Travel

Skift Take Sound is an opportunity area that luxury hoteliers haven’t fully capitalized on. But they are perfect places to create unique, rarified experiences. Colin Nagy The best luxury hotels obsess over just about everything: The sheets, coffee, temperature, and lighting. The fresh flowers each day. Now, let’s talk sound: The best, most rarified listening

Skift Take With fraud a substantial problem in online travel these days, Airbnb is undertaking the mammoth task of trying to verify listings. The process is easier for professional hosts. Dennis Schaal Airbnb has started to verify listings in five of its top global markets, but the process is much simpler for professional hosts than

Skift Take Dubai understands that easier visa regime is essential to encourage more Indians to visit the emirate. Peden Doma Bhutia Dubai has introduced a 5-year multiple entry visa for Indians, the emirate’s largest source market for tourism. The processing time for the visa would be around two to five business days and would allow

Skift Take Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel said the company would appeal the Spanish competition authority’s $530 million draft decision if it becomes permanent. Dennis Schaal Spanish regulators levied a $530 million fine against Booking.com in the fourth quarter in a draft decision, Booking Holdings announced Thursday. Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel said the Spanish

Skift Take Accor’s top boss said during a Thursday earnings call that the hotel group will benefit as the middle class expands in India and beyond in the next several years. Sean O’Neill Accor’s top boss said Thursday that the hotel group will benefit as the middle class expands, especially in India. “Demography is probably

Skift Take The carrier took a gamble in betting that premium travel would last. Delta generated $19.1 billion in revenue from premium seating, a 26% increase from last year. Meghna Maharishi Ever since the pandemic, Delta Air Lines has gone all in on the premium traveler.  The airline opened a new tier of lounges that

Skift Take Younger demographics drive growth in the U.S. travel credit card market – and bank brands dominate. Varsha Arora, Skift Skift Research’s latest report, “Navigating Q4 2023: Analysing the Value of Travel Credit Cards in the U.S.”, presents a comprehensive analysis of the U.S. travel landscape. This report introduces a special focus on travel credit cards alongside U.S. travel

Skift Take Sonder is cutting its overhead while it works with external advisors to figure out how to handle underperforming units. Dennis Schaal Short-term rental and hotel operator Sonder announced that it would lay off 106 corporate employees, or 17% of that workforce, as it moved to reduce overhead costs and deal with underperforming properties.

Skift Take CEO Elie Maalouf pointed to early results suggesting that IHG’s recent marketing efforts and brand development work are leading to growth in a virtuous flywheel for the hotel group. Sean O’Neill IHG provided a strategy update to investors Tuesday, with executives forecasting rising growth for its loyalty program and its hotel development pipeline.

Skift Take If the business plan is to be believed, Beond Airlines could be a major threat to traditional operators before the end of the decade. Gordon Smith With corporate traffic slow to recover after the pandemic, wealthy leisure travelers are filling first- and business-class seats. They’re also paying handsomely for the privilege.  Now, one

Skift Take Taking place in Delhi on March 19-20, Skift India Summit will be the premier destination for insightful discussions, networking opportunities, market trend insights and inspiration that will empower industry professionals to stay ahead in the region’s ever-evolving landscape. Nicole Meyer As the global travel landscape evolves, staying ahead of the curve is crucial

Skift Take The AI that powers the latest chatbot craze is still in the experimental phase, but not everyone knows that. This example brings into question whether companies should be more cautious about experimenting with unreliable tech. Justin Dawes Air Canada is being forced to refund a passenger who said he got bad advice from

Skift Take Hyatt’s brand muse Crystal Vinisse Thomas reveals the thinking behind her seven-figure marketing campaign for luxury lifestyle brand Andaz. Sean O’Neill Hyatt’s luxury lifestyle brand, Andaz, launched a brand awareness campaign in November called Be Like No One’s Watching. The campaign illustrates the many challenges and opportunities that hotel groups face as they

Skift Take Eight things jumped out at us from Wyndham annual financial filing. One surprise was that it has introduced an AI risk disclosure. That is something we expect will become commonplace in travel company filings. Sean O’Neill Wyndham is the world’s largest hotel franchisor, and we found a handful of noteworthy details in its

Skift Take More renewable jet fuel companies are raising money to develop products, but a lot more money is needed to reach the industry’s zero-emissions goals by 2050. Justin Dawes Three travel startups have announced fundraises of nearly $90 million over the last week.  >>Velocys, which develops tech to enable renewable jet fuel production, has

Skift Take The activist investor gained two seats on JetBlue’s board after acquiring a nearly 10% stake in the company. Meghna Maharishi JetBlue Airways announced Friday that two independent directors would join its board as part of a deal with activist investor Carl Icahn. Jesse Lynn, the general counsel of Icahn Enterprises, and Steve Miller,

Most tourism board CEOs come from the hotel or tourism industry. But Tourism Ireland’s new chief executive, Alice Mansergh, came from Google’s marketing side.  Mansergh took over in September, and was previously managing director for Google Customer Solutions for the UK and Ireland. She replaced Niall Gibbons, who had been CEO of Tourism Ireland for