Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry: Ask Skift Your Questions Episode Notes Taylor Swift is heading to Australia next February for her Eras Tour — but not New Zealand. However, Air New Zealand is boosting capacity for the thousands of Swifties eager to travel to Australia for her shows, writes Reporter Jess Wade. Wade reports 10,000 Kiwis have booked flights on Air New Zealand coinciding with the concert dates. One Air New Zealand executive said the surge is one of the greatest i...
Jul 07, 2023•3 min
Episode Notes Today we present an excerpt from the latest episode of The Skift Podcast, featuring Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill interviewing Travel Tech Reporter Justin Dawes about his experience last week at the Hospitality Industry Technology Expo and Conference—better known as HITEC, "the world’s largest hospitality technology show.” You can listen to the full interview detailing Justin’s take aways about the conference and the state of hospitality tech on The Skift Podcast. Find all...
Jul 06, 2023•7 min
Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry: Ask Skift Your Questions Episode Notes Hotels are increasingly viewing wellness as a way to attract travelers placing a greater emphasis on their physical and mental well-being. So what strategies are hotel brands taking? Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill reports in this week’s Early Check-In column that a recently published report is providing some answers. O’Neill writes a report by consultancy firm RLA Global is a rare effort to quanti...
Jul 05, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Airlines flying out of the New York City area have had a terrible recent stretch, with severe weather and a shortage of air traffic controllers contributing to thousands of flight disruptions just before the Fourth of July. But perhaps the hardest hit carrier was United Airlines — especially at its hub Newark, reports Edward Russell, editor of Airline Weekly, a Skift publication. Newark was the only airport where United saw triple digit flight cancellations through Wednesday this w...
Jun 30, 2023•3 min
Have a question about the business of travel? Get your answer at Ask Skift. Episode Notes Inflation is still a major concern for many American travelers, but rising prices aren’t putting a dent in travel demand. More than 50 million Americans are expected to travel for this year’s Fourth of July, reports Associate Editor Rashaad Jorden. Travel organization AAA projects the number of Americans traveling for this year’s holiday will surpass the record set in 2019. A AAA executive said consumers ar...
Jun 29, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Several major U.S. cities are facing a similar challenge in their quest to make a full recovery from the pandemic — the absence of suburban residents. Urban destination marketing organizations acknowledge they need the critical group to help boost visitor numbers, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Habtemariam reports that prior to the pandemic, suburban residents often commuted to the city for work and then attended various events. Those activities kept businesses r...
Jun 28, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes China was a major market for Carnival Corporation prior to the pandemic. But despite Beijing lifting the country’s strict travel curbs earlier this year, the cruise line isn’t returning to China in the near future, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein said on Monday the company’s strong second quarter did not reflect a return to China, and added the company would “be on the sidelines” for a few years. Roughly 1 million Carnival guests came f...
Jun 27, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific said on Friday it expects to turn a profit in the first half of 2023 after years of losses. But the company’s slow recovery is a concern in the airline industry, reports Edward Russell, editor of Airline Weekly, a Skift publication. Cathay Pacific’s expected profit comes after it posted a roughly $320 million dollar loss in the first half of last year. Russell writes Cathay Pacific was hit hard by the Hong Kong government’s strict Covid-era tr...
Jun 26, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes A growing number of affluent travelers are seeking extreme adventures, but are they pushing the boundaries for those popular excursions too far? Travel Experiences Reporter Selene Brophy seeks answers from executives responsible for organizing those trips. Carl Shephard, co-founder of travel company Insider Expeditions, said safety is always the priority, but added that the industry is providing valuable experiences. He said companies like his should push the boundaries. Virgin Gal...
Jun 23, 2023•4 min
Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry. Ask Skift Your Questions Episode Notes Canadian travel brands took on large amounts of debt during the pandemic to weather the Covid-induced slowdown. But with those companies still struggling due to the country’s sluggish recovery, Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam writes Canada’s travel industry could face business shutdowns in the near future. Tourism Industry Association of Canada CEO Beth Potter said a large number of travel compa...
Jun 22, 2023•3 min
Episode Notes The global travel industry is making consistent progress in its recovery from the pandemic. Skift Research’s Travel Health Index for May 2023 projects the industry’s travel performance will soon surpass 2019 levels. Research Analyst Saniya Zanpure reports the Index’s average global score in May hit 100 percent of pre-Covid levels, 2 percentage points higher than the previous month. Although that’s a 1 percentage point drop from April, Zanpure notes all regions except Europe have ma...
Jun 21, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Chicago’s tourism industry has recently gotten a big boost from events like three sold out Taylor Swift concerts at Soldier Field. Local authorities hope the success of her shows can be the antidote to the city’s negative reputation, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Habtemariam reports 45,000 people came to Chicago over a June weekend when it hosted a large oncology conference in addition to the Swift concerts. One local hotel industry official said it was the best...
Jun 20, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Travelers will likely notice that hotel room rates are up this summer travel season compared to last year, leading to charges that hotel owners are raising prices to take advantage of pent-up vacation demand. However, Senior Research Analyst Seth Borko argues that surging rates aren’t a case of price gouging. Borko acknowledges that the average price of a U.S. hotel room rose 13 percent in May from the same month last year. But he reports that jump doesn’t account for inflation, ad...
Jun 16, 2023•4 min
Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry. Try It. Episode Notes The U.S. tourism industry has gotten a boost from the Biden administration lifting its vaccine requirement for inbound travelers in May. However, a prominent U.S. tourism official believes the industry won’t make a full recovery without the large-scale return of Chinese visitors, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Brand USA CEO Chris Thompson said at a U.S. Senate hearing this week that dropping the vaccine...
Jun 15, 2023•3 min
Try the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry Episode Notes Travel demand among Chinese citizens has surged since Beijing eased the country’s strict Covid-era curbs in January. So how can travel brands tap into one of the world’s most lucrative markets? Skift Research examines in a new report what strategies companies should take to attract Chinese travelers. Senior Research Analyst Varsha Arora writes Skift Research explored various stages of the Chinese travel journey, including planning and book...
Jun 14, 2023•4 min
Try the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry Episode Notes Airfares in India have been soaring recently, and a new report finds the country registered the highest increase in airfares in the Asia-Pacific region, reports Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia. A study conducted by Airports Council International attributed the surging airfares to factors such as rising fuel prices and pent-up travel demand. The report noted that fuel prices have jumped 76 percent compared to 2019. The CEO of India-based trav...
Jun 13, 2023•4 min
Try the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry Episode Notes Saturday’s Champions League final, perhaps soccer’s most prestigious annual event, drew tens of thousands of visitors to Istanbul. But local officials believe the action on the field is secondary to the boost the game will give the city’s tourism industry, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes. While Dawes writes that visiting fans will surely inject a lot of money into Istanbul’s economy, he adds the event’s true value is the adv...
Jun 12, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Airline executives acknowledged this week they could be in the midst of a recession. But they’re largely unconcerned about an economic downturn impeding the industry’s ongoing recovery, reports Edward Russell, editor of Airline Weekly, a Skift publication. Leaders speaking at a major aviation conference in Istanbul expressed optimism about aviation’s boom continuing. International Air Transport Association Director General Willie Walsh said the airline industry is making progress i...
Jun 09, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes The short-term rental industry has experienced a major boom coming out of the pandemic. But Laurence Tosi, founder of investment firm WestCap, believes the sector’s enormous growth is slowing down, reports Associate Editor Rashaad Jorden. Tosi said that future growth for travel will moderate during a discussion at the Skift Short-Term Rental Summit on Wednesday. He also told Skift founder and CEO Rafat Ali that companies like Sonder and Vacasa aiming to become profitable need to fo...
Jun 08, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Hotel executives expressed optimism this week for a continued boom despite inflation and a possible recession, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin said at an event organized by New York University that the future for the hotel industry has never been as strong as it currently is. Bazin added that hotel rates in Paris have been 50 percent above 2019 levels for the past six months. O’Neill writes a limited supply of travel lodging has boosted the...
Jun 07, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Travel companies across the U.S. have seen an enormous boom in leisure travel demand coming out of the pandemic. However, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby believes the U.S. is in a “business recession,” reports Edward Russell, editor of Airline Weekly, a Skift publication. Kirby said at a conference in Istanbul on Monday that while consumer spending is strong, the same can’t be said for businesses. Russell writes that the downturn has contributed to a slower business travel recovery...
Jun 06, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Tourists from the U.S. are boosting the UK’s tourism recovery, with more Americans traveling to the country in 2022 than prior to the pandemic, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. A little more than 4.5 million Americans traveled to the UK last year, a 2 percent jump from 2019. In addition, American visitors were spending more and staying longer in the country. Americans spent a record $7.45 billion in the UK in 2022, according to national tourism board VisitBritain. ...
Jun 05, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes The short-term rental industry has seen an enormous boom over the last decade. And ahead of Skift’s Short-Term Rental Summit in New York next week, Skift Research has unveiled the Skift Short-Term Rental 250, a list of the 250 most prominent companies in the industry. Head of Skift Research Wouter Geerts writes the detailed look at the sector comes four years after its seminal report on the short-term rental ecosystem. He adds that Skift Research divided the 250 companies into thre...
Jun 02, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern recently accused rival online travel agency Agoda of undercutting the nightly rates posted on official hotel websites, and that’s anathema to hotels. So how has Agoda been able to discover cheaper rates? Executive Editor Dennis Schaal explains how in his weekly Online Travel Briefing. Schaal includes a video of then-Agoda CEO John Brown at Skift Forum East in 2019 detailing his company’s mindset on hotel prices. Brown said the company has the responsibi...
Jun 01, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Destinations across the Middle East are poised to get a major tourism boost from China — or more specifically, China’s wealthiest citizens, reports Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia in this week’s Middle East Travel Roundup. More than 20 percent of Chinese millionaires plan to visit the Middle East in the next year, according to a recent report from luxury consulting firm Agility. Bhutia writes Middle Eastern destinations have been wooing Chinese travelers ever since Beijing resumed ou...
May 31, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Independent hotel brand Arlo Hotels had emphasized smaller rooms in its properties when it launched as part of its appeal. But the company is moving to larger rooms due to a shift in consumer demand, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. Real estate development firm Quadrum Global recently announced it’s planning to bring Brookyln’s The Williamsburg Hotel under its Arlo Hotels brand by September. O’Neill writes rooms at The Williamsburg are considerably larger than the on...
May 30, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Skift editorial events producer Jane Alexander is joined by Skift’s head of research, Wouter Geerts, P.H.D., and research analyst, Saniya Zanpure, to discuss a the travel industry's complete recovery from the pandemic. They discuss how this past April the Skift Travel Health Index average score surpassed that of 2019 for the first time, the weaknesses that still exist and the opportunities for growth. You can read an outline of the report and see supporting charts and graphs in the...
May 26, 2023•12 min
Episode Notes A recent report in the Wall Street Journal said Choice Hotels International is considering buying Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. However, hotel industry analysts are skeptical, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. O’Neill writes a Choice Hotels-Wyndham merger could create the largest hotel franchisor in the U.S. But he cites two analysts who explained why it’s unlikely to happen in a Truist Securities research report. Choice Hotels would have to add more budget properties...
May 25, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes The travel industry has reached a significant milestone in its recovery from the pandemic. Skift Research’s Travel Health Index for April 2023 reveals the industry is performing better than it did prior to the pandemic. Research Analyst Saniya Zanpure reports the Index’s average global score in April hit 101 percent of pre-Covid levels, 2 percentage points higher than the previous month. Skift Research uses data from 22 partners to track the travel industry’s performance. Latin Ame...
May 24, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Skift senior media producer Jose Marmolejos speaks with Skift executive editor Dennis Schaal about his latest article on Skift.com covering the 10 highest-paid online travel execs in 2022. They discuss who topped the list, how executive pay has trended in the last few years, and whether these large compensation packages are necessary to recruit top-notch talent. In other Skift news, Associate Editor Rashaad Jorden reports that hotels are increasingly developing locally themed exper...
May 23, 2023•12 min
