Episode Notes The U.S. Department of Transportation has hit Southwest Airlines with a $140 million fine over consumer-protection violations during last year’s holiday travel meltdown, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi. Maharishi reports the fine is 30 times larger than any previous DOT penalty for consumer-protection violations. The DOT said most of that money will go toward compensating future Southwest passengers for any disruptions. The department had concluded that Southwest didn’t d...
Dec 19, 2023•4 min
Episode Notes Major U.S. airlines have made improvements this year on cancellation rates. However, the industry has seen an enormous increase in passenger complaints, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi. Consumer complaints against airlines in the first five months of 2023 topped 2022 levels during the same timeframe, according to a report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, with data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Maharishi notes the DOT received so many complaints ...
Dec 15, 2023•3 min
Episode Notes Dubai is poised to become the next big name in luxury travel, and two of the city’s luxury hoteliers are looking to expand their properties globally, writes Middle East Reporter Josh Corder. Emaar Hospitality head Mark Kirby and Atlantis’ Global President Timothy Kelly spoke about their strategy in Dubai at the Skift Global Forum East conference on Wednesday. Kirby said Dubai has been a strong contributor to Emaar’s growth, and that the company wants to bring Dubai’s success overse...
Dec 14, 2023•3 min
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 offer to present to Wyndham shareholders for a vote next year. Wyndham said its board is reviewing t...
Dec 13, 2023•3 min
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 pressure to be ready for any extreme weather. Winter storms caused airlines to cancel thousands of f...
Dec 12, 2023•3 min
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 levels, according to the UN World Tourism Organization. Two factors boosting Middle Eastern tourism...
Dec 08, 2023•3 min
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 Navan is “refocusing efforts to move faster toward profitability” as its enters the next phase of it...
Dec 07, 2023•3 min
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 expressed concern about Airbnb’s forecast for slower growth in room nights, writes Skift Executive Editor...
Dec 06, 2023•3 min
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 faces antitrust review by the Biden Administration. Analysts noted that JetBlue recently attempted to ...
Dec 05, 2023•4 min
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 American already has high-speed Wi-Fi available on 900 mainline aircraft, the carrier said it wants to th...
Dec 01, 2023•3 min
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 airlines – businesses that have food as a cost. For example, the more an aircraft weighs, the more fu...
Nov 30, 2023•4 min
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 staffing shortages at multiple U.S. embassies. Both resulted from the pandemic. Julie Stufft, deputy a...
Nov 29, 2023•3 min
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 become a referendum on whether Choice and Wyndham must reopen deal talks. O’Neill notes Choice i...
Nov 28, 2023•4 min
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, disclosure leads to a lengthy evaluation process during which pilots can’t fly. Joseph Emerson, the...
Nov 22, 2023•3 min
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 forecast comes while the aviation industry is already straining at the seams. Airlines are still grappling...
Nov 21, 2023•3 min
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 others leaving the position. Russell notes the shortage has contributed to flight reductions and aviatio...
Nov 17, 2023•3 min
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 bookings from China to the UK are down 50% from 2019. Yates attributed that massive drop to Beijing not...
Nov 16, 2023•3 min
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 certain projects. Airbnb recently unveiled a new AI-powered photo tour tool for hosts. Airbnb didn’t rev...
Nov 15, 2023•3 min
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 Thanksgiving, the highest number since 2005. AAA also found flight bookings on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving ...
Nov 14, 2023•3 min
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 is part of its efforts to be a larger force in the U.S., the world’s largest cruise market. A company...
Nov 10, 2023•3 min
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 benefit from several other features as well. Airbnb said hosts will be able to create AI-powered photo tou...
Nov 09, 2023•3 min
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 pipeline. He noted that Choice averaged more than four openings per week through September. However, Josep...
Nov 08, 2023•3 min
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 short-term rental listings for homes. He noted that boutique hotels are already listed on HotelTonight, t...
Nov 07, 2023•3 min
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 in 2023. The Skift Travel 200 is up 6% from this point last year after being down 20% in 2022. In ad...
Nov 03, 2023•3 min
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 113 million bookings during the third quarter, a 14% year-over-year increase. In addition, Airbnb s...
Nov 02, 2023•3 min
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 the organization wasn’t expecting large numbers of travelers to come to western Maui. Scheduled airl...
Nov 01, 2023•4 min
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 Freeman said at the recent Skift Global Forum that the long visa wait times make the U.S. an unwelcoming...
Oct 31, 2023•4 min
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 deal between the two companies would take more than 12 months to clear regulatory review. The prosp...
Oct 27, 2023•3 min
Episode Notes Hilton’s third-quarter earnings call suggested that U.S. hotel demand is returning to pre-pandemic norms. However, the company is seeing bookings surge at its overseas hotels, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. Hilton’s revenue per available room — an important industry metric — rose only 3% in the U.S. in the third quarter. But it jumped 39% in the Asia-Pacific region. Hilton also reported worldwide growth in revenue per available room across all customer segments. Th...
Oct 26, 2023•3 min
Episode Notes Taylor Swift wasn’t the only major pop star responsible for a tourism boom this summer. Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour helped lift hotel bookings across the U.S. and Europe, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. O’Neill cites Cardiff, Wales, Cologne, Germany and Houston, Texas, as cities where hotel bookings surged during stops on Beyonce’s tour. Hotels in her hometown of Houston generated $18 million in revenue on the nights of her concerts, a 45% jump from the same weekend l...
Oct 25, 2023•3 min
