Designer Bill Bensley took the stage at the Skift Asia Forum in Bangkok, a city he’s lived in since 1984. He discussed his career in hotel design, his creative philosophy, and inspirations, among other topics, with Skift founder and CEO Rafat Ali. Bensley, who has been described as the “Willy Wonka of Design,” founded his studio in 1990 and has designed more than 200 properties worldwide...
This November 19-20, Skift Global Forum East, hosted by Dubai, will return to welcome several hundred leaders and some of the brightest minds from across hospitality, tourism, technology, and aviation to discuss and connect over the future of the global travel industry. Here are four leaders that have been recently announced for interviews at the Forum: Mark Hoplamazian, President & CEO of...
Wisconsin-based property manager Frontdesk laid off its entire staff of around 200 employees Tuesday, according to a published report, and appeared to have ceased operations. The company, which focused on managing multifamily buildings in places ranging from the Midwest U.S., to Florida and Pennsylvania, terminated its staff after it failed to raise additional funding, TechCrunch reported Tuesday...
As it prepares for the launch of 19 new properties in 2024, Singapore-headquartered Banyan Tree Group is embracing a sleeker image, rebranding itself as the Banyan Group. Marking a significant expansion, the rebranding strategy aims to distinguish the original Banyan Tree luxury brand from recent additions to the portfolio, which has doubled since 2019. Ren Yung Ho, senior vice president of brand...
Indian companies have failed to set targets to reduce corporate travel emissions, according to an annual report by campaign group Transport & Environment. Globally, only 50 companies out of 322 have set targets to reduce business travel, with information technology (IT) services company Wipro paving the way in India. Wipro has achieved a 15-20 percent reduction in air travel emissions...
Key Points ANA Boeing 737-800 flight returned to Sapporo-New Chitose due to a cockpit window crack. No injuries reported among the 59 passengers and six crew members. Incident did not involve Boeing 737 Max 9, which is under scrutiny and grounding for safety checks. Summary A domestic flight of Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) on a Boeing 737-800 turned back to its departure airport after a...
Paris is set to host the 2024 Olympics this summer, but it won’t be a major international tourism draw. Only 30% of the event attendees are from abroad. Its real value for the destination is going to be the images of professional breakdancing, skateboarding and other urban sports in the heart of Paris. “It’s a way of showing that Paris is really implicated in this urban culture,” said Corinne...
Thousands of companies have traded in their big office spaces in favor of remote work. But team building is tough on Zoom and many are organizing regular in-person gatherings to bring employees together. That shift has a growing number of travel managers and hotels revamping their offerings to cater to this new kind of business travel. Reed & Mackay is one such company. The 62-year-old...
Norwegian Cruise Line is witnessing resilient demand from vacationers across all markets and among both mass-market and luxury travelers — defying concerns about potential softness in leisure travel spending. “We are on track to end 2024 on an exceptionally strong note, marking our best year as a company since we returned to operations [after the pandemic],” said CEO Harry Sommer during an...
HomeToGo is acquiring vacation rental booking site e-domizil for about $45 million (40 million euros) to accelerate its shift toward a marketplace strategy that may end up working for holiday homes, but has failed elsewhere in online travel. Founded in 2014 as a vacation rental metasearch or holiday home comparison-shopping business that sends site visitors to third-party partners to finish...