Skift Take
Today’s edition of Skift’s daily podcast looks at Labor Day trip, Korean Air’s successes, and innovative hotel design.
Rashaad Jorden
Good morning from Skift. It’s Monday, August 22 in New York City. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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Episode Notes
Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill composes that hotel style is mostly dull and in requirement of extreme development, this following Skift launched its list of the world’s top 15 hotel designers. So what’s driving the lack of creativity overall? O’Neill turns to designer John Hardy for answers in this week’s Early Check-In instruction column.
Hardy, the chair of hotel development firm The Hardy Group, sees hotel brand names doing the bare minimum to stand apart from their competitors, often so they can make franchises easier to offer to hotel owners. Hardy likewise stated that lending institutions and owners dissuade imagination concerning style.
But Hardy believes outside pressure can help drive hotel brand names to be more ingenious. He produced the Radical Development Awards to offer a platform to brand names he sees forging ahead in hotel design. O’Neill writes those awards have actually discovered principles the hotel industry has actually since promoted, consisting of one for rooftop gardens at hotels. Hardy added that the increase in nature-centric hospitality experiences might assist stimulate development.
Next, more than half of Americans are planning to do road trips for Labor Day weekend despite issues about high gas costs, reports Editorial Assistant Rashaad Jorden.
A survey by travel market site The Traveler found roughly 53 percent of U.S. adults plan to take Labor Day trips. About 137 million Americans plan to travel over the vacation weekend, a figure similar to the number planning Labor Excursion in 2015. But with almost 53 percent of participants meaning to take some sort of Labor Day trip, gas prices still stay a significant concern for tourists. In spite of some current relief at the pump, and costs that are much lower than nearly every other nation in the world, 50 percent of Americans stated high rates would impact their Labor Day travel plans. While The Traveler co-founder Eric Jones said tourists wouldn’t forgo journeys, he believes they would likely go with more economical or much shorter Labor Day travel.
Korean Air Survived the Pandemic With No Losses But Deals With New ChallengesFinally, Korean Air finds itself with the uncommon difference of being the only large global airline not to publish a loss during the pandemic, mostly due to its cargo operations. However the provider is still coming to grips with a sluggish healing in guest traffic, reports Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia.
Although Korean Air recorded an approximately $570 million revenue throughout the second quarter, cargo continues to account for the frustrating bulk of its revenue. Passenger earnings only represents 14 percent of Korea Air’s overall earnings. Bhutia writes the carrier’s traveler traffic troubles come from South Korea not totally resuming, unlike nations in Southeast Asia. Aviation expert Brendan Sobie argues South Korea needs to alleviate pre-departure and on-arrival testing requirements, which he believes are impacting travel demand.