Key Points Airbnb is offering car rentals for the first time, powered by CarTrawler, in five countries (U.S., France, Italy, Spain, and Australia) with major brands like Avis, Hertz, Budget, and Enterprise. The CarTrawler Credit program rewards bookings with up to 20% (max $200) in Airbnb credits toward stays, experiences, and services, valid for two
Travel
Delta Air Lines is launching nonstop flights from Los Angeles to Manila, the capital of the Philippines, as it employs an ambitious growth strategy out of the California airport. The carrier will start operating the route on March 28, 2027, becoming the only U.S. carrier to offer nonstop service between Los Angeles and Manila. “Customers
Pressed on The Angle podcast this week about why Hilton runs 28 brands, CEO Chris Nassetta argued the portfolio isn’t sprawl but a data-backed answer to what owners and guests keep asking for. Nassetta’s first defense was that Hilton shows relative restraint compared to Marriott, Accor, and Hyatt. “Our core competitors have like 38, 42,
Key Points Air India is prioritizing ownership of its digital infrastructure—an in-house booking engine and proprietary payment platform—to gain speed and control, enabling rapid adoption of fast-moving India-specific payment options like UPI without waiting on external vendors. The revamp embeds generative AI throughout (eZ Booking natural-language itineraries, the AI.g virtual agent, AEYE Vision, and Apple
Key Points JetBlue is embedding installment financing inside its TrueBlue loyalty ecosystem, letting customers earn points on financed bookings — a break from typical travel pay-later plans that forfeit rewards. The convenience carries risk: ClarityPay’s rates can reach 36% APR and its credit model extends to subprime borrowers, putting a steep potential cost behind the
Introducing a new quarterly report from Skift Exec Search tracking executive moves across travel, hospitality and adjacent sectors. This first edition lands on the most concentrated stretch of CEO-level change this industry has seen in years: Bazin announcing his exit at Accor with a two-year runway, Choice Hotels losing its CEO days after a soft
Key Points Overall June international arrivals fell 1.8% year-over-year to 2.8 million, and foreign air passenger arrivals were essentially flat (0.2%), showing the World Cup did not lift aggregate inbound travel. The tournament boosted arrivals from specific competing nations (UK +17%, Ecuador +50%, Colombia +21.4%) but many key markets declined sharply, including South Korea (-30.9%),
Key Points Frontier will become the first U.S. ultra-low-cost carrier to offer Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi, with rollout beginning in 2027. The deal is part of Frontier’s broader premium push, which already includes business class seats and an upgraded loyalty program aimed at wealthier travelers. Frontier joins major carriers like American, United, Southwest, and Alaska on
Over the course of nearly a decade starting in 2014, Vacasa went on an acquisition spree, buying around 200 local property managers, but Casago has now sold most of them and turned many into franchises. Scottsdale, Arizona-based Casago acquired Vacasa in April 2025, and took it private. Vacasa had been the largest U.S. vacation rental
When Mondrian’s first all-inclusive resort opens in Cancun later this year, it will join a small but growing set of Ennismore brands taking the model beyond Rixos, its more dedicated all-inclusive brand. The 400-room property demonstrates Ennismore’s ambition to pull all-inclusive away from the buffet-and-wristband associations that have long defined the segment. But can one
Key Points Airbnb hired OpenAI’s first global VP of creative, Michael Tabtabai, less than a year into his OpenAI role; he starts in August and brings experience from Google, Coinbase, Wieden+Kennedy, and Saatchi & Saatchi. Unlike Booking.com and Expedia, Airbnb has deliberately declined to integrate travel search into ChatGPT, with CEO Brian Chesky arguing the
Key Points Accor has lined up four banks—Goldman Sachs leading, with BNP Paribas, JPMorgan and Société Générale—for a potential U.S. IPO of its Ennismore lifestyle venture, possibly this year, marking the most concrete step in a nearly year-long process. An IPO appears to be winning out over other options (buying out or replacing co-investors) to
Key Points Booking Holdings is forming a formal B2B legal entity uniting Booking.com, Agoda, and Priceline, led by Agoda CEO Omri Morgenshtern—breaking from its tradition of brand independence. The consolidation aims to eliminate duplication and sharpen focus, building on recent moves like the BKNG Ads unified advertising platform, though leadership and timing remain undecided amid
Hopper has agreed to pay $35 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that it charged users fees without their consent, and misrepresented the benefits of its price freeze products. “Hopper deceived consumers by showing them a total price that did not include hidden, pre-selected fees,” said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of
Erling Haaland’s World Cup run has produced one of the largest bursts of free attention any country will get this decade, and it will do close to nothing for Norwegian tourism for the same reason his Instagram added around 15 million followers in a few weeks: the attention is attached to him, not to Norway.
Southeast Asian hospitality technology platform RedDoorz is targeting a 2027 IPO listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), but Founder and CEO Amit Saberwal is already looking to the U.S. “We think it’s better to get liquidity at Singapore’s stock exchange now, continue to grow the business to a larger scale, and then go to Nasdaq,”
Four weeks in, the 2026 World Cup has spurred a number of viral moments: the Tartan Army running Boston bars dry. Norwegian fans’ Viking Row chant. Photos of press box condiments covered in tape due to FIFA’s brand restrictions. Travel brands were quick to capitalize on the buzzy moments with advertisements and social media posts,
Minor Hotels will take over management and operations of Sharjah Collection, the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority’s (Shurooq) portfolio of seven nature and heritage retreats, under a new partnership agreement announced this week. The properties — Al Badayer, Al Faya, Kingfisher, Moon, Najd Al Meqsar, Al Rayaheen, and Nomad — span desert, coastal, mountain, and