Skift Take Middle-income U.S. consumers haven't let price hikes or declining savings get in the way of booking travel. Wyndham's hotel brands are benefiting. Sean O'Neill Middle-income consumers paid premiums for hotel rooms as pent-up demand and savings boosted people’s taste for travel post-pandemic. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel … [Read more...]
Tripadvisor’s Generative AI Worries
Skift Take Today’s edition of Skift’s daily podcast looks at Tripadvisor's AI worries, targeting older travelers, and Intrepid's big animal welfare decision. Rashaad Jorden Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, February 16. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. 🎧 Subscribe Apple … [Read more...]
Tripadvisor Will Have to Confront the Power of Generative AI, for Better or Worse
Skift Take Boom or bust, these are early days for generative AI. Tripadvisor could either turn the new tech to its advantage, or if not the company could become the Blockbuster Video of trip planning. Dennis Schaal Can you imagine an easier application for generative AI than creating travel itineraries and in-destination tour plans, in particular? One way or … [Read more...]
Independent Hoteliers Seek Every Edge Against the Big Brands
Talent retention, digital marketing tactics, partnerships with local brands, and sustainability strategies were among the topics that independent hoteliers discussed the most at last week’s Independent Lodging Congress 2023 event in Austin, Texas. The event — part of a series founded by Andrew Benioff — came when many giant corporations were racing to copy or absorb many independent … [Read more...]
Tripadvisor Restructures to Address Its Lagging Core Business
Skift Take Tripadvisor sees its future as providing differentiated trip-planning, in-destination tools and personalized recommendations for travelers. That isn't wholly different from that of its prior regime, and would be tough to achieve. Dennis Schaal Tripadvisor is overturning the management structure of its operational teams to address a lack of execution and … [Read more...]
Choice Hotels’ Record 2022 Hinged On Moving Upmarket
Choice Hotels International saw revenue spike in the fourth quarter of 2022 thanks to its August acquistion of the Radisson Hotel Group Americas for $675 million and its strengthened pricing power for room rates. “Our distinct strategy of growing our brand portfolio with hotels that generate higher royalties per unit is driving impressive results,” said President and CEO Patrick Pacious on … [Read more...]
Expedia’s 3 Core Brands, Explained
Expedia Group has 10 consumer brands, but its marketing strategy shifted starting in late 2021 to emphasize three core brands above all others: Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. That’s one of several interesting takeaways from Expedia Group’s 2022 10-K financial report, which was published Friday. It’s Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo … and the Seldom Mentioned Expedia Group considers Expedia the … [Read more...]
Inside Generative AI’s Promise for Travel Booking
Skift Take Bumpy roads are inevitable, as is discerning the hype from genuine application, but travel companies should be considering their role in a world powered by generative AI and how to get there. If they haven't started, they are already behind. Justin Dawes Microsoft took over tech headlines last week when it said that its search engine, Bing, is being … [Read more...]
Marriott’s Record Quarter Boosted by Rebound in Luxury and Group Bookings
Marriott International ended 2022 with a robust performance thanks to the post-pandemic resurgence in travel, the company said on Tuesday. It enjoyed record fourth-quarter average room rates, profit at its managed hotels, hotel development plans, and sign-ups for its co-branded credit cards. “Our performance in 2022 was terrific,” said CEO Anthony Capuano of the company’s fourth-quarter … [Read more...]
The Foundry Hotel Helps Engage With Asheville, NC’s Black Community
Skift Take Historical preservation in hotel design isn't new, but it remains relatively rare for hotels to honor the rich histories of their Black neighborhoods. The industry need more leaders like Larry Crosby, general manager of The Foundry Hotel, part of Hilton's Curio Collection. Carley Thornell Curating a great guest experience comes easily for Larry Crosby. The … [Read more...]
This New Genre of Network Hotel Overlooks Juliet’s Romantic Balcony
Few stories are more romantic than Romeo and Juliet, and few places embody the tragic love story more than the courtyard with Juliet’s balcony. “So when Michael Corteletti, a restaurateur in the Italian town of Verona, got a knock on his office door in the summer of 2021 from a friend who was looking to lease his family’s old home — which just so happened to overlook the iconic balcony — … [Read more...]
This Hotel Asset Manager Wants the Industry to Rethink How Hotels Run
Skift Take Michelle Russo knows hotel operations inside and out. She has some changes she'd like the sector to make. Sean O'Neill Michelle Russo has a broad perspective on the hotel sector from her position as CEO and founder of HotelAVE (Asset Value Enhancement), a hotel real estate asset manager and advisor. HotelAVE’s asset management portfolio … [Read more...]
Florida’s Diplomat Beach Resort Sells for $835 Million in Post-Pandemic Record
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 Truist Securities said with earnings season about to kick into gear for the lodging sector, they continue to see macro over micro. They see the main driver/wildcard … [Read more...]
Expedia Sees Tech Grunt Work Paying Off in 2023
Skift Take Corporate turnarounds aren't pretty, and require fortitude. Expedia expects big things in 2023, but Vrbo's tech migration will be part of the ongoing challenge. Dennis Schaal To hear Expedia Group officials tell it, 2023 is shaping up as a year when lots — but not all — of the tough, behind-the-scenes tech work will have been completed, and the company … [Read more...]
Turkey Offers Hotel Rooms to Earthquake Survivors
Skift Take Although Turkish hotels have already set aside 10,000 rooms for survivors, the country will need a lot more to accommodate the thousands rendered homeless by the massive earthquake. Rashaad Jorden Turkey is grappling with one of the biggest challenges from the earthquake that flattened a swathe of its towns and cities: how to shelter hundreds of … [Read more...]
Hilton Sees Signs of Pandemic’s Pent-Up Demand Moderating in 2023
Hilton Worldwide’s earnings report on Thursday was a good-news-bad-news story. In good news, the owner of 19 brands, such as Waldorf Astoria and DoubleTree, continued to see a strong hunger for travel through the end of 2022 thanks to a post-pandemic surge in trips. The stock price for the McLean, Virginia-based company surged to a nine-month high in reaction. But in bad news, the hotel … [Read more...]
Trivago Focusing on Booking Tool to Fight Online Travel Agencies
Skift Take In its effort to gain a stronger hold on the hotel market, Trivago is implementing a tool that could change how it makes money and reduce the role of online travel agencies in bookings. Justin Dawes In an effort to combat the hold that online travel agencies have on the hotel market, Trivago is focusing on building a capability for direct access between … [Read more...]
Resorts Adapt to the End of the Off-Season
The adage “If you build it, they will come” has multiple meanings for Cory Carlson, regional marketing director at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole. Last year’s renovation of guestrooms and suites brought an influx of interest on social media — and reservations. And in the past couple of years, Carlson and his team noticed that more potential guests were clicking the online … [Read more...]
Boutique Hotelier Almanac Expanding Under Unique Father-Daughter Dynamic
It’s a big month for Almanac Hotels. The luxury boutique hotel chain — which launched its first hotel in Barcelona in 2018 — has two back-to-back openings. Its second property soft launches in Vienna in late February, and its third hotel opens in Prague in early March. “If I could have decided, I wouldn’t have chosen to open both of these properties within one month,” said Tina Haselbacher, the … [Read more...]
India’s EaseMyTrip Looks to Democratize Air Charter With Recent Acquisition
Skift Take For a price-sensitive market like India, EaseMyTrip’s democratization of air charters will enter the mix of new low-cost carriers. Good news for bargain seekers. Peden Doma Bhutia While EaseMyTrip’s core business is scheduled air travel, the Indian online travel agency now wants to grow its non-scheduled air travel business and further democratize … [Read more...]