“Group trips don’t fail because people don’t want to go, they fail because planning gets complicated,” said Carolina Montenegro, SVP of Global Brand Marketing at KAYAK. “BookBoards are a playful way to remind us that we’ve all been that friend at one point. Sometimes, all we need is a little push to get the trip over the finish line.”

Group Travel Takes Center Stage

At the center of the summer travel campaign is a 90-second hero film starring actress, comedian and content creator Grace Reiter and her real-life friend and American High co-star Julia Dicesare, who sends an increasingly unhinged series of BookBoards to Grace to get her to finally book their group trip.

To nominate your group chat for a BookBoard, visit kayak.com/bookboards from July 21 through August 4. Throughout August, KAYAK will select submissions to appear on digital billboards across New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Because this year, the group trip isn’t staying in the chat. It’s finally getting booked.

KAYAK Names Top Destinations for 2026 Group Trips

To jumpstart group travel planning, these are the KAYAK’s top destinations (based on popularity and affordability) for groups based on 5+ travelers.

Destination

Flight Price

(per person)

Hotel Price

(per night)

Las Vegas, Nevada

$340

$188

Nashville, Tennessee

$334

$254

Miami, Florida

$352

$261

Chicago, Illinois

$306

$321

San Diego, California

$333

$305

San Juan, Puerto Rico

$400

$308

New York, New York

$332

$394

Seattle, Washington

$407

$324

Vancouver, Canada

$479

$460

Nassau, Bahamas

$492

$479

For more inspiration, KAYAK is also introducing a new “Group Trip” feature built within KAYAK Explore. Travelers can easily filter for the most popular and affordable group getaway destinations with average round-trip airfare and nightly hotel rates each under $500.

AI-Powered Planning for Group Trips

While BookBoards inspire groups to finally commit to a trip, KAYAK’s AI-powered planning tools can help turn trip ideas into bookable travel plans. With Ask AI on KAYAK, travelers can chat naturally about their group’s preferences, priorities and dealbreakers while real-time travel options appear alongside the conversation, making it easy to search and compare as plans take shape.

Below are a few of KAYAK’s best group travel prompts to try with Ask AI:

Help us plan a trip that fits different budgets and vibesWhich group trip destination gives us the most value for a long weekend in September?What is the best hotel in Miami for a big group?Compare destinations in the US for a group with different interests – some want to try good food, others want to relax by the waterFind us a hotel in a city known for live music that sleeps six without blowing the budget

About KAYAK
KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), is a leading travel search engine. With billions of queries across our platforms, we help people find their perfect flight, stay, rental car and vacation package. Trusted by millions of travelers, the KAYAK app makes travel planning seamless on iOS and Android and we also support business travelers with our corporate travel solution.

Methodology 
Group chat survey: Based on a poll of 2,000 U.S. adults (ages 18-45) who have booked travel online in the past year.

Summer Travel prices: Based on flight and hotel searches between Mar. 1, 2026 and Jun. 29, 2026 for travel between May 21, 2026 and Sept. 8, 2026. They were compared to searches between Mar. 1, 2025 and Jun. 29, 2025 for travel between May 22, 2025 and Sept. 9, 2025. Changes in searches are approximate.

Group Travel destinations: Based on flight and hotel searches between Jan. 1, 2026 and Jun. 11, 2026 for travel between May 1, 2026 and Dec. 31, 2026 for 5+ travelers. Flight prices are based on round-trip, economy tickets; hotel rates are based on standard, double occupancy rooms. Prices are on average and are subject to change.

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SOURCE KAYAK

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FULTON FINANCIAL CORPORATION APPOINTS DAVID S. SCHULZ TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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LANCASTER, Pa., July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: FULT) (“Fulton”) today announced the appointment of David S. Schulz as a member of its board of directors (the “Board”) for a term commencing September 14, 2026 and expiring at Fulton’s 2027 annual meeting of shareholders.

“We’re excited to welcome Dave to Fulton’s board of directors,” said Curt Myers, Fulton Chairman, CEO, and President. “Dave brings extensive financial leadership experience gained through more than a decade of service with publicly traded companies. His expertise in finance, strategic planning, risk, and mergers and acquisitions will provide valuable perspective as we continue to execute our growth strategy and create long-term value for our shareholders, customers and communities.”

With the addition of Schulz, Fulton’s Board will have 11 members, and he will serve on the Audit and Risk committees. Schulz has also been appointed to the board of directors of Fulton’s banking subsidiary, Fulton Bank, N.A.

Schulz served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Wesco International, Inc. (“Wesco”) from 2016 to June 2020, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Wesco from June 2020 to February 2026 and as Executive Vice President and Special Advisor to the CEO of Wesco from February 2026 until his retirement on May 31, 2026. 

Prior to joining Wesco, Schulz served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Armstrong Flooring, Inc. and was previously Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Armstrong World Industries, Inc. and Vice President of Finance of the Armstrong Building Products division.

Before joining Armstrong World Industries in 2011, he held various financial leadership roles with Procter & Gamble and The J.M. Smucker Company. He was also an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

In 2025, Schulz joined the board of Sterling Infrastructure, Inc., and he was appointed as chair of the audit committee in 2026. He also serves on the company’s compensation and talent development committee.

ABOUT FULTON FINANCIAL CORPORATION

Fulton, a $34 billion Lancaster, Pa.-based financial holding company, has more than 3,400 employees and operates more than 215 financial centers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia through Fulton Bank, N.A. Additional information on Fulton can be found at https://investor.fultonbank.com.

Contact: Steve Trapnell
717-291-2739

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SOURCE Fulton Financial Corporation

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Octavio Marquez Elected to MSA Safety Board of Directors

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PITTSBURGH, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Board of Directors of MSA Safety Inc. (NYSE: MSA), a global leader in the development of advanced industrial safety technology products and solutions, today announced that Octavio Marquez, president and chief executive officer of Diebold Nixdorf, has been elected to the company’s Board of Directors. His election was part of the MSA Board’s regular succession plans.

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to add Octavio to the MSA Board,” said Robert A. Bruggeworth, MSA chairman. “He brings a broad range of executive leadership experience, including strategy development, capital allocation, business transformation and serving international markets, which will serve MSA well.”

“Octavio’s perspectives will be an asset to me and our entire Executive Leadership Team,” said Steven C. Blanco, MSA president and CEO. “It is a pleasure to welcome Octavio to MSA, and I look forward to working with him.”

Mr. Marquez joined Diebold Nixdorf in 2014 and has held senior leadership roles across the company’s Global Banking organization and its Americas region, including as executive vice president of Global Banking and senior vice president of the Americas. Before joining Diebold Nixdorf, Mr. Marquez held leadership positions at Dell EMC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM and NCR.

Diebold Nixdorf automates, digitizes and transforms the way people bank and shop. As a partner to the majority of the world’s top 100 financial institutions and top 25 global retailers, its integrated solutions connect digital and physical channels conveniently, securely and efficiently for millions of customers every day. Headquartered in North Canton, Ohio, Diebold Nixdorf employs approximately 20,000 employees globally, supporting more than 100 countries.

Mr. Marquez holds a degree in business and finance from Universidad Iberoamericana and has completed executive education programs at MIT Sloan, The Wharton School and The University of Texas at Austin.

About MSA Safety

MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE: MSA) is the global leader in advanced industrial safety technology products and solutions. Driven by its singular mission of safety, the company has been at the forefront of safety innovation since 1914, protecting workers and facility infrastructure around the world across a broad range of diverse end markets while creating sustainable value for shareholders. With 2025 revenues of $1.9 billion, MSA Safety is headquartered in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, and employs a team of approximately 5,300 associates across its more than 40 international locations. For more information, please visit www.MSASafety.com.

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SOURCE MSA Safety

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BlueFolder Field Service Software Launches New AI-Powered Features to Transform How Teams Work

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New AI capabilities instantly surface customer insights and transform technician notes into actionable summaries to help field service teams work faster, stay aligned, and deliver better service

AUBURN, Ala., July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — BlueFolder field service software recently announced the launch of two powerful new AI features: AI-Powered Customer Summaries and AI-Powered Field Notes Summarization. Together, these capabilities are designed to eliminate the time-consuming, manual work of reviewing fragmented customer records and lengthy technician notes—giving field service teams instant clarity to respond faster, make smarter decisions, and deliver exceptional service.

BlueFolder expands it’s field service and work order management suite with two exciting new AI field service features.

Built directly into the BlueFolder platform, both features leverage artificial intelligence to automatically compile and summarize complex, unstructured data into clear, easy-to-read overviews. The result: technicians, dispatchers, and managers always have the context they need, right when they need it.

AI-Powered Customer Summaries

As field service organizations grow, customer information becomes increasingly scattered across emails, service request logs, and communication histories. BlueFolder’s AI Customer Summary feature addresses this challenge head-on by consolidating those interactions into a single, actionable snapshot.

Instead of manually digging through multiple records before a service call or customer interaction, teams can now access a real-time summary highlighting key concerns, past service activity, and recent updates. The feature goes beyond basic summarization and surfaces critical business insights such as equipment past due for maintenance, approaching warranty expirations, and proactive revenue opportunities, empowering teams to recommend follow-ups or upgrades directly from the customer record.

Built-in traceability links each summary back to its original source communications, so users can validate insights with confidence, ensuring both speed and accuracy in every customer interaction.

AI-Powered Field Notes Summarization

In many service organizations, technicians log updates across multiple visits, often resulting in long, fragmented notes that are difficult to review at a glance. BlueFolder’s AI Field Notes Summarization feature solves this by automatically condensing multiple technician entries into a structured summary that highlights key milestones, actions taken, and next steps.

Rather than scrolling through pages of updates, managers and dispatchers can immediately understand job status and determine what needs to happen next, improving alignment between field and office teams, accelerating decision-making, and reducing miscommunication. The feature is especially valuable for complex or multi-day jobs, where clear continuity and smooth technician handoffs are critical to delivering consistent service. It’s another featuring making BlueFolder’s work order management software capabilities stronger every day.

“History is one of the most powerful tools a service team has — the problem is it’s usually buried. BlueFolder’s new AI features fix that. Your team walks into every interaction already knowing the customer, knowing the equipment, and exactly where things stand. That changes the entire experience,” says John Shaw, VP, Technology, Service Operations.

AI as a Core Part of the BlueFolder Platform

The launch of these two features reflects BlueFolder’s broader commitment to embedding AI throughout its field service management software as an integrated layer of intelligence that makes every workflow smarter. Rather than requiring teams to change how they work, BlueFolder’s AI capabilities are designed to surface the right information at the right moment automatically, within the tools that technicians, dispatchers, and managers already use every day.

“AI is transforming what’s possible in field service, and BlueFolder is answering that call. These features are the result of deep platform expertise and a clear vision for where the industry is headed. We’re embedding intelligence throughout the platform because we know it makes our customers more competitive, more efficient, and better positioned to grow,” says Stephen Myslicki, Group President of Field Services.

Availability

Both AI-Powered Customer Summaries and AI-Powered Field Notes Summarization are available now to BlueFolder customers as optional, easy-to-enable features within the platform. They are part of BlueFolder’s growing suite of AI-driven capabilities designed to help field service organizations operate more efficiently and scale with confidence.

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SOURCE BlueFolder

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