Skift Daily Briefing

Episode Notes Choice Hotels believes it’s taken another key step toward its planned takeover of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. Choice Hotels said on Tuesday it had bought enough Wyndham stock to nominate candidates to Wyndham’s board, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.  Choice Hotels said it purchased more than $110 million of Wyndham stock. In addition, it is putting forth an exchange off...

Episode Notes A large number of Americans are planning to travel this holiday season. How many? Roughly 115 million, according to the latest forecast from AAA, which predicts this holiday season will be one of its largest on record.  It projects 7.5 million travelers will fly this year, topping the record set in 2019, noted Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi, who added that U.S. airlines are under...

Episode Notes The Middle East was the fastest-growing tourism region this year until the Israel-Hamas war began in October. No other region in the world saw its tourism fully recover this year — let alone surpass their pre-pandemic level, reports Dawit Habtemariam, Skift's Global Tourism Reporter. Through September, the Middle East saw its international tourist arrivals rise 20% above pre-pandemic...

Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry: Ask Skift Your Questions Episode Notes Navan, a travel and expense management startup, has laid off 5% of employees at the company, accounting for about 145 people, writes travel tech reporter Justin Dawes. Kelly Soderlund, a spokesperson for Navan, said in an email that the layoff affected teams across departments. She said in a statement that...

Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry: Ask Skift Your Questions Episode Notes Airbnb is shaking up its business team. It announced that CFO Dave Stephenson will become chief business officer, and VP of finance Ellie Mertz will become CFO. Catherine Powell, who became global head of hosting in July 2020, will be leaving the company.  The change comes after analysts on Wall Street expr...

Episode Notes Alaska Air Group said it would buy Hawaiian Airlines in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.9 billion, including Hawaiian’s debt. The parent company of Alaska Airlines and regional Horizon Air said it would continue to operate Hawaiian as an independent brand, reports Edward Russell, editor of Skift publication Airline Weekly.  The proposed merger isn’t a sure thing, given that it f...

Episode Notes American Airlines is planning to improve its in-flight Wi-Fi access on regional jets, allowing passengers to easily check emails, browse the internet, or stream videos. The carrier plans to install high-speed Wi-Fi on around 500 regional aircraft starting next year in partnership with satellite services provider Intelsat, writes Skift’s airline reporter, Meghna Maharishi. While Ameri...

Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry: Ask Skift Your Questions Episode Notes A new class of drugs is helping make progress in the fight against obesity. However, Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit reports the global travel industry isn’t yet ready for a shift that could have a colossal impact on businesses.  Kopit notes the so-called Ozempic Era could benefit cruise and tour operators and...

Episode Notes Lengthy waits for visitor visas have hurt the U.S. tourism recovery. The problem isn’t expected to die down in 2024 — especially in Colombia, Mexico and India, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. U.S. State Department representatives said demand for visas reached record highs in those three countries. Previously, the visa backlog had been driven by pent-up demand and st...

Episode Notes Choice Hotels is taking a bold step in its hostile takeover bid of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. Choice is preparing to nominate directors to Wyndham’s board, according to Reuters, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.  Choice’s move is part of its plan to push its roughly $9.8 billion unsolicited merger between the two companies. Shareholders’ annual vote on board members would...

Episode Notes U.S. airline pilots who believe they need treatment for depression often face difficult choices, such as whether to disclose their mental health issues. The new Federal Aviation Administration administrator is looking to establish a system to better help pilots dealing with mental health issues, reports Edward Russell, editor of Skift publication Airline Weekly.  Under current policy...

Episode Notes The U.S. aviation industry is prepping for a record number of flyers to take to the skies for Thanksgiving this year. They’re doing so amid ongoing labor and air traffic controller issues, reports Edward Russell, editor of Skift publication Airline Weekly. The TSA and U.S. airlines predict 30 million travelers will fly from November 17 to 28. Russell writes this year’s holiday foreca...

The U.S. is grappling with an air traffic controller shortage that could run into the next decade, reports Edward Russell, editor of Skift publication Airline Weekly. A new Federal Aviation Administration report found the agency is on pace to only have about 200 more controllers in 2032 than it does now. The report also said that planned hiring numbers would barely make up for retirements and othe...

Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry Ask Skift Your Questions Episode Notes The United Kingdom is seeing a gradual return of Chinese visitors, but a full recovery won’t take place until 2025, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.  VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates told Parliament on Tuesday that Chinese visitor numbers would slowly build back to pre-Covid levels. Flight bo...

Episode Notes Airbnb is looking to further incorporate artificial intelligence into its business. And on Tuesday, it announced it has acquired GamePlanner. AI, a company founded by a creator of Siri, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes.  Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said his company has been rebuilding its app with a focus on AI, and that the GamePlanner. AI team will focus on accelerating c...

Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry Ask Skift Your Questions Episode Notes Americans are gearing up to travel in large numbers for the Thanksgiving holiday next week. This Thanksgiving could be the busiest for the U.S. air travel for 18 years, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.  Travel organization AAA says that more than 4.7 million Americans will fly for Thanksgivi...

Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry Go deeper into the business of travel with Skift’s new AI chatbot. Ask Skift Your Questions Episode Notes Booking.com took a step to diversify its offerings on Thursday. The company launched cruises in the U.S. via a partnership with cruise agency World Holdings, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.  Schaal writes Booking.com offering cruises...

Episode Notes Airbnb released its latest set of product enhancements on Wednesday — including Guest Favorites, new badges that identify customers’ favorite homes, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal. Schaal writes that Airbnb will place a Guest Favorites badge on 2 million of its properties. Those badges will help travelers pick stays based on homes’ ratings. Schaal notes that hosts will benefi...

Episode Notes Some analysts have argued that Choice Hotels International is too reliant on acquisitions to grow. But despite its ongoing push to acquire Wyndham, Choice believes the organic growth of its development pipeline is healthy, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.  Choice CEO Patrick Pacious said during its earnings call on Tuesday that he’s encouraged by the state of its pipel...

Episode Notes Airbnb has seen its listing numbers tumble in New York City due to a regulatory crackdown. But the short-term rental giant believes boutique hotels can help fill the gap, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.  Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said during the company’s recent earnings call that adding boutique hotels to its New York City inventory was an opportunity given the decline in shor...

Episode Notes 2023 has been a wild ride for investors in travel companies, with those stocks on the edge of a bear market. How bumpy has the year been? Senior Research Analyst Seth Borko turns to the Skift Travel 200, an index tracking the stock market performance of the global travel industry.  Borko writes that while travel has been a volatile industry this year, travel investors have made money...

Episode Notes Airbnb had a strong third quarter, recording its highest ever quarterly profits and setting a company record for revenue, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes. The company reported net income of $1.6 billion, excluding a one-time income tax benefit. It also generated $3.4 billion worth of revenue, an 18% jump from last year. Dawes reports those record numbers were driven by...

Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry: Ask Skift Your Questions Episode Notes Maui’s western region will fully reopen to tourism on Wednesday, two months after it was devastated by a massive wildfire. But Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam writes the island still faces a long road to recovery.   Sherry Doung, executive director of the Maui Visitors & Convention Bureau, said th...

Episode Notes Visa processing delays have hurt the travel industry’s recovery, especially in the U.S. and Europe. Associate Editor Rashaad Jorden turns to Ask Skift, our artificial intelligence chatbot, for more information about how lengthy visa waits are impacting tourism.  Jorden reports visa delays for the U.S.’ top inbound markets top 400 days on average. U.S. Travel Association CEO Geoff Fre...

Episode Notes Wyndham Hotels & Resorts executives used strong language Thursday to explain to investors why they were rejecting the $9.8 billion hostile bid from Choice Hotels, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.   O’Neill writes Wyndham executives highlighted a lack of cash up-front and Choice’s alleged weaker performance as major concerns about a deal. In addition, Wyndham said any d...