

Skift Daily Travel Briefing
Skift
Everything you need to know about the business of travel today. Each episode covers new travel stories from Skift's editorial team. Listen to the latest developments at hotels, airlines, destinations, online booking sites, and more.
Published Tuesday through Friday by 5am ET.
For ongoing coverage, please visit Skift.com/news.
Published Tuesday through Friday by 5am ET.
For ongoing coverage, please visit Skift.com/news.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 16, 2025 • 4min
Online Travel Battles, A TikTok Deal and Amex’s New Travel App
Online travel giants are leaning hard into B2B: Booking is consolidating partner teams across Booking.com, Priceline, and Agoda; Hopper’s focus has shifted so much to B2B that its consumer presence outside North America has faded; and Expedia is broadening B2B tech with new APIs for cars, insurance, and ads—offering growth without Google ad spend and steadier, contract-based revenue. The U.S. and China have agreed on a framework to keep TikTok operating in the U.S., preserving a key travel marketing channel that TikTok says helps 69% of users discover brands. Meanwhile, American Express Travel is launching its first iOS app on September 18, bundling existing hotel and flight booking perks (like lounge wait times) into a mobile experience without adding new inventory or trip-planning tools.
TikTok Deal Could Save Travel Brands’ Access to 170 Million U.S. Users
The B2B Battleground: Expedia, Booking and Hopper Are Redefining Online Travel’s Quiet Money Machine
American Express Travel to Debut Travel App for Bookings
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Sep 12, 2025 • 4min
Booking’s AI Bet, Marriott’s Loyalty Push and Hotels’ Tech Hurdles
Booking Holdings is developing agentic AI to create a more personalized travel assistant capable of taking actions like booking flights, with CFO Ewout Steenbergen calling it key to delivering the long-promised “connected trip.” Marriott is expanding its Bonvoy loyalty program through partnerships with retailers such as Flipkart and Nectar, aiming to reward everyday shopping and draw new customers into its hotel portfolio. Meanwhile, a Skift Research report finds hotels still devote most tech budgets to legacy systems, but the biggest revenue gains will come from upgrading core infrastructure and applying AI to behind-the-scenes tasks like pricing and issue resolution.
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Sep 11, 2025 • 4min
Delta’s Big Spenders, Airbnb’s AI Future and Canada’s U.S. Travel Slump
Delta’s Ed Bastian said most of the airline’s revenue now comes from households earning $100,000+—a key reason carriers are leaning into premium and international travel even as budget travelers dampen domestic demand. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky signaled AI could reopen expansion plans (including flights and transportation), with AI-powered search coming to the app next year and simpler listing tools for hosts. Meanwhile, Canadians are skipping U.S. trips in large numbers—August car returns down 34% and air returns down 25% year over year—while domestic bookings in Canada are rising.
Delta CEO Doubles Down on Premium: 95% of Revenue From $100k TravelersCanadian Travel to the U.S. Falls Sharply AgainAirbnb’s Brian Chesky: AI Opens New Markets, ‘Everything Is Now Back on the Table’
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Sep 10, 2025 • 2min
Travel Power Players, Translating AirPods and a Healthier United
Skift’s latest Power Rankings spotlight bold leaders reshaping travel, from Airbnb’s Brian Chesky relaunching Experiences, to Perplexity’s Aravind Srinivas challenging Google’s travel search with AI, and IndiGo’s Pieter Elbers pushing long-haul expansion with new widebodies. Apple’s new AirPods Pro 3 add live language translation for English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. Meanwhile, United CEO Scott Kirby says airline demand is rebounding and the industry is stabilizing amid eased tariff worries and new tax provisions.
The Leaders Making the Biggest Bets in Travel
Apple Unveils Live Translation on AirPods
United CEO Expresses Confidence About the Economy
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Sep 5, 2025 • 3min
20 Risk-Taking Travel Leaders, Marriott's Split Performance and Hyatt's All-Inclusive Boom
Skift’s Generation Next series highlights 20 women transforming the travel industry, including leaders like Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson and Shaika Nasser Al Nowais, who will become the first Emirati and first woman to lead UN Tourism. Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano pointed to a “bifurcation of the consumer,” with luxury travel booming while mid-tier hotels face pressure from economic headwinds. Meanwhile, Hyatt reported strong holiday demand for its all-inclusive resorts, particularly in the Americas, and is weighing a potential sale of a stake in its ALG Vacations arm despite its central role in filling those properties.
Generation Next: The Risk Takers
Hyatt Sees All-Inclusives Surge, May Sell a Stake in ALG Vacations
Marriott CEO Flags Wealth Divide, Government Travel Drop, More Tech Spending
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Sep 4, 2025 • 4min
Vrbo’s Crackdown, Accor’s Subscription Push and Europe’s AI Lag
Vrbo will begin enforcing 100% penalties on U.S. hosts starting October 1 if guests are denied access to booked homes, with fines equal to the reservation amount and potential suspensions, as part of broader crackdowns by Vrbo and Airbnb on poor host service. Accor is consolidating its regional subscription cards under the global All Accor+ brand, extending discounts and perks across more than 4,000 properties in 100 countries (e.g., Asia Pacific cardholders now get 15% off worldwide). Meanwhile, although 93% of European tourism boards have experimented with AI, most lack formal strategies or expertise, with interest strongest in translation and other content tasks.
Vrbo Cracks Down on Bad Hosts: 100% Penalty for Stranding Guests
Europe’s Tourism Agencies Report High AI Interest But Low Use: Exclusive
Accor Goes Global With Subscription Cards to Boost Hotel Loyalty
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Sep 3, 2025 • 4min
Leasing the Skies, Redefining Luxury and Expanding Across Borders
A group led by Sumitomo Corp and SMBC Aviation Capital will acquire aircraft lessor Air Lease for $7.4 billion, marking a major shift in an industry where leased planes now make up more than half of the global fleet. Relais & Châteaux is carefully modernizing while expanding into markets like India, China, and Southeast Asia, balancing digital adoption with its commitment to small, family-run hotels that embody authenticity and luxury. Meanwhile, India’s TBO Tek is acquiring U.S. luxury wholesaler Classic Vacations for up to $125 million to strengthen its foothold in the U.S. market and expand its global presence.
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Sep 2, 2025 • 3min
France Targets High-Spenders, Sweden Faces Heat and India-China Reconnect
France is pivoting its tourism strategy to court higher-spending long-haul visitors from Asia, the Gulf, and North America, aiming to boost international tourism revenue by 41% by 2030 with a focus on longer, higher-quality stays. Despite record Northern European heat this summer, Visit Sweden says tourism impacts have been minimal so far, though climate projections warn the Nordics will warm faster than the global average. India and China agreed to restart direct flights after a five-year pause, signaling tentative thawing of ties, though no timeline has been announced.
France Is the Most-Visited Country But Spending Trails Rivals
Can Sweden Remain a Summer Refuge as Extreme Heatwaves Spread North?
India and China to Restart Direct Flights After 5-Year Freeze
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Aug 29, 2025 • 4min
Airbnb’s Fee Shake-Up, Perks for Slow Travel and the Supersonic Race
Airbnb will introduce a single-fee payment system in October, shifting service charges from guests to property managers, who will now pay 14–16% per booking, though the company says overall costs remain unchanged. Meanwhile, employers such as Positive Planet and Climate Perks are offering extra vacation days to staff who opt for lower-carbon travel methods like trains over flights, part of a growing “slow travel” movement. Finally, Boom Supersonic plans to launch three-hour New York–London flights by 2029 with its Overture aircraft, aiming for business-class travelers with $3,500 round-trip fares and new engine technology to replace the Concorde’s outdated design.
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Aug 28, 2025 • 4min
Moneyball for Hotels, Penn Station's Overhaul and Huge Labor Day Air Travel
HotelAVE has grown into a $12 billion hotel asset management firm by using data to uncover profit gaps at properties, often challenging industry norms on operations and pricing strategies. The company has also built proprietary software to integrate data from multiple management systems, streamlining analysis and decision-making. Meanwhile, the Trump administration announced a multi-billion-dollar renovation of New York’s Penn Station to begin by 2027, Amtrak debuted its new high-speed Acela trains, and U.S. airlines are preparing for their busiest Labor Day weekend in 15 years, with TSA expecting to screen more than 17 million passengers.
Moneyball for Hotels: How a $12 Billion Asset Management Firm Finds Value
Trump Administration Plans Penn Station Overhaul in NYC, Amtrak Debuts High-Speed Acelas
Labor Day to Cap Busiest Summer for U.S. Airlines in 15 Years
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