Online Travel This Week Online travel has a ton of loose ends, questions to be answered, and fortunes to be won or blown, and these issues didn’t get resolved, of course, just because the Gregorian calendar spent its annual allotment of days on December 31. Here are some of the open questions for online travel in 2022: Who Will Be Tripadvisor’s Next CEO? The search for a CEO at Tripadvisor to...
Hotels Hyatt Exec Explains Soft Brand Strategy With Boutique Luxury Hotels One of Hyatt’s many business models is to take indie luxury hotels that pride themselves on being boutique-y, providing them the benefits of Hyatt (distribution! marketing! operational support!) and then downplaying any sign of corporate involvement in the eyes of guests. So far, it’s working. Sean...
In Saudi Arabia’s latest tourism campaign, Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi aims to bust the stereotypes global travelers may have about the kingdom. The campaign emphasizes that Saudi Arabia has a lot to offer and is a welcoming destination, said Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority. Saudi has been hyperfocused on cutting its dependence on oil and diversifying its economy. Over...
Skift Take Join us for the eagerly awaited Skift Global Forum opening reception, presented by Turkish Airlines, featuring a fireside chat with Hilton’s CEO, Christopher Nassetta, and seize the opportunity to network, gain valuable insights, and be inspired as the travel industry’s future takes center stage on September 26. — Nicole Meyer The much-anticipated opening reception for...
The Trump Organization may finally have a buyer for its Washington, D.C., hotel. Miami-based CGI Merchant Group is in advanced talks to acquire the Trump International Hotel in D.C. for close to $370 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. The acquisition would come in well below the initial $500 million the Trump family originally marketed the hotel at in late 2019. But the sale would still...
Boeing’s already fragile airliner production chain is facing renewed jeopardy. Late on Thursday, workers overwhelmingly rejected a tentative deal agreed between union representatives and company management. More than 30,000 unionized staff in Washington and Oregon are now on strike. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) turned down a package that...
The Adani Group is set to invest INR 600 billion in its airport business over the next five to 10 years. This investment will be used to expand seven of the existing airports in its portfolio and will be split evenly between ‘airside’ expansion and ‘cityside’ development, the conglomerate said. Airports set to expand: The group has identified Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Guwahati...
Pent-up demand is trumping inflationary hikes in travel costs, as businesses “open the taps” to encourage their employees to get moving again. Inflation may be starting to dampen demand for summer vacations, but companies are willing to pay the price despite the continuing rises in airfares — for now. They’ve got no cap in place, according to one corporate travel agency, which is currently...
The three largest U.S.-based sellers of vacation ownership, or timeshares, have seen a broad pullback in consumer spending behavior. During earnings calls, executives noted an increased consumer hesitancy to buy timeshares, particularly for new buyers in the bottom third of income. However, surveys suggest that people already owning timeshares strongly intend to use them within the next year. The...
Happy Thursday, folks! India did it, we made it to the finals of the men’s cricket world cup. You know what this means: Four years until I care about sports again. Alright, let’s go. On the menu today: European Commission’s deal with short-term rental industry RedAwning’s upgrades for superhosts San Antonio supervision The European Handshake The European Council and Parliament have reached a...