The Skift Travel Podcast

Vikram Oberoi, The Oberoi Group CEO and Managing Director, speaks with Skift Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O'Neill. This discussion took place on stage at the inaugural Skift India Summit this month in New Delhi, India. on stage at Skift India Summit in New Delhi, India on March 20, 2024. To join the travel industry's best events in person, visit https://live.skift.com

Today we feature a discussion that took place on stage at the inaugural Skift India Summit this month in New Delhi, India. In this conversation Eric Garcetti, United States Ambassador to the Republic of India, speaks with Rafat Ali, Founder & CEO of Skift, about "Bridging the U.S. and India in the Decade Ahead". For more like this, visit live.skift.com to learn how you can attend our next industry...

Today we feature a discussion that took place on stage at the inaugural Skift India Summit this week in New Delhi, India. In this conversation Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson speaks with Skift Asia editor Peden Bhutia about "Connecting India to the World". For more like this, visit live.skift.com to learn how you can attend our next industry defining live event. 

Last week, as the world came together to celebrate International Women's Day, news that a Brazilian tourist had accused seven men of gang rape in a remote region of India, prompted Skift Asia Editor Peden Bhutia to ask in her headline reporting on the story: “Is India Safe for Female Travelers?” In this episode, Peden and Skift Research Analyst Saniya Zanpure, both based in India, join Skift Edito...

In our fifth and final episode covering Skift’s Megatrends for 2024, Editor-in-chief Sarah Kopit is joined by Skift Founder and CEO Rafat Ali to discuss two megatrends centered around technology, demographics, and the future of the human condition. You can see all of Skift’s Megatrends for 2024 right now at Skift.com/megatrends.

Andy Washington, Trip.com Group's General Manager for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), joins Pranavi Agarwal, Senior Research Analyst for Skift Research, in a session titled “Reaching the Emerging Traveler”. This is a previously unreleased discussion from our Skift Megatrends event in London last month.  You can read Skift’s Megatrends for 2024 right now at Skift.com/megatrends.

Our Megatrends series continues today as Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit is joined by Skift Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes, and Colin Nagy, a Skift contributor and host of The Skift Ideas Podcast, to tackle three of Skift's Megatrends for 2024 that deal with: artificial intelligence, the Ozempic era and "extreme wellness".  They discuss how the travel business is being transformed by th...

Continuing our series on Skift’s Megatrends for 2024, today we feature a conversation focused on developments reshaping India, the Middle East, and by extension, the whole of the global travel business. To explore these topics Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit is joined by two members of Skift’s editorial team well versed in these regions: India-based Asia Editor Peden Domo Bhutia, and Dubai-based...

On our second episode exploring Skift’s Megatrends for 2024, Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit is joined by Managing Editor Lex Harris, Airlines Editor and Reporter Gordon Smith, and Airline Weekly Senior Analyst Jay Shabat, to discuss our three most "problematic" Megatrends. They cover: the current uproar over Junk Fees, the continuing supply chain issues faced by the aviation sector, and the imp...

Skift’s Megatrends for 2024 were released at the beginning of the year, our 12th annual reporting on the trends defining the travel industry. Today, we’re proud to present the first episode in a series highlighting these Megatrends featuring Skift’s editor-in-chief Sarah Kopit and Skift Hotel Editor Sean O’Neil. They discuss the Megatrend that Sean himself penned, entitled “How Hotels will Seduce...

One year ago, on January 8 2023, China began reopening to tourism. In our first dispatch of 2024, Skift founder and CEO, Rafat Ali, talks with Check-In Asia director, Gary Bowerman, to discuss the state of Chinese tourism. It is a wide-ranging conversation covering the evolution of the Chinese reopening, how China is addressing the "3 pillars" of travel and tourism, visas, the importance of travel...

Today we feature Hany Abdelkawi, Head of Travel Sales for Google, in conversation with Skift CEO and Founder, Rafat Ali, on stage in Dubai at Skift Global Forum East this December. They spoke on the topic of "Connections in the Age of AI". Visit live.skift.com to learn more about how you can attend or view our next industry defining event.

Today we feature Kerzner Internaltional CEO, Philippe Zuber, in conversation with Skift Editor-in-Chief, Sarah Kopit, on stage in Dubai at Skift Global Forum East last week. They spoke on the topic of "Inspiring Innovation in the Age of AI". Visit live.skift.com to learn more about how you can attend or view our next industry defining event.

As we prepare to return to Dubai on December 12-14, we're revisiting a few of the most popular sessions. This episode of the Skift Travel Podcast is a rebroadcast of a session that took place at Skift Global Forum East in December of last year: His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai Department of Economy & Tourism, speaks with Rafat Ali, Founder & CEO of Skift, on the topic...

This episode of the Skift Travel Podcast is a rebroadcast of a session that took place at Skift Global Forum East in December of last year: "A Global Outlook for the Year Ahead" featuring Hilton President & CEO, Chris Nassetta speaking with Skift CEO, Rafat Ali. As we prepare to return to Dubai on December 12-14, we're revisiting a few of the most popular sessions. Visit live.skift.com for info on...

In anticipation of Skift Global Forum East, happening in Dubai December 12-14, I wanted to sit down with both our Middle East Report, Josh Corder, and Twenty31 Consulting (now Skift Advisory) Managing Director, Joe Naaman, to discuss a big picture view on growth and dynamics in the Middle East. In 45 minutes, we were able to just scratch the surface of our 25+ full speaker lineup and topic discuss...

Today on the podcast we feature Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in conversation with Skift Founder and CEO Rafat Ali onstage at Skift Global Forum in New York City last month.  Among a litany of subjects, Khosrowshahi discusses Uber’s high burn rate, its use of artificial intelligence, upcoming product releases like Uber Teens, Uber becoming a super app, and how essential the delivery service (Uber Eat...

This week Choice Hotels publicly offered to acquire Wyndham Hotels & Resorts following months of private discussions between the two companies. This was pretty exciting in itself, with the last major M&A deal in the hotel industry being the Starwood-Marriott merger in 2015. However, later that day, more news broke that Wyndham had rejected Choice’s offer and saw its stock being halted on the NYSE....

Today, we’re happy to share the latest episode of The Skift Ideas Podcast, which recently returned with its fifth episode. In it, host Colin Nagy is joined by Harsha L'Acqua, Founder and CEO of Saira Hospitality.  Together, they delve into the past and future of hospitality, and the undeniable importance of unlocking opportunities within communities. If you like what you hear, be sure to sure foll...

Today on the show, we play a rousing session from the recent 10th Annual Skift Global Forum that was held in New York City late last month.  The session, titled "Travel's Future as AI Reshapes The World," features tech entrepreneur, investor, and podcast host, Jason Calacanis, along with Brad Gerstner, founder and CEO of Silicon Valley investment firm Altimeter, in discussion with Skift Founder an...

Skift Editorial Director of Events, Brian Quinn, and Research Director, Seth Borko, preview the topics and speakers of next week's Skift Global Forum. Happening September 26-28 in New York City, the momentous 10th annual Skift Global will explore the theme of "Connection in The age of AI" and feature leaders from throughout travel, deciphering the big trends facing the industry.  Visit https://liv...

We’re back from our late summer break with a special live streamed panel discussion conducted by Skift's editorial team last week on September 5, the very day that New York City’s short-term rental crackdown went into effect. Skift Hospitality editor Sean O'Neill was joined on the panel by Executive editor Dennis Schaal, Travel Tech Reporter Justin Dawes, and Short-term rental reporter Srividya Ka...

Today on the program, Skift Lead Producer Jose Marmolejos speaks with Miguel Neves, Editor-in-Chief of Skift Meetings and host of the Skift Meetings Podcast. This week, Miguel has been covering the sale of the core business of virtual event company Hopin—the pandemic era unicorn founded in 2019 that rose to a valuation of nearly $8 billion by August of 2021, but that by the following February had...

Today we feature audio from a livestream presentation done this week by Skift research analysts Seth Borko, Pranavi Agarwal and Varsha Arora, where they discuss some key takeaways and stories from The State of Travel 2023, the comprehensive report that was just released by Skift research. Download the report at https://skift.com/insight/state-of-travel/ You can also head to research.skift.com to f...

As we look ahead to the landmark 10th Skift Global Forum happening this September in New York City, today we take a look back at a panel session from Skift Global Forum 2016 correctly billed as "Legends of Online Travel". On the panel were: Brad Gerstner, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Altimeter Capital; Rich Barton, co founder and, at the time, Executive chairman of Zillow Group (he is currently CE...