Episode Notes Wyndham Hotels says it’s still seeing strong demand for leisure and business travel despite economic uncertainty, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. CEO Geoff Ballotti said on Thursday that the company believes it won’t see a decline in leisure travel demand during the fourth quarter and throughout 2025. Ballotti added a continued drop in interest rates would help boost leisure travel.  Next, Southwest Airlines reported it’s seeing strong bookings for the holiday...

Episode Notes Anthropic, a generative AI startup, has unveiled new tech that indicates how an AI-powered travel agent would look, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes. Anthropic recently released three demonstrations of the tech, one of which was for making travel plans. A more advanced version of the tech could eliminate the friction of manually navigating options, comparing prices and making reservations. In addition, Dawes notes users might bypass online travel agencies like...

Episode Notes NYC Tourism + Conventions, the city’s destination marketing organization, announced on Tuesday it named Julie Coker as its next president and CEO, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.  Coker, who has held the same roles at the San Diego Tourism Authority since 2020, will assume her new position on December 9. She succeeds Fred Dixon, who served as NYC Tourism’s CEO for close to a decade before stepping down earlier this year to lead Brand USA Coker will take the...

Episode Notes The growth of U.S. vacation rental and short-term rental supply has been slowing down, a trend that will likely continue next year, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.  Vacation rental and short-term rental supply in the U.S. has grown 10% in 2024 from last year, according to analytics firm Key Data. However, that’s down from 20% two years ago. Key Data said one factor for the supply deceleration is a shortage of housing.  Analysts at Truist Securities said that...

Episode Notes Uber has explored buying the Expedia Group, according to a report this week in the Financial Times. It’s all speculation at this point, but the deal, if it were to happen, would bring about the biggest shakeup the travel industry has seen in years. Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes answers 10 questions about it.  Dawes notes there are currently no active discussions between the two companies. But an acquisition would bring Uber closer to becoming a superapp, a single app...

Episode Notes Hotel executives gathered at The Lodging Conference recently to discuss emerging trends in the industry. Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill listed five key takeaways from the event as executives look forward to 2025.    O’Neill notes hotel leaders are cautiously optimistic about the economic outlook for next year. Executives generally believe that the Fed’s recent interest rate cut will boost enthusiasm for U.S. hotel development in 2025. Luxury hotels will likely see a boom...

Episode Notes Visit Florida launched a new campaign this week to inform tourists much of the state is ready to welcome visitors after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Visit Florida will share images and videos of destinations largely unaffected by the hurricanes via social media over the next two weeks. The tourism board has also recently launched social media campaigns with the messaging “Stronger Than the Storm” for in-state audiences and...

Episode Notes Thousands of Barcelona residents took to the streets this past Sunday to demand the city stop hosting the America’s Cup sailing competition and other huge tourism events. It’s the latest of large-scale protests in Spain against mass tourism, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Habtemariam notes protestors burned a replica of the America’s Cup trophy at the end of the demonstration. The group, “No to the America’s Cup,” which organized the protest, alleges the city...

Episode Notes United Airlines is adding eight new, off-the-beaten-path destinations to its summer 2025 schedule, betting that travelers will fly to less popular locations, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi.  United’s new destinations for summer 2025 include the capitals of Mongolia, Senegal and Greenland. Maharishi notes many of its new destinations are in contrast to American and Delta, two carriers with summer schedules that typically revolve around more popular routes. However,...

Episode Notes Marriott has reached an agreement with 49 states and Washington, D.C., to pay $52 million to settle charges related to data security, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.  O’Neill notes the settlement with the states relates to a database security incident in 2018 in the guest reservations system of Starwood, a hotel group Marriott had just acquired.  And the Federal Trade Commission is requiring Marriott to put in place a new data security program following three...

Episode Notes Marriott International announced on Tuesday that it’s expanding its City Express by Marriott brand into the U.S. and Canada, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.   O’Neill reports the expansion represents Marriott’s foray into the “affordable midscale” category in the two countries. Marriott bought the City Express brand in Mexico in May 2023, and has run properties under the City Express by Marriott brand in the Caribbean and Latin America. The company hasn’t yet...

Airlines and airports are getting ready for Hurricane Milton, a “potentially catastrophic” storm expected to hit southwest Florida on Wednesday, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi. Tampa International Airport and Orlando International have announced they plan to suspend operations in anticipation of Hurricane Milton. Several airlines — including American, Delta and United — have issued travel waivers in Florida. Citi analyst Stephen Trent said cancellations from the storm could cause...

Episode Notes Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin said the Paris-based hotel group has 47 brands in its portfolio. And the company has plans to add more, writes Middle East Reporter Josh Corder. Bazin said at the Future Hospitality Summit in Dubai that Accor doesn’t have too many brands. He noted in the era of technology, customers have enough resources to discover them all. Bazin also said it’s important that no two brands are the same and that all of them are relevant. As for global growth, Bazin...

Episode Notes The global hotel industry has seen some markets thrive this year while some others have struggled, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.  A recent report by CBRE Hotels Research revealed U.S. revenue per available room would grow roughly 1% for the full year. That’s close to a 2 percentage point drop from its forecast in February. O’Neill notes that U.S. urban and airport hotels are set to overperform while those in resort locations will likely underperform relative to...

Moxy Hotels, Marriott’s first brand aimed at travelers in their 20s, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill takes a look at how Moxy has looked to stay relevant in the marketplace throughout the years.  O’Neill notes that Moxy doesn’t subscribe to the commonly held premise in the hotel industry that the room is everything. Moxy’s compact rooms have appealed to some Millennials used to cramped urban residences or minimalist lifestyles. In...

Episode Notes Carnival Corp. said demand for travel to Alaska is “off the charts,” writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein said Alaska has emerged as one of the cruise line’s top destinations in 2024, especially for first-time cruisegoers. Weinstein’s comments came as residents in the state capital Juneau are voting on a measure that would ban large cruise ships from docking in the city on Saturdays and the Fourth of July.  Meanwhile, Carnival is seeing...

Episode Notes Hotel companies are trying to figure out how artificial intelligence will impact their businesses. Leaders in the industry aren’t quite sure yet, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill, who attended the Destination AI summit in Washington, D.C.  Jess Petitt, an executive at Hilton, said the number of hotel bookings made using generative AI is minuscule but added the technology would make a huge impact on the industry. However, some experts are skeptical about generative...

Episode Notes Skift is taking another big step to shape the future of travel. We’ve launched Skift Elevate, an initiative that aims to empower underrepresented voices in the industry.  Skift President Carolyn Kremins calls Elevate a movement to drive meaningful, collective action across the travel industry. Its inaugural event took place at the recent Skift Global Forum, where several prominent women in travel addressed topics such as gender equity, leadership development and inclusive...

Episode Notes Residents of Juneau, Alaska, are set to vote next Tuesday on a measure that would ban large cruise ships from docking in the city on Saturdays and July 4, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.  The ban would apply to any large cruise ship with more than 250 passengers. The measure requires a simple majority to pass. Karla Hart, who helped gather enough signatures to put the proposal on the ballot, said overtourism has pushed some fellow residents out of the...

Episode Notes Concerns have grown in recent weeks about how a potential recession could impact travel. But while the travel industry isn’t recession-proof, it could be recession-resistant, reports Senior Research Analyst Pranavi Agarwal. There are signs of weakness. The Skift Travel 200 Stock Index is up only 3% since the start of the year, and travel executives have noted of a slowdown in demand on recent earnings calls.  But Agarwal writes travel today could be a little more insulated than...

Episode Notes Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin said at the Skift Global Forum on Thursday that some of its brands took a hit during its recently completed tech migration, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes. But the new CEO said Expedia, which was the least disrupted of its core brands, has done well, with growth in room nights of 20% in the second quarter. Now Gorin is focused on getting more customers for Vrbo. The tech migration could help as Vrbo and Expedia Group’s brands can...

Episode Notes Airbnb aims to focus on a lot more than short-term rentals. The company has plans to consistently launch new lines of business going forward, including those that may not be geared toward travel, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes. CEO Brian Chesky said at the Skift Global Forum on Wednesday he anticipates launching two or three ventures annually that could eventually generate a billion dollars a year in revenue. He acknowledged not all of those ventures will be...

Episode Notes Skift Global Forum kicked off in New York City on Tuesday with big news in the U.S. travel industry. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma said U.S. travelers will have the option of renewing their passports online starting on Wednesday, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi.  Verma told Skift CEO Rafat Ali that the State Department believes half of passport renewals will be done online in the near future. However, Verma acknowledged that the online option wouldn’t...

Episode Notes Thayer Ventures and Derive Ventures are teaming up to create Thayer Investment Partners, an investment platform the two VC firms believe will boost innovation in travel technology, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. The new platform aims to offer a full-service venture capital approach, with plans to invest in business-to-business and consumer startups. Thayer Investment Partners will consider startups in most destinations, with the exception of China, where it lacks...