Travel

Sterling Holiday Resorts, the leisure hotel arm of Thomas Cook India, plans to add at least 14 new resorts in the 2025-26 financial year, Sterling’s CEO Vikram Lalvani said during the company’s earnings call Wednesday. The brand currently operates 61 properties across India, with 20 more in the pipeline. The hotel arm has been able

Abu Dhabi has high hopes for the new Disneyland, but the track record for theme parks in the UAE is mixed. Typically, large-scale, outdoor parks have not done well in the emirates, though Miral, the owner, operator and developer of the Disney project, has bucked the trend with its string of indoor parks. Bollywood Parks

Over 222,000 people attended British rock band Coldplay’s Ahmedabad concerts earlier this year. Fans from over 500 cities across India traveled to attend the shows held across two nights, according to a new report by live entertainment platform BookMyShow Live and EY’s strategic consulting arm EY-Parthenon.  It added that the concert generated an estimated economic

Rank-and-file employees at some of the United States’ biggest hotel brands should expect to earn one dollar for around every $500 in compensation their CEO makes. That’s according to a Skift analysis of new filings by publicly traded travel and tourism companies that detail pay ratios between chief executives and median earners. Hilton Worldwide Holdings

Sabre will be slimmed down and more focused after the sale of its hotel tech unit to TPG for $1.1 billion. About 1,000 employees are moving along with it, Sabre CEO Kurt Ekert told Skift. That business “will largely move intact,” he said. That includes Scott Wilson, president of Sabre Hospitality, and the other executives,

The former chief executive of Qatar Airways has issued a stark warning to the global airline industry. Akbar Al Baker predicts that renewed geopolitical tensions, supply chain shortages, and rising defense spending will hit the sector over the coming years. Speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Athens, attended by Skift, he warned of

This episode of the Skift Travel Podcast featured a discussion with Amar Lalvani, Executive Vice President, President & Creative Director, Lifestyle at Hyatt. Lalvani touched on The Standard’s evolution following Hyatt’s acquisition of the brand in 2024 with Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit and Head of Research Seth Borko. Listen Now 🎧 Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | RSS Five Key Points Creative Direction

Thailand’s hotel investment market is returning to normal after last year’s post-pandemic surge. Hotel brokerage JLL projects that total deal volume will reach 13 billion Thai baht ($385 million) in 2025 — about 40% below 2024’s record from a one-time rush of delayed deals. A JLL report issued Thursday said investors are now focused on

A new Federal Trade Commission rule requiring transparent prices for hotels, online booking sites, and short-term rentals takes effect May 12, and Congress is moving to make portions of the rule permanent.  The House passed the Hotel Fees Transparency Act on April 28 and the Senate companion bill (S. 314) advanced out of the Senate Commerce

Celebrity chef José Andrés is breaking into the hotel sector with a branded hotel slated to open in Washington, D.C. The Bazaar House by José Andrés is scheduled to open in 2027 in the capital city’s Georgetown neighborhood. The project is the first branded hotel deal for José Andrés Group, known for its network of

Key Points New York City cut its 2024 tourism forecast by 3 million visitors due to negative global sentiment toward the U.S. International tourism is declining sharply, with overseas visitor projections for 2025 dropping by 2 million. Policy issues, especially tariffs, and declining visits from key markets like Canada and Western Europe are driving the

The three largest timeshare companies, Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV), Travel and Leisure, and Marriott Vacations Worldwide, have reported first-quarter earnings. Together, they brought in nearly $2.85 billion in revenue. Here are four things we learned from their results: 1. More Spend at Hilton and T+L, More Tours at Marriott Hilton Grand Vacations and Travel and

Demand for travel to the U.S. has weakened, and Expedia Group is feeling it.  Two-thirds of the company’s business comes from the U.S., and inbound travel dropped 7% during the first quarter of the year, executives said on Thursday. Inbound bookings from Canada dropped 30%. And Europeans are choosing to visit Latin America instead.  “U.S. demand

Sphere Entertainment Co. has said it will soon roll out a new global development plan that focuses on smaller and cheaper venues so it can more easily expand. “We’re definitely talking worldwide about Sphere,” said Chairman and CEO James Dolan on Thursday’s Q1 earnings call. “But we do have another initiative that I think is

After tensions escalated between India and Pakistan, India has so far shut down 27 major airports in north, west and central parts of the country until Friday, May 9. These include Chandigarh, Srinagar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Shimla, Bhatinda, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jammu, Leh, Rajkot, Pathankot, Bhuj, Gwalior, Hindon and more.  India also closed about 25

Where do Trump campaign staffers stay when there’s no Trump hotel? Hiltons and Marriotts.  Trump’s presidential campaign spent more than $1.7 million each at Hilton and Marriott properties during the 2024 presidential election, according to a Skift analysis of Federal Election Commission records. That’s significantly more than Trump’s campaign committee spent anywhere else on lodging

Upstart regional airline Air Kerala is India’s latest ultra-low-cost carrier and hopes to begin flying by the end of June after receiving its IATA flight code, “KD.” While it will initially operate domestically, the plan is to expand internationally, especially to the Middle East to serve the UAE and Gulf-based non-resident Keralites, a significant target

EasyGroup, the company behind Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s ‘easy‘ family of brands, has agreed to sell budget hotel chain EasyHotel to real estate investment management company Tristan Capital Partners. Tristan is taking over EasyHotel’s outstanding share capital for €196.13 million (about $222 million). When added to its prior stake, the transaction values the brand at around