Skift Daily Briefing

Hotel executives spotlight loyalty as a growing profit engine beyond room revenue, Barcelona moves to double its hotel tax to manage overtourism, and Vrbo tests a weather-refund add-on that pays travelers automatically if rainfall crosses a set threshold. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy⁠ breaks down how hotels are monetizing guest relationships beyond RevPAR, why Barcelona is betti...

Amadeus acquires SkyLink to accelerate conversational AI booking, corporate layoffs begin tightening approval and ROI scrutiny around meetings, and Saudi’s Red Sea airport pushes for a 50:50 international split while scaling a controlled luxury destination. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy⁠ unpacks how booking interfaces are shifting from search to dialogue, why meetings now have to...

Spirit Airlines reaches a deal to exit bankruptcy leaner and more premium-focused, hotel owners grapple with shifting U.S. tariff rules that complicate renovation budgets, and Airbnb tests airport pickups as it edges closer to becoming a full-service travel platform. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy breaks down how Spirit is betting on margin over size, why tariff uncertainty is for...

A turbulent travel weekend brings TSA PreCheck confusion, 7,000+ blizzard cancellations, and flight suspensions to Puerto Vallarta, Oneworld names a new CEO as alliances fight for relevance, and proposed U.S. entry requirements raise fresh concerns for international meetings and business travel. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy⁠ unpacks how operational volatility is testing traveler...

Booking doubles down on independent hotels as AI agents and Airbnb target the same supply, Airbnb begins testing loyalty benefits it calls a potential “massive accelerant,” and Air France-KLM crosses a €2 billion profit milestone on strong premium demand. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, ⁠Sarah Dandashy⁠⁠ breaks down how platforms are fighting for control of independent inventory, why Airbnb loyal...

U.S. airlines detail how AI is reshaping daily operations, Airbnb signals hotels are now a core growth strategy, and IHG overhauls its data systems so AI agents can better surface and sell its properties. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy⁠ breaks down how AI is moving from back-end efficiency to customer-facing decisions, why Airbnb is positioning itself as a full-spectrum lodging pl...

IHG launches its 21st brand, Noted Collection, Skift argues the industry’s most profitable product is traveler anxiety, and new reporting asks whether AI agents could upend traditional travel metasearch. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, ⁠Sarah Dandashy⁠⁠ breaks down why hotel soft brands keep multiplying, how flexibility add-ons have become a core revenue stream, and whether AI will turn price com...

A major U.S. hotel union says immigration enforcement is costing hospitality jobs, São Paulo’s Terminal BTG Pactual redefines premium airport travel with a standalone private terminal model, and the latest Skift Travel Health Index shows global travel stabilizing while growth shifts east and toward experience-led demand. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy⁠ unpacks how immigration poli...

Hilton and Marriott warn that AI platforms could disrupt direct bookings, Sabre partners with PayPal and Mindtrip to enable fully conversational “agentic” trip booking, and Tripadvisor reports continued traffic declines as AI search overviews reshape discovery. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, ⁠Sarah Dandashy⁠ breaks down how hotels are bracing for chatbot-driven distribution, why conversational p...

Marriott leans into “live tourism” as a steady growth engine around the Olympics and World Cup, Klook launches a creator-driven spring role to convert cherry blossom buzz into bookings, and Dubai International Airport posts its busiest year ever while scaling for even bigger capacity. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy unpacks how major events are becoming predictable revenue lanes, w...

OpenAI begins testing ads inside ChatGPT, Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl moment puts Puerto Rico in the global spotlight, and MGM powers its Las Vegas Strip properties with solar to lock in long-term energy costs. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy⁠ breaks down how conversational AI is becoming a new travel marketing channel, whether cultural buzz can convert into destination bookings, and wh...

Hilton faces escalating activist pressure over ICE housing, American Airlines flight attendants issue a no-confidence vote in CEO Robert Isom, and GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic begin reshaping how travelers spend on food, alcohol, and wellness. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy⁠ unpacks how reputational risk is turning personal for hotel brands, why labor tensions at American signal deepe...

U.S.–Europe travel demand is slipping ahead of the 2026 World Cup, showing how quickly sentiment can reshape even marquee travel moments. At the same time, Google’s AI-powered search is changing how trips are discovered, with more planning happening inside conversations instead of clicks. And Accor is tying staff bonuses to climate goals, signaling that sustainability is becoming a real operationa...

Travel brands are facing a “more for less” moment — and nowhere is that tension clearer than in the midscale hotel segment. As inflation, debt, and deferred renovations squeeze owners, major hotel groups are racing to protect trust by cutting renovation costs, tightening quality controls, and launching new brands designed to actually work at lower price points. Travel marketing around the Super Bo...

Google’s latest AI search updates are pushing the experience closer to a personalized travel concierge, blending answers, follow-up questions, and private context into a single planning flow. As more inspiration and decision-making happens inside Google’s interface, travel brands face a tougher challenge staying visible — and differentiated — before a traveler ever clicks through. The 2026 FIFA Wo...

AI agents are beginning to network with each other, and travel booking is emerging as one of the most consequential use cases. As autonomous agents gain the ability to plan and execute trips on their own, the competitive battle may shift from search rankings to being embedded as the default choice inside AI-driven decision tools. Meanwhile, warming winters are putting mounting pressure on ski reso...

Accor becomes one of the first major hotel groups to show up inside ChatGPT, signaling how early-stage travel discovery is shifting into AI conversations. Meta outlines a future where inspiration, shopping, and customer service collapse into a single scroll — with big implications for travel brands. And Southwest leans fully into assigned seating, bag fees, and OTA partnerships as it prioritizes p...

Hilton is reportedly preparing a new brand aimed squarely at smaller college towns, expanding its Graduate strategy with a more accessible concept called Undergraduate by Hilton. As immigration enforcement ramps up and travel infrastructure gets pulled into the spotlight, much of the U.S. travel industry is choosing silence — raising questions about neutrality, values, and risk. And Taiwan’s Starl...

Ian Schrager teams up with Highgate to finally scale the Public Hotels brand, betting that vibe can work at volume if the operations are right. Europe flirts with World Cup boycott chatter tied to U.S. politics, raising fresh concerns about inbound demand ahead of 2026. And American Airlines says January bookings are back, led by premium and corporate travelers as the airline doubles down on its f...

A massive winter storm slams U.S. air travel, triggering more than 10,000 flight cancellations and ripple effects nationwide. Agoda’s CEO delivers a blunt message on AI adoption as travel companies shift from testing to full-scale execution. And Saudi Arabia hits pause on parts of Vision 2030, signaling a recalibration from spectacle to feasibility. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy...

We’re sharing a preview of a new podcast from Skift called Skift Take Sessions. Skift Take Sessions is a weekly, journalist-led podcast built from the most important conversations shaping the global travel industry. Each episode features candid interviews with CEOs and senior leaders across airlines, hotels, and travel platforms, recorded live at Skift events and expanded with context around why t...

Hotel tech moves toward autonomous operations, Apple prepares to turn Siri into a true AI chatbot, and United weighs in on how a proposed credit-card interest cap could reshape airline loyalty economics. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy breaks down why Mews’ $300 million raise signals a shift toward AI-run hotel operations, what Apple’s next move means for travel booking inside conv...

Ryanair turns a public spat with Elon Musk into a masterclass in attention economics, Google offers blunt advice to travel brands navigating AI-driven discovery, and Outsite secures private equity backing for its “social extended stays” model. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy breaks down how controversy is becoming a low-cost marketing strategy, why visuals and reviews now matter mo...

Travel creators tap into a powerful validation economy in South Asia, Sphere bets on a smaller, scalable venue model near Washington, D.C., and Europe’s much-criticized short-haul business class gets a rare defense. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy breaks down how creators are becoming cultural interfaces for massive audiences, why Sphere’s next move is about networks, not spectacle...

Ads arrive inside ChatGPT, cruise industry leadership puts emissions front and center, and travel demand shows signs of becoming more selective — not weaker. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy breaks down what advertising inside conversational AI could mean for travel distribution, why Carnival’s CEO stepping into the top role at CLIA signals a sharper climate focus for cruising, and...