Skift Take Today’s edition of Skift’s daily podcast looks at hotel environmental performance, U.S. airline labor struggles, and infrastructure needs at Middle East airports. Rashaad Jorden Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, March 29. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. Listen Now 🎧 Subscribe Apple … [Read more...]
India’s Yatra Awaits Stronger Investor Confidence Before IPO Launch
Skift Take Three months ago, Yatra may have been hopeful of launching its Indian IPO by March. However, it appears the online travel company would rather wait for the market to strengthen and investor confidence to return to ensure a successful launch. Peden Doma Bhutia Having missed its deadline of launching an Indian initial public offering (IPO) by this month, … [Read more...]
Hotel Chains Need to Up Game on Franchise Emission Reporting: New Skift Research
Skift Take Progress has been made on environmental reporting by hotel companies, but major blind spots remain. The asset-light model being pursued by most large hotel companies jars with the need for greater oversight by head office to really track and improve emissions. Wouter Geerts The good news: Reporting by hotel companies on their environmental targets and … [Read more...]
The Postcard Hotel Looks to Challenge Aman in the Luxury Boutique Segment
Skift Take There's always room for innovative entrepreneurs to create whitespace. Kapil Chopra, founder and CEO, thinks he's found some in the luxury boutique segment with his Postcard Hotel brand. Watch out, Aman, Six Senses, and One&Only. Leslie Barrie The Postcard Hotel is a brand with momentum behind it. It was named Asia’s leading boutique hotel brand at the … [Read more...]
Marketing Safaris to LGBTQ+ Family Travelers
Skift Take Today’s edition of Skift’s daily podcast looks at marketing safaris to modern families, measuring hotel performance, and leadership roles for women in hospitality. Rashaad Jorden Good morning from Skift. It’s Monday, March 27. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. Listen Now 🎧 Subscribe Apple … [Read more...]
Investors Rethink Hotel Sector’s Main Performance Metric
Skift Take Every commentary on hotel performance refers to revenue per available room as a key industry metric — RevPAR. Yet non-room revenue from cafes, co-working, spas, and events is growing in importance. Hoteliers should focus more on overall earnings per square meter. Sean O'Neill Hotel investors want more reliable performance metrics. Hotel companies already … [Read more...]
Book on Google Keeps on Ticking With Flight Refunds
Skift Take Google has been tracking flight prices for a considerable period so now it is backing up its data with real money. It's real money, but a pittance for Google. Dennis Schaal Book on Google, which is slated to be retired, continues to be useful to the company now that Google revived a pre-pandemic test and is offering a flight price guarantee on a limited … [Read more...]
Hotels Open Doors to Women for Ownership and Leadership
Skift Take The hotel sector needs more women in leadership. Thankfully, a handful of companies are getting savvier about the importance of mentorship, flexibility, and other support. Carley Thornell Gender diversity in hotel leadership was boosted this week when Wyndham said its year-old program “Women Own the Room” had signed more than 30 hotels, with 10 already … [Read more...]
Marriott Pushes M Clubs and Courtyard Resorts as New Offerings
Here are some excerpts from Daily Lodging Report from the past week. If you’re not a subscriber, you should be. Get news on hotel deals, development, stocks, and career moves. Sign up here, now. Sunday, March 19 JP Morgan gave some takeaways from their recent JP Morgan Gaming and Lodging Forum. Lodging demand remains consistent with any concern of deterioration stemming from headline … [Read more...]
Expedia and Kayak Add ChatGPT Plugins to Enhance Travel Planning
Skift Take The connection between ChatGPT and the data from Expedia and Kayak paves the way to access the real power of generative AI. So far, it's just been a gimmick. Justin Dawes Expedia Group and Booking Holdings’ Kayak have released plugins to help users make bookings based on travel planning suggestions from ChatGPT. The plugins allow users to engage a … [Read more...]
Expedia and Kayak Offer Early Convergence of ChatGPT and Travel Booking
Skift Take This is one of the earliest examples of the coming convergence of conversational AI and travel booking, even if it is crude in this new launch from ChatGPT. Justin Dawes That ChatGPT was going to become a platform — a la the iPhone with its App Store — was obvious, it was just a matter of time, what we didn’t know was when and how. We learned on … [Read more...]
Travelzoo to Launch Its Travel Metaverse Within Weeks
Skift Take One can make the argument that Travelzoo is embarked on a foolhardy mission to create a metaverse. On the other hand, gamers and Gen Z may have something to the contrary to say about that. Dennis Schaal Move over Mark Zuckerberg and your metaverse vision: Travelzoo said it will be launching its own metaverse shortly. Travelzoo’s vaguely defined pitch … [Read more...]
Hilton Links Brand Success to Workforce Happiness
Skift Take Today’s edition of Skift’s daily podcast looks at Hilton’s happiness equation, Delta’s South American boast, and Bhutan’s gold bounty. Rashaad Jorden Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, March 23. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. Listen Now 🎧 … [Read more...]
5 Big Questions Facing Hospitality at Our Future of Lodging Forum
Skift Take There’s a lot on tap for the hospitality industry in 2023, and at our Future of Lodging Forum we’re going to check in on how some of the industry’s brightest minds are tackling both the opportunities and challenges head-on. Brian Quinn As we look ahead to Skift’s Future of Lodging Forum, happening in London Wednesday, March 29 at The Londoner Hotel, we … [Read more...]
Hilton Sees Link Between Brand Strategy and Workplace Morale
Over 14 years, hotel operator Hilton Worldwide has doubled its number of hotel and resort brands to 19 and more than doubled its number of rooms to 1.1 million. During the pandemic recovery, the McLean, Virginia-based hotel giant is looking to fine-tune its brands and portfolio, especially in light of its introduction in January of its first economy brand, Spark by Hilton. “From a … [Read more...]
Hotels Are Taking Strategic Cues From Gen Z
Skift Take Today’s edition of Skift’s daily podcast looks at the evolution of hotels, a New York airport's reinvention, and event planner tips from White Lotus. Rashaad Jorden Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, March 22. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. Listen Now 🎧 Subscribe Apple … [Read more...]
Gen Z Is Influencing Hotels to Rethink Strategies: A Skift Deep Dive
Too many hoteliers are waiting for Generation Z — the cohort born roughly between 1997 and 2012 — to get more spending power. But they shouldn’t wait. The savviest hotel brands are already preparing for the post-millennial demographic’s rise. This deep dive will investigate the factors likely to remain part of Gen Z long-term. We expect next-generation travelers to shed some youthful traits as … [Read more...]
Kayak Co-Founder Paul English Is Launching New App as an Alternative to ‘Garbage’ Restaurant/Hotel Reviews
Skift Take The advent of user reviews in travel was a disruptive and positive force, and they in turn may indeed get upended or greatly modified as new technologies take hold. Dennis Schaal Online Travel This Week Serial entrepreneur Paul English is back again with a new app called Deets, and he’s trying to disrupt the way people discover restaurants and hotels. … [Read more...]
Hotel Brand Tiny Urban Escapes Taps Into Micro Luxury and Sustainability
A boutique hotel opening in July in the historically Black neighborhood of Haughville, Indianapolis, aims to tap into a few trends percolating in hospitality broadly: helping guests feel a sense of place and reducing the carbon impact of hotel operations. Tiny Urban Escapes will strive to bring a small, green oasis into the middle of a bustling Indiana city with luxury touches. Founder and CEO … [Read more...]
Watch Video: Why Hotel Brands See Lots of Room to Grow in Luxury and Midscale
Skift Take The hotel brands have largely captured market share in the upscale segment and are now expanding their portfolios into the relatively un-penetrated luxury and midscale/premium economy space that offer the greatest opportunity for further branded share gains. Pranavi Agarwal Skift’s Senior Research Analyst Pranavi Agarwal and Senior Hospitality Editor Sean … [Read more...]