Latest news with #SkiftDailyBriefingPodcast
Skift
11-06-2025
- Business
- Skift
Airbnb's Poaching Experiences, IHG's U.S. Bounce and Meliá's Expansion Plans
For today's pod we look at Airbnb's aggressive expansion approach, IHG's good news in the U.S., and Melia's equally good news about Mediterranean numbers. Skift Daily Briefing Podcast Listen to the day's top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday. Listen to the day's top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday. Skift Travel Podcasts Good morning from Skift. It's Wednesday, June 11. Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today. Airbnb has been outed by two tour platforms for trying to poach their guides as the short-term rental giant looks to relaunch its Experiences business, writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal. ToursByLocals and Withlocals said separately that people with Airbnb email addresses created accounts on their sites, and then violated their terms and conditions by messaging tour guides on their platforms to recruit them to Airbnb Experiences. ToursByLocals CEO Lisa Chen said those creating accounts on the site sought to take the conversations off the platform. She said ToursByLocals disabled the Airbnb accounts. Withlocals CEO Matthijs Keij wrote about Airbnb's activity in a recent Linkedin post, saying it wasn't in the spirit of fair play. Listen to This Podcast Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Youtube | RSS Next, InterContinental Hotels Group CEO Elie Maalouf is downplaying early-year turbulence in U.S. inbound travel, writes Hospitality Reporter Luke Martin. IHG saw a drop in transatlantic bookings in March, which Maalouf partly attributed to Easter taking place in April. However, he noted IHG saw travel from Europe to the U.S. rebound in April. Maalouf added that international visitors make up just 5% of IHG's bookings in the U.S., with only a small portion coming from Europe. Maalouf also said IHG is bullish on expansion in Asia, citing younger populations and faster-growing economies across the region as drivers of growth. IHG expects to open its 1,000th hotel in China within the next two years. Finally, Meliá Hotels has seen a surge in U.S. travelers at its resorts in the Mediterranean. And CEO Gabriel Escarrer is looking to expand in what he considers emerging destinations, writes Hospitality Reporter Luke Martin. Escarrer said in an interview with Skift that Meliá has not seen a slowdown in demand thus far, adding the company has been encouraged by the number of forward bookings across its European properties. He also said that Meliá is pursuing an expansion strategy focused on what he calls a 'vacation axis' spanning regions such as the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and the Middle East. Escarrer pointed to Albania, where he said Meliá is the number one hotel company, as a priority for the company.
Skift
04-06-2025
- Business
- Skift
Hotel CEOs' Outlook, Airlines' Climate Progress and Barry Sternlicht's Warning
Skift Daily Briefing Podcast Listen to the day's top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday. Listen to the day's top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday. Skift Travel Podcasts Good morning from Skift. It's Wednesday. Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today. Hotel CEOs believe the U.S. is wasting its tourism potential with the country facing a 50 billion dollar deficit in international travel, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O'Neill. Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano and other leaders said Washington needs to streamline visa processing and take other steps to ensure the U.S. is ready to host major sporting events in the next decade. Several hotel CEOs have called for more funding for Brand USA, the country's tourism marketing organization. And they hope President Trump and Congress will allot money to help with long-standing infrastructure and resource needs. In addition, many hotel CEOs said they're focused on expansion abroad, especially India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Listen to This Podcast Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Youtube | RSS Next, Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, is blaming governments and fuel producers for aviation's slow process in reaching its climate goals, writes Climate Reporter Darin Graham. Walsh said the European Union, in particular, has failed to provide the support needed to increase the production of sustainable aviation fuel. Walsh added that companies such as BP and Shell have cut back or delayed their investments in green fuel. The European Union's current policy requires airlines to use at least 2% sustainable aviation fuel in their fuel mix by 2030. Fuels Europe said producers have rapidly scaled SAF output and lowered costs. Finally, Starwood Hotels founder Barry Sternlicht says established hotel chains are facing growing pressure from independent brands, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O'Neill. Sternlicht, who sold Starwood to Marriott for 13 billion dollars in 2015, said newer brands are much easier to launch via social media. Sternlicht added that successful hotel brands must differentiate themselves and that hospitality remains fundamentally about service quality. Sternlicht has officially rebranded his latest hotel management company as Starwood Hotels, reviving the name of the company he founded in 1991.
Skift
06-05-2025
- Business
- Skift
JetBlue's VC Sale, Airbnb's Cleaning Fees and Social Commerce's Impact
On today's Pod, we explain how JetBlue sold off its venture capital arm, which destinations charge the most short-term cleaning fees, and the combined power of social media and e-commerce in travel. Skift Daily Briefing Podcast Listen to the day's top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday. Listen to the day's top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday. Skift Travel Podcasts Good morning from Skift. It's Tuesday, May 6. Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today. JetBlue announced on Monday it sold its venture capital arm as part of its strategy to return to profitability, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi. JetBlue sold its venture capital subsidiary to Sky Leasing, an asset management company that specializes in leasing aircraft. Maharishi notes the sale comes as the carrier has struggled since the collapse of both the Northeast Alliance with American Airlines and planned merger with Spirit Airlines. JetBlue Ventures' equity investments were recently valued at $89 million and include flying taxi company Joby and airline retail platform Flyr. Listen to This Podcast Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Youtube | RSS Next, we take a look at cleaning fees in the short-term rental industry. As Airbnb is now including cleaning fees in its upfront price globally, Contributor Clara Awuse breaks down how they vary around the world. Using data from Airbnb and Vrbo, AirDNA found close to 90% of listings in the U.S. charge cleaning fees. Among global regions, North America and the Caribbean have the highest rates of listings with cleaning fees while Eastern Europe and the Middle East have some of the lowest percentages. Finally, a report from Skift Research reveals how social commerce — the fusion of social media and e-commerce — is reshaping the travel industry as platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have become full-fledged booking engines. Research Analyst Robin Gilbert-Jones notes younger travelers now treat social media as their default search engines for travel inspiration, adding that authentic short-form videos can build trust and drive bookings. Skift Research also found that influencers are increasingly acting as travel agents themselves. Gilbert-Jones writes that social commerce in travel could be worth up to $7 billion across accommodations and airlines alone. He added that travel brands must stop treating social media as a PR add-on and instead embrace it as a primary sales channel.
