Skift Daily Travel Briefing

Episode NotesQatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, one of most influential executives in the global airline industry, announced on Monday he’s stepping down, effective November 5, writes Reporter Ajay Awtaney. Under his leadership, the airline has grown from five aircraft in 1996 to 258 aircraft today. Al Baker also played a critical role in the opening of Hamad International Airport, which has served as Qatar Airways’ hub since 2014. Badr Mohammed al Meer, the airport’s current Chief Operating Officer, will replace Al Baker as Qatar Airways CEO. Next, Airbnb has emphasized South Africa in its quest to substantially boost international revenue. Indeed, the short-term rental company reported on Monday that host revenue in the country is 25% above pre-pandemic levels, writes Travel Experiences Reporter Selene Brophy. Brophy reports that users who listed South African properties on Airbnb generated roughly $211 million of revenue last year. The company said it has about 65,000 South African listings, triple the number it had in 2017. And Brophy notes Airbnb has plenty of room to expand in South Africa as the country has yet to make a full tourism recovery.  Finally, Meta is among a growing number of companies that have released artificial intelligence-powered tools that can be used for travel. So how does Meta’s new chatbot perform? Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes explains what it gets wrong.Dawes tested the chatbot on WhatsApp and noted several errors, including links to articles with outdated information. Dawes adds that Meta AI struggles with itinerary creation. He writes the chatbot produced a barebones itinerary following several steps, which included asking for details about restaurants and museum exhibits. 

Episode NotesFirst, the U.S. Department of State has issued a message urging all Americans traveling abroad to “exercise increased caution” due to heightened tensions in various locations and potential terrorist attacks and violent actions against U.S. citizens. The alert is in response to the global consequences of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, writes tourism reporter Dawit Habtemariam.Americans traveling abroad were advised to stay alert in locations frequented by tourists, enroll in the Smart Travel Enrollment Program to stay updated, and follow the State Department on Facebook and Twitter.Next, AirDNA, which analyzes short-term rental data from Airbnb and Vrbo, has launched a feature to help investors make profitable decisions when purchasing homes for vacation rentals, writes executive editor Dennis Schaal.Investors can now view homes for sale through AirDNA, as well as view estimates for how they have fared as short-term rental properties regarding occupancy, average daily rates, and revenue. Currently, it shows homes for sale in the U.S. only. The UK and France would likely be the next countries on tap for expansion.Finally, Air India Express unveiled its new look on a brand new Boeing 737–8 aircraft. The message was clear: A break away from its staid image as a sleepy subsidiary no one talks about, writes reporter Ajay Awtaney.The airline’s visual identity now features a bright color palette of orange and turquoise, with tangerine and ice blue as secondary colors. It has built its branding around the letter X, and is clearly trying to connect with a younger generation. Each aircraft livery will feature a variable tailfin design inspired by India’s art and crafts heritage. This is one of several investments being made with a goal for Air India Express to become a dominant carrier in India and serve international markets from India. 

Episode NotesGoogle is constantly tweaking its hotels platform, and the latest iteration contributes directly to the democratization of the online travel industry, writes Skift Research analyst Pranavi Agarwal.Skift Research conducted a study of Google Hotels platform. Here are three insights from the analysis: paid sponsored listings are dominated by the largest online travel agencies; the introduction of organic results is allowing direct sites and smaller online travel agencies to compete head-on with Booking and Expedia; and Google Hotels prioritizes the direct site in its organic results, with the official site most likely to appear on top, even when it is not the cheapest option. Next, there have been at least four travel tech acquisitions this month, writes travel tech reporter Justin Dawes. One of them was by property management system startup Mews, which acquired a small hotel AI startup called Nomi, whose tech is meant to help hotels deliver personalized recommendations based on data that guests provide. If the hotel can keep a profile on customers, then the hotel will have better information they can use to recommend activities and restaurants. And that data sets the groundwork for the useful implementation of future generative AI concierge tools. Finally, Premier Inn’s owner, Whitbread, said a shrinking supply of budget hotels in the UK will strengthen its pricing power for years to come, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neil.Premier Inn, the UK’s leading budget hotel chain, said the country’s independent budget hotel sector shrunk 10% between 2019 and 2022, with many not expected to reopen. This supply shortage is predicted to last for at least five years, presenting a growth opportunity for Premier Inn. Because of the company’s size, it can more easily obtain favorable loans and discounted supplies. Premier Inn also said that repeat guests made 86% of its bookings this year.

Episode NotesChoice Hotels has made a public bid to acquire Wyndham Hotels in what would be a hostile takeover. Valued at nearly $8 billion, the deal would combine the companies to create the largest franchisor of budget hotels in North America, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neil.Wyndham’s board of directors, however, publicly rejected the deal, citing regulatory and execution risks and they said the deal was not fair to its shareholders. Choice made its offer public after its talks with Wyndham broke down in September. The two had been in private negotiations over the past six months.Next, Expedia recently laid off around 100 employees in its recent round of job cuts. This is the online travel tech giant’s second round of layoffs in recent months, reports Online Travel Editor Dennis Schaal. Expedia’s recent layoffs follow Google, Hopper, Vacasa, Sonder and other tech companies cutting their workforces.One of the employees Expedia laid off was a director of program management for AI, machine learning and data. Finally, United reported strong in domestic demand in the third quarter. Analysts had been worried that the U.S. market would soften but United – and other airlines – aren’t seeing it yet. Profits in the Atlantic and Pacific regions reached “record highs.”

Episode NotesHilton will simplify how small-and medium-sized businesses book and manage billings for its small-group meetings and events and has opened a waitlist for Hilton for Business, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neil.To encourage sign ups, Hilton will run a loyalty program that rewards business owners with points that can go toward their businesses or their personal travel. Hilton will also offer bonus points based on the number of employee sign ups, stays and stays over time. Skift estimates the initiatives may be relevant to up to 70 million road warriors next year.Next, the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas have disrupted the operations of Royal Jordanian and Wizz Air, reports Airline Weekly Editor Ned Russell from the Routes World conference in Istanbul. To avoid flying through Israeli airspace, Amman-based Royal Jordanian has to now route flights either north over Lebanon and Syria, or south over Saudi Arabia and Egypt, said Royal Jordanian CEO Samer Majali at the conference.In addition, Wizz is canceling flights on a rolling four-day basis. Finally, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic NEOM super-city has unveiled a new region. Called Leyja, it’s a $500 billion sustainable and eco-tourism hub in the mountains, writes Middle East Reporter Josh Corder. The ultra-luxury project will include high-end stores, helipads and fine-dining restaurants. It will have at least three hotels, which will be called the Wellness Hotel, Oasis Hotel and Adventure Hotel. Each will have just 40 keys. An opening date for Leyja has not been announced yet.

Episode NotesAirbnb has been blamed in recent years for helping average rents in some cities increase. But Taylor Marr, Airbnb’s first senior housing economist, downplays its impact, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.  Marr said, in an exclusive news interview with Skift, that Airbnb is launching a housing research program. Although Marr acknowledged Airbnb could have negative impacts on some communities, he played down the company’s role in rent increases. He cited a recently published Conference Board of Canada study that found there was no connection between Airbnb and rents. Next, Delta Air Lines struck a nerve with many of its customers when it made major changes to its SkyMiles loyalty program. However, the pushback the company received didn’t hurt its bottom line during the third quarter, reports Edward Russell, editor of Skift publication Airline Weekly.Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the company didn’t see a drop in bookings, spend levels or usage of its co-branded credit card with American Express. The Atlanta-based carrier changed its key loyalty metric to money spent with Delta. The company brought in roughly $1.7 billion during the third quarter under its deal with American Express. Bastian added that Delta plans to release updated requirements for its loyalty program soon. Delta generated a nearly $2 billion operating profit during the third quarter. The company’s revenue increased 11% from the same period last year. Finally, ever since the first generative AI chatbot was released almost a year ago, there has been widespread discussion about it might affect travel. Indeed, a trio of tech giants have recently unveiled travel-related AI products, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes in his Travel Tech Briefing. Dawes explores the new offerings from Amazon Web Services, Meta and Microsoft. Amazon Web Services said its platform allows travel companies to build AI tools and apps that access their own proprietary data. As for Meta, it’s released a generative AI chatbot named Meta AI that could answer questions related to trip planning. Meanwhile, Microsoft revealed that users will be able to plan and complete corporate travel bookings through Microsoft 365 Chat. In addition, Microsoft said it’s working to pilot a travel assistant in partnership with travel technology company Amadeus. 

Ask Skift Is the AI Chatbot for the Travel Industry: Go deeper into the business of travel with Skift’s new AI chatbot.Ask Skift Your QuestionsEpisode NotesThe Biden administration has taken another step to combat so-called junk fees. The Federal Trade Commission unveiled a proposed rule on Wednesday that would stop businesses — including those in the travel industry — from charging misleading fees, reports Associate Editor Rashaad Jorden. Jorden writes the rule would require companies to show consumers the full price of their purchase as well as whether fees are refundable. Under the FTC’s proposal, businesses that don’t comply with the agency’s regulations could face fines and possibly have to refund consumers. An FTC spokesperson told Skift that the agency will hold a 60-day public comment period after which it will decide any changes to the proposal. The FTC would then vote on a final rule.  Next, Disney has raised the price of tickets for both Disneyland and Disney World, writes Travel Experiences Reporter Selene Brophy. Brophy reports Disneyland raised one-day ticket prices by between 4% and 9% and also increased the prices of multi-day tickets. Meanwhile, Walt Disney World raised the price of its annual passes by nearly 10%, but it didn’t increase the price of daily tickets to any of its theme parks. One travel industry insider said Disney could be betting that a small monthly increase in payment won’t cause many pass holders to cancel. Finally, British Airways is the latest airline to suspend all flights to Israel following Hamas’ recent attack on the country, reports Edward Russell, editor of Skift publication Airline Weekly. British Airways has joined United Airlines, Ryanair and EasyJet and other airlines in suspending service to the country. However, Russell notes an extended conflict wouldn’t significantly impact the balance sheets of most major global airlines. Israel’s small size makes it easy for airlines to route flights around its airspace. Meanwhile, not every airline has suspended flights to Israel indefinitely. EasyJet and Ryanair currently plan to resume flights to the country before the end of the week. 

Episode NotesNew York City’s recently enacted stringent host registration rules for short-term rentals has led to a substantial reduction in Airbnb’s listings in the city. They’ve also helped create an underground market for Airbnb alternatives, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal in his weekly Online Travel Briefing.A recent article in Wired described New York City’s short-term rental regulations as “pure chaos.” Schaal cites a listing on Craigslist for a one bedroom property as one example of the booming underground market. Wired revealed that fewer than 500 hosts out of the 22,000 listings on Airbnb last summer are now registered. A spokesperson for an organization representing homeowners said short-term rentals are increasingly taking place in an unsafe environment for both hosts and guests.  Next, tourism to Morocco – especially the city of Marrakech – was hit hard by the massive earthquake that struck the country in September. But the city has just reached some important milestones in its recovery, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.Although some areas affected by the earthquake remained closed to the public, Habtemariam reports several historic sites in Marrakech reopened to tourists recently. In addition, the city is hosting the 2023 World Bank and IMF Annual Meeting this week. One Moroccan tourism official said more than 14,000 people are expected to come to Marrakech for the event. Finally, Virgin Australia recorded a profit for its fiscal year ending in June, the airline’s first in 11 years. However, the company still has a long way to go to catch up to rival Qantas, reports Jay Shabat, senior analyst at Skift publication. Shabbat writes Virgin Australia notched an $87 million net profit and a 9% operating margin during the fiscal year. Virgin’s return to being in the black comes after it had restructured in bankruptcy during the pandemic. However, Virgin was less profitable than Qantas, which reported a 14% operating margin. Qantas also generated a little more than six times Virgin’s revenue during the fiscal year. 

Episode NotesIsrael had high hopes this year for its tourism sector this year as it sought to surpass 2019 visitor numbers. But Hamas’ surprise attack on the country, which has led to at least 1,000 deaths, has completely halted Israel’s tourism industry, writes Middle East Reporter Josh Corder and Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia. Corder and Bhutia report that major airlines worldwide, including American Airlines and Air India, have stopped routes to Israel. Meanwhile, several governments, such as the U.S., have issued “Do Not Travel” warnings to Gaza and urged their citizens to exercise caution when traveling to Israel. Israeli officials had expressed optimism earlier this year the country could set tourism records in 2023. However, Israel was already struggling to meet its targets before the recent attacks. Furthermore, carriers halting flights from the Americas and Europe, both large source markets, will likely have a major impact on visitor numbers for the rest of the year.    Next, Airbnb is ending its Airbnb Plus program, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal. Schaal writes Airbnb viewed the program as a way to obtain and promote and push exclusive listings that satisfied roughly 100 design expectations. However, he notes that Airbnb Plus sputtered and never came close to meeting expectations, with several industry experts questioning the usefulness of it for both hosts and guests. In addition, Airbnb hasn’t onboarded any new Airbnb Plus listings in some time. The official end date for the program is November 6. Finally, Puerto Rico is launching a new tourism campaign geared towards travelers unable to take certain trips because they couldn’t obtain their passport in time, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.Habtemariam reports that the “No Passport, No Problem” campaign will launch next month. It aims to remind Americans they don’t need a passport to visit Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. Discover Puerto Rico Chief Marketing Officer Leah Chandler said about a third of Americans are unaware that trips to the island don’t require a passport. While the number of Americans traveling abroad is continuing to surge, Habtemariam notes that the average wait time to get a U.S. passport is between 10 and 13 weeks. 

Episode NotesSaudi Arabia has just announced it will bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034. A big question is, if chosen as the host, will the kingdom stage the first entirely alcohol-free World Cup, writes Middle East Reporter Josh Corder.Corder reports Saudi Arabia would have all the event spaces it needs as well as some of the world’s luxurious hotels by 2034. However, Saudi authorities would have to determine whether to ease the country’s long-standing ban on alcohol. Fellow Gulf State Qatar severely restricted the sale of alcohol when it hosted the World Cup last year after having initially announced that stadiums would serve booze.John Pagano, CEO of the Saudi government-owned Red Sea Global, said earlier this year that serving alcohol was not on the agenda for the country’s tourism industry. Next, Europe’s short-term rental industry has been blamed for an array of problems affecting the continent, including overtourism. But sector representatives argue they shouldn’t be the scapegoat for bad policies, writes Short-Term Rental Reporter Srividya Kalyanaraman. Viktorija Molnar, the acting secretary general of the European Holiday Home Association, defended the short-term rental industry in an interview with Skift. Molnar cited poor management as the reason why cities such as Barcelona and Amsterdam have suffered from overtourism. She also said the short-term rental industry has been attacked by politicians eager to show they’re working to solve the continent’s issues. Finally, VisitBritain will develop a tourism campaign featuring locations appearing in movie and TV shows, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates said at the recent Skift Global Forum that British officials will tap into pop culture as part of its strategy to boost tourism. Yates cited Bristol, where the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory prequel Wonka was filmed, as one destination the organization would heavily promote. VisitBritain had previously featured Harry Potter and James Bond in its marketing campaigns.  Habtemariam writes VisitBritain is using film tourism to help spread tourism beyond London. The organization said roughly a third of potential tourists are interested in visiting locations used in filming and seen-on-screen.