Skift Take
Excellent morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, April 12, in New York City. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Rashaad Jorden
Today’s edition of Skift’s daily podcast discusses why Frontier Airlines triumphes no matter its acquirer, Marriott’s trick to success in Asia, and why short-term rentals are seeing success in retail sales.
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Episode Notes JetBlue Airways shocked the aviation market when it unveiled a $3.6 billion deal to obtain inexpensive provider Spirit Airlines, possibly hindering Frontier Airlines’ scheduled merger with Spirit. Nevertheless, Frontier will emerge as a big winner no matter what takes place, write Airlines Reporter Edward Russell and Madhu Unnikrishnan, editor of Airline Weekly, a Skift brand name.
Russell and Unnikrishnan write the general belief among analysts is if the
Frontier-Spirit offer takes place, Frontier would get its wanted merger while if JetBlue obtains Spirit, Frontier would end up being the just large deep discount provider in the U.S. market. While it is possible that neither offer happens, a lot of Wall Street experts consider such an outcome unlikely.
Spirit CEO Ted Christie told staff last week that the airline’s board is thinking about whether to accept JetBlue’s unsolicited offer. A JetBlue-Spirit mix would produce an airline company with an 8 percent share of U.S. domestic tourists.
Next, Marriott is bullish on achieving enormous growth in the Asia-Pacific region, however what’s driving the company’s optimism? Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia writes that Marriott Bonvoy– the hotel giant’s commitment program– is a significant factor.
A business executive said that growing the Marriott Bonvoy, which has more than 55 million members in the Asia Pacific region, is a vital part of the company’s customer strategy, and it’s relied on food and drink to do so. Food and beverage already forms 40 percent of Marriott’s business in Asia Pacific, and the hotel giant recently introduced a takeaway and delivery service named Marriott Bonvoy on Wheels in Indonesia and Thailand. The business has also taken actions to permit visitors to earn Marriott Bonvoy points for their dining establishment sees, and those points can be later redeemed for a remain at any Marriott residential or commercial property.
Lastly, hotels and short-term rental homes are wanting to improve their bottom line by selling retail products such as home furnishings and handcrafts, but where are they relying on for help? Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill reports a handful of standups are making it simpler for hotels and short-term leasings to offer items during a visitor’s stay.
O’Neill composes that start-ups are helping those residential or commercial properties manage the sites that frequently provide info about items on which customers have scanned QR codes. Start-ups are likewise teaming up with consumer brand names to help make their items more available for guests at hotels and short-term rentals. One such startup, Minoan, works with brands to help provide accommodations owners volume discount rates on items they want to offer guests.