Skift Daily Briefing

Marriott is expanding into outdoor travel by acquiring Postcard Cabins and partnering with Trailborn, integrating them into its booking systems and loyalty program. Amadeus CEO Luis Maroto highlights the importance of continued investment and M&A opportunities to maintain relevance, particularly in modern airline retail technology like NDC. FAA chief Mike Whitaker announced his resignation, leavin...

Travel industry insiders anticipate that another Trump term could impact their business, though reactions range from neutral to positive – and personal concerns linger. New regulatory obstacles complicate the future of the FTC’s junk fee rule, and state-level actions are stepping in. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup plans may boost tourism but face ongoing human rights scrutiny, despite pr...

Skift's annual Megatrends highlight key shifts in the travel industry. The rise of “quiet luxury” reflects affluent travelers' preference for personal and understated experiences, prompting owner-operated hotels to cater to this demand with curated stays. Meanwhile, hotels are enhancing their direct booking platforms with AI, predictive analytics, and immersive tools to compete with online travel...

Cruise lines are investing in private destinations to reduce overcrowding, ensure tailored port experiences, and mitigate regional instabilities, with major players like Royal Caribbean and Carnival planning expansions through 2027. In tourism, Skift CEO Rafat Ali highlights the oversimplification of local cuisines for travelers, suggesting farm-to-table initiatives and promoting authentic food ex...

Skift highlights the rise of "Live Tourism," where major events like concerts and sports championships drive economic growth for destinations, benefiting local businesses and boosting travel demand. Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines raises its revenue guidance for Q4, citing strong travel demand and efficiency measures. Lastly, a federal judge rejected Boeing's plea deal regarding the 737 Max crashes...

Booking Holdings has laid off around 60 employees at Rocket Travel by Agoda to streamline operations, while reaffirming its overall business-to-business strategy. Meanwhile, U.S. Senators criticized airline executives over excessive fees, with executives defending practices like unbundling fares to make travel more accessible. Lastly, Hyatt is expanding its luxury and lifestyle portfolio by courti...

Marriott is expanding its luxury property portfolio, with over 260 developments in the pipeline, to appeal to affluent millennials and Gen Z travelers who prioritize experiences over traditional luxury. Airbnb is growing its Airbnb-friendly Apartments program to the UK, despite modest participation in the U.S., aiming to unlock income opportunities for renters. Meanwhile, Amtrak reported record ri...

Travel tech leaders are optimistic about the incoming Trump administration, expecting reduced AI regulation, potential federal privacy standards, and extended tax cuts to benefit startups, while the TSA reported record-breaking passenger screenings during Thanksgiving. Additionally, Saudi Arabia is leveraging cricket's popularity to attract Indian tourists as part of its broader strategy to increa...

Episode Notes Wyndham Hotels says it’s still seeing strong demand for leisure and business travel despite economic uncertainty, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. CEO Geoff Ballotti said on Thursday that the company believes it won’t see a decline in leisure travel demand during the fourth quarter and throughout 2025. Ballotti added a continued drop in interest rates would help boost l...

Episode Notes Anthropic, a generative AI startup, has unveiled new tech that indicates how an AI-powered travel agent would look, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes. Anthropic recently released three demonstrations of the tech, one of which was for making travel plans. A more advanced version of the tech could eliminate the friction of manually navigating options, comparing prices and...

Episode Notes NYC Tourism + Conventions, the city’s destination marketing organization, announced on Tuesday it named Julie Coker as its next president and CEO, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.  Coker, who has held the same roles at the San Diego Tourism Authority since 2020, will assume her new position on December 9. She succeeds Fred Dixon, who served as NYC Tourism’s CEO for c...

Episode Notes The growth of U.S. vacation rental and short-term rental supply has been slowing down, a trend that will likely continue next year, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.  Vacation rental and short-term rental supply in the U.S. has grown 10% in 2024 from last year, according to analytics firm Key Data. However, that’s down from 20% two years ago. Key Data said one factor fo...

Episode Notes Uber has explored buying the Expedia Group, according to a report this week in the Financial Times. It’s all speculation at this point, but the deal, if it were to happen, would bring about the biggest shakeup the travel industry has seen in years. Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes answers 10 questions about it.  Dawes notes there are currently no active discussions between the...

Episode Notes Hotel executives gathered at The Lodging Conference recently to discuss emerging trends in the industry. Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill listed five key takeaways from the event as executives look forward to 2025.    O’Neill notes hotel leaders are cautiously optimistic about the economic outlook for next year. Executives generally believe that the Fed’s recent interest rate c...

Episode Notes Visit Florida launched a new campaign this week to inform tourists much of the state is ready to welcome visitors after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Visit Florida will share images and videos of destinations largely unaffected by the hurricanes via social media over the next two weeks. The tourism board has also recently launched soc...

Episode Notes Thousands of Barcelona residents took to the streets this past Sunday to demand the city stop hosting the America’s Cup sailing competition and other huge tourism events. It’s the latest of large-scale protests in Spain against mass tourism, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Habtemariam notes protestors burned a replica of the America’s Cup trophy at the end of the de...

Episode Notes United Airlines is adding eight new, off-the-beaten-path destinations to its summer 2025 schedule, betting that travelers will fly to less popular locations, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi.  United’s new destinations for summer 2025 include the capitals of Mongolia, Senegal and Greenland. Maharishi notes many of its new destinations are in contrast to American and Delta, t...

Episode Notes Marriott has reached an agreement with 49 states and Washington, D.C., to pay $52 million to settle charges related to data security, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.  O’Neill notes the settlement with the states relates to a database security incident in 2018 in the guest reservations system of Starwood, a hotel group Marriott had just acquired.  And the Federal Trade...

Episode Notes Marriott International announced on Tuesday that it’s expanding its City Express by Marriott brand into the U.S. and Canada, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.   O’Neill reports the expansion represents Marriott’s foray into the “affordable midscale” category in the two countries. Marriott bought the City Express brand in Mexico in May 2023, and has run properties under...

Airlines and airports are getting ready for Hurricane Milton, a “potentially catastrophic” storm expected to hit southwest Florida on Wednesday, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi. Tampa International Airport and Orlando International have announced they plan to suspend operations in anticipation of Hurricane Milton. Several airlines — including American, Delta and United — have issued trav...

Episode Notes Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin said the Paris-based hotel group has 47 brands in its portfolio. And the company has plans to add more, writes Middle East Reporter Josh Corder. Bazin said at the Future Hospitality Summit in Dubai that Accor doesn’t have too many brands. He noted in the era of technology, customers have enough resources to discover them all. Bazin also said it’s important t...

Episode Notes The global hotel industry has seen some markets thrive this year while some others have struggled, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.  A recent report by CBRE Hotels Research revealed U.S. revenue per available room would grow roughly 1% for the full year. That’s close to a 2 percentage point drop from its forecast in February. O’Neill notes that U.S. urban and airport h...

Moxy Hotels, Marriott’s first brand aimed at travelers in their 20s, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill takes a look at how Moxy has looked to stay relevant in the marketplace throughout the years.  O’Neill notes that Moxy doesn’t subscribe to the commonly held premise in the hotel industry that the room is everything. Moxy’s compact rooms have a...

Episode Notes Carnival Corp. said demand for travel to Alaska is “off the charts,” writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein said Alaska has emerged as one of the cruise line’s top destinations in 2024, especially for first-time cruisegoers. Weinstein’s comments came as residents in the state capital Juneau are voting on a measure that would ban large cruise shi...

Episode Notes Hotel companies are trying to figure out how artificial intelligence will impact their businesses. Leaders in the industry aren’t quite sure yet, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill, who attended the Destination AI summit in Washington, D.C.  Jess Petitt, an executive at Hilton, said the number of hotel bookings made using generative AI is minuscule but added the technolog...