Skift Daily Travel Briefing

Episode NotesTravel executives still believe artificial intelligence will transform the industry — even if it’s taking longer than expected. Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes provides recent insights from several executives on AI.Booking Holdings CEO said the latest advances in AI could help make connected trips — travel experiences in which consumers can book all parts of a trip in one place — a reality. AI has already significantly boosted revenue for Tripadvior. CEO Matthew Goldberg said travelers using its AI-powered trip planner have generated, on average, 15 times more revenue than TripAdvisor’s platform-wide average.  Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company has been working on integrating AI for nearly two years since ChatGPT launched. One learning is that it will take years to rebuild Airbnb into a fully AI-powered digital travel concierge that learns and adapts to each individual user.Next, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has finalized a rule that would discipline businesses for buying or selling fake reviews. Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill explains what the measure means for the travel industry. The FTC’s new rule prohibits the creation, purchase or sale of fake reviews, including those generated by AI. The agency could enact civil penalties of up to roughly $52,000 per violation against the creators and posters of fake content. O’Neill cites travel agencies, travel booking platforms and price-comparison services as travel brands that could face penalties if they don’t police fake reviews.  Fake reviews have long been an issue in the travel industry. Tripadvisor said it caught and removed more than 1 million reviews in 2022.  Finally, activist investor Elliott Investment Management has published a list of 10 candidates it would like to see serve on Southwest Airlines’ board, writes Airlines Gordon Smith.Smith notes four of the 10 candidates have held CEO roles in the airline industry. Elliott said in an open letter that the nominees would offer Southwest shareholders a different approach, arguing the carrier’s current board has delivered poor returns for shareholders. There are currently 15 members on Southwest’s board of directors.Elliott took a nearly $2 billion stake in Southwest in June, making it one of the carrier’s largest investors.For more travel stories and deep dives into the latest trends, head to skift.com. 

Gordon Smith, Airlines Editor, dives into Delta Air Lines' ambitious plan for free global Wi-Fi, discussing the challenges of international expansion while comparing it to competitors' services. He highlights Delta's successful domestic strategy and the ongoing satellite upgrades for better connectivity. The podcast also explores how luxury hotels in Paris experienced a significant occupancy surge during the Olympics, albeit amid a backdrop of overall sluggish summer tourism. It's a dynamic view of an evolving travel landscape!

Episode NotesDisney has unveiled expansion plans for its parks, cruise line and digital platforms, writes Travel Experiences Reporter Jesse Chase-Lubitz. Disney announced it will debut four new cruise ships between 2027 and 2031, an expansion that will increase its cruise line fleet to 13 ships. Meanwhile, the Disneyland Resort in California will feature a water-based Avatar attraction and Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida will be home to Indiana Jones and Encanto-themed attractions.  In addition, Disney is working with Epic Games to incorporate its characters into digital environments linked to the popular online game Fortnite. Next, India’s outbound travel market is projected to reach $55.4 billion by 2034. And the country’s clout in the global travel industry is expected to continue growing, writes Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia.Several travel executives addressed India’s role in global tourism during recent earnings calls. Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin said the number of Indian outbound travelers could double in the near future, which would have a big impact on Southeast Asia and Middle East hotel markets. And Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said Airbnb is a crucial market, with the company seeing a 30% increase in nights booked in 2023 from the previous year. Finally, the three largest U.S.-based sellers of vacation ownership, or timeshares, have reported a pullback in consumer spending behavior, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. Executives at Hilton Grand Vacations, Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Wyndham Destinations said they noticed an increased consumer hesitancy to buy timeshares, particularly for new buyers in the bottom-third of income. O’Neill notes the pullback follows a high level of demand. The sector saw sales volume hit $11 billion last year, marking a full recovery from pre-Covid levels. Where will growth come from? “Global” was the most-used word by timeshare executives in recent earnings calls. Marriott Vacations Worldwide is planning a new resort in Thailand. Hilton Grand Vacations sees opportunities in boosting its sales of units to Japanese buyers. And Travel and Leisure Co. saw its international tour flow jump over 50% in the second quarter.Producer/Presenter: Jose MarmolejosConnect with SkiftLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/X: https://twitter.com/skiftFacebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnewsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.

Episode NotesExpedia Group — like several other major travel brands — has seen “softening” travel demand recently, but it registered growth in several key metrics during the second quarter, writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal. CEO Ariane Gorin said Expedia Group is facing a more challenging environment since July, leading the company to adjust its expectations for the rest of the year. But Expedia Group said room nights at flagship brand Expedia.com jumped 20% from last year. In addition, booked room nights grew 10% overall at Expedia Group, topping both Airbnb and Booking Holdings. Next, Delta argues the software company CrowdStrike’s offer of onsite help came too late to resolve the carrier’s IT outage, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi. Delta lawyer David Boies said CrowdStrike didn’t provide an “automatic” solution to solve an IT outage that eventually became a meltdown for Delta. The airline canceled roughly 7,000 flights after a July 19 CrowdStrike outage. CrowdStrike said earlier this week that Delta declined its offer for onsite assistance. However, Delta claims CrowdStrike’s offer was “unhelpful and untimely.” Boies notes the offer came four days after the IT outage and by that time, Delta had already restored most of its critical systems. In a statement, Crowdstrike said “Delta continues to push a misleading narrative” and that if offered support within hours of the incident. Finally, Tripadvisor’s controlling shareholder is looking to do a deal with travel and tourism investment firm Certares, writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.Liberty Tripadvisor Holdings CEO Greg Maffei said the company is in “active discussions” with Certares about possible transactions. Schaal notes those “active discussions” would revolve around the $325 million preferred stock investment Liberty Tripadvisor must repay Certares by March 2025. Certares became a strategic investor in Liberty Tripadvisor in March 2020. For more travel stories and deep dives into the latest trends, head to skift.com. 

Episode NotesHilton has raised its forecast for a profit this year. However, the company believes the post-Covid travel surge is cooling off — especially in the U.S., reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. CEO Christopher Nassetta said during Hilton’s second-quarter earnings call that domestic travel demand is “definitely softening.” However, he emphasized demand is “not cratering in any way.” Hilton expects its full-year revenue per available room to grow between 2% and 3% as Nassetta said the company expects to see growth in all segments during the full year. Next, Disney executives expect theme park attendance and revenue to soften in the next several months, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. The company said it believes its theme parks and experiences division’s operating income will decline by mid-single digits compared to last year. Disney CEO Bob Iger said the lower income consumer is “feeling a little bit of stress” and that higher-income consumers are looking to travel overseas more. Habtemariam notes several travel executives have expressed concerns about a slowdown in U.S. domestic spending on travel. Finally, one year after one of the deadliest wildfires in Hawaii’s history, Maui faces a steep climb to make a full tourism recovery, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.On August 8, 2023, a wildfire devastated the town of Lahaina, killed nearly 100 people and destroyed thousands of homes. The western portion of Maui, which was battered by the wildfire, didn’t fully reopen for tourism until November. Maui welcomed 1.1 million visitors in the first half of 2024, a 24% drop from last year. For more travel stories and deep dives into the latest trends, head to skift.com. 

Episode NotesAirbnb’s second-quarter earnings revealed the company’s growth slowed down in several key areas, writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.The company forecasts that guests are making bookings with shorter lead times, and it is seeing “some signs of slowing demand from U.S. guests.” Airbnb said that in the third quarter, it expects a “sequential moderation” in year-over-year nights and experiences booked compared with the 9% growth in the second quarter.But Schaal notes Airbnb can point to many positives during the second quarter, including an increase in active listings from 7 million last year to 8 million.Next, InterContinental Hotels Group said it’s not seeing signs of weakening demand outside of China, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. IHG CEO Elie Maalouf said the company hasn’t been impacted by a possible recession yet. IHG added the post-pandemic tourism surge has moderated and normalized to pre-Covid levels. The company reported a 3% rise in its revenue per available room — a key industry metric — during the first half of this year. While IHG saw its revenue per available room fall by 2.6% in China, O’Neill notes that drop didn’t dramatically impact its overall performance. Finally, travel stocks were the best performers on a bad day overall for the broader U.S. stock market this Monday. However, travel has been the worst performing group of stocks over the past year, making it one of the sectors most vulnerable to a recession, writes Head of Research Seth Borko. Borko notes concerns about a recession are clear in the performance of the Skift Travel 200, our own index of travel stocks. Cruise lines have been the best performing travel sector in 2024, followed by accommodations. Even though these businesses outperformed their travel peers, there is still no major travel subsector in the green so far. Producer/Presenter: Jose MarmolejosConnect with SkiftLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/X: https://twitter.com/skiftFacebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnewsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.

Episode NotesJuly’s weaker-than-expected job growth sparked a selloff in global financial markets and raised concerns about a recession. Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit explains the impact on the travel industry. In the airline sector, Delta and United have gotten a boost from the rise in premium long-haul demand fueled by travelers more willing to spend freely. As of the second quarter, that support was still there. But if there is a recession, it could benefit low-cost carriers since they do well when budgets are tight.Kopit reports early signals from hotel earnings suggest signs of a second-half slowdown, adding the picture will be clearer when IHG, Hyatt and Hilton, among other companies, report this week. However, cruise executives said they haven’t seen any slowdown in bookings and guest spending. “Overall, the short answer is no cracks, no deterioration,” said the chief financial officer of Norwegian Cruise Line. Next, software company CrowdStrike said it didn’t cause the Delta Air Lines meltdown that resulted in thousands of flight cancellations and delays, said Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi. Delta CEO Ed Bastian recently told CNBC the airline would “have no choice” but to sue CrowdStrike. Bastian said he expects Delta to take a $500 million hit from the disruptions that stem from a loss in revenue and the amount it owes in compensation to passengers. Meanwhile, CrowdStrike lawyer Michael Carlinsky argued that Delta didn’t accept the company’s offer of onsite help and asked why Delta’s competitors recovered much more quickly. Finally, travelers have increasingly sought assistance from travel agents coming out of the pandemic. However, Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel believes AI will eventually lead to a decline in traditional travel agents, writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.Fogel, speaking in an interview on the Decoder podcast, said the position of traditional travel agents will continue to be reduced “as we create the virtual travel agents and as we use all the skills we have in AI.” To compete, Fogel also said it will be important for Booking to offer a higher level of service for its best customers. However, Zane Kerby, CEO of the American Society of Travel Advisors, pushed back on Fogel’s prediction. Kerby said the customer service travel advisors provide can’t be replicated by AI, comparing online travel agencies to vending machines – a low cost, low service option. Connect with SkiftLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/X: https://twitter.com/skiftFacebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnewsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/

Episode NotesSpirit Airlines had a rough second quarter, posting a significantly higher loss than last year. CEO Ted Christie is promising big changes to the company’s operations, writes Airlines Editor Gordon Smith.  Spirit said it registered a roughly $193 million net loss during the second quarter — up from a $2.3 million loss last year. Airline Weekly Senior Analyst Jay Shabat said a surplus of domestic seats and an increase in operating costs have hurt Spirit’s bottom line. Spirit is making changes to hit its goal of $100 million in annual savings. The company has temporarily frozen pilot and flight attendant recruitment in addition to furloughing about 240 pilots. Spirit is also deferring all incoming orders with Airbus for deliveries that were due to arrive between the second quarter of 2025 and the end of 2026. Next, the Biden administration is proposing a rule that would prohibit airlines from charging junk fees to seat families together on flights, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi. Airlines would be barred from charging fees to assign seats to children 13 years of age or younger next to their parents or accompanying adults. The Department of Transportation said the proposed rule could save a family of four as much as $200 if seat selection fees cost $25 each. Airlines would also have to give families the option of a refund if adjacent seats aren’t available at the time of booking. Finally, Saudi Arabia has revealed its plans for hotels, stadiums and airports as part of its bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, writes Middle East Reporter Josh Corder. The kingdom’s 245-page bid book calls for ten of thousands of additional hotel rooms and 11 new stadiums, among other investments. Saudi officials said that all five proposed host cities will have modern airports connecting more than 250 international destinations. However, the bid book does not mention alcohol, which is prohibited in Saudi Arabia. For more travel stories and deep dives into the latest trends, head to skift.com. To find these stories and more insight into the business of travel, subscribe to the Skift daily newsletter at skift.com/daily.Connect with SkiftLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/X: https://twitter.com/skiftFacebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnewsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.

Episode NotesMarriott executives are optimistic they’ll see growth throughout the year despite emerging headwinds, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.CEO Anthony Capuano said the company saw strong travel demand during the second quarter. Marriott said it expects its revenue per available room — a key hotel industry metric — to grow between 3% and 4% this year. But that’s down slightly from a previous forecast of up to 5%. And O’Neill notes Marriott faces several challenges, such as China’s struggling economy and the U.S. presidential election’s likely impact on travel patterns in November. Next, a U.S. Senate committee has advanced a bill that would create a national standard for hotel pricing in the U.S., writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. The Hotel Fees Transparency Act would require hotels, short-term rentals and online travel agencies to display the total price of a stay, including all mandatory fees, upfront. The bill now awaits a full Senate vote, which would bring it one step closer to becoming law. The American Hotels & Lodging Association has come out in support of the bill, which O’Neill notes is a reversal of its long-time stance opposing legislation around so-called junk fees. Finally, Norwegian Cruise Line executives haven’t seen a reduction in guest spending, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Spending on Norwegian Cruise ships remained strong in large part due to onboard amenities such as specialty restaurants while pre-cruise bookings for amenities were up 15%. Chief Financial Officer Mark Kempa said the company benefits from having more time to sell products to guests than hotels do, for example. In addition, guests tend to book cruise trips much further in advance, making it easier for Norwegian Cruise to market onboard activities. For more travel stories and deep dives into the latest trends, head to skift.com. Connect with SkiftLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/X: https://twitter.com/skiftFacebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnewsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.

Episode NotesA U.S. appeals court has struck down the Department of Transportation’s rulemandating airlines disclose all fees upfront, pending a full review, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi. A three-judge panel said the rule likely exceeds the department’s authority and would significantly harm airlines. The case will be heard during the next available oral argument panel. The Department of Transportation released a final rule in April requiring airlines disclose “junk fees” associated with purchasing airline tickets, including those for baggage and changes to reservations.Trade group Airlines for America — along with several prominent airlines — filed a lawsuit against the department in May, arguing the junk fee rule was a regulatory overreach that would cause confusion for customers. The DOT said it will continue defending the rule. Next, Spirit Airlines is targeting premium-focused passengers as part of its effort to return to profitability, writes Airlines Editor Gordon Smith. Spirit revealed four fare classes on Tuesday that CEO Ted Christie said represented a “new era” for the company. ‘Go Big’ — Spirit’s new top-tier option — includes perks such as priority check-in and boarding as well as complimentary onboard Wi-Fi. The changes at Spirit come shortly after Southwest Airlines announced moves to target premium travelers.Spirit has had a rough start to 2024. A federal judge blocked its proposed merger with JetBlue, and business models at U.S. low-cost airlines have come under pressure due to overcapacity and rising costs. We end today with a look at Venice’s efforts to manage visitor numbers. The city is banning group tours of more than 25 people starting August 1, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.Tour guides will also be banned from using loudspeakers on the streets. In addition, group tours will not be allowed to park their vehicles on bridges. Habtemariam notes those restrictions aim to deter overcrowding, reduce noise pollution and make it easier for pedestrians to get around the city. Deputy Mayor Simone Venturini said the city banned loudspeakers because it’s not “a theme park.”Venice authorities also have plans to introduce new restrictions on short-term rentals in September. Producer/Presenter: Jose MarmolejosConnect with SkiftLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/X: https://twitter.com/skiftFacebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnewsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.