Skift Daily Travel Briefing

Episode NotesAirline executives acknowledged this week they could be in the midst of a recession. But they’re largely unconcerned about an economic downturn impeding the industry’s ongoing recovery, reports Edward Russell, editor of Airline Weekly, a Skift publication.Leaders speaking at a major aviation conference in Istanbul expressed optimism about aviation’s boom continuing. International Air Transport Association Director General Willie Walsh said the airline industry is making progress in terms of profitability. The organization expects to record a more than $22 billion profit this year, a seven-fold increase from its forecast last December.  However, Russell writes behind those optimistic projections is a turbulent backdrop, citing in particular the stalled corporate travel recovery. Corporate travel revenue has plateaued in the U.S. at between 75 and 80 percent of 2019 levels according to executives from several major U.S. airlines. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby admitted the U.S. is experiencing a business recession. But the company’s Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said if airlines are in the middle of a recession, it’s the best recession the industry has ever seen. Next, Iceland’s tourism industry is getting a major boost from a new segment of tourists — hardcore music fans. It’s part of the country’s strategy to diversify its visitor base coming out of the pandemic, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Habtemariam reports several recent concerts, including shows by bands such as Wilco and the Disco Biscuits, have helped bring thousands of American travelers to Iceland. An executive at Business Iceland said those concertgoers are the kind of visitors the organization wants, noting they’re eager to explore Iceland beyond Reykjavik and tend to spend a lot of money.Habtemariam adds that Icelandic officials are looking to take advantage of travelers increasingly seeking nature over urban experiences. The country is building more accommodation outside of Reykjavik. In addition, tour operator Intrepid Travel recently developed a one week camping trip that takes travelers to Iceland’s less crowded locations, including its national parks.Finally, U.S. legislators are calling on the White House to prioritize reducing the visa waits Indian travelers looking to visit the U.S. have endured, writes Middle East and Asia Reporter Amrita Ghosh in Skift’s India Travel Daily. Ghosh writes visa delays are the single biggest impediment to boosting Indian visitor numbers to the U.S. Although the U.S. has made progress in reducing visa wait times at some consulates in India, the average wait was roughly 330 days in early April, according to the U.S. Travel Association. 

Episode NotesThe short-term rental industry has experienced a major boom coming out of the pandemic. But Laurence Tosi, founder of investment firm WestCap, believes the sector’s enormous growth is slowing down, reports Associate Editor Rashaad Jorden. Tosi said that future growth for travel will moderate during a discussion at the Skift Short-Term Rental Summit on Wednesday. He also told Skift founder and CEO Rafat Ali that companies like Sonder and Vacasa aiming to become profitable need to focus on having sustainable business models. Tosi also touched on the rise of artificial intelligence in travel, urging travel brands to proceed carefully with how they use the technology. He cited Hopper as one company that has used AI extensively. Next, several airlines are removing first class seats from long-haul international routes. However, Emirates Airlines isn’t getting rid of the luxury offering, reports Edward Russell, editor of Airline Weekly, a Skift publication. Emirates President Tim Clark said at a conference in Istanbul this week that long-haul first class is very important for the company. He added that more than 80 percent of its long-haul aircraft has first class seats. However, Russell notes that long-haul first class is a gradually disappearing product. Indeed, Qatar Airways recently announced that it wouldn’t install first class on its future long-haul jets. Russell adds that airlines increasingly believe the necessary investment in the product isn’t often worth the cost. But some carriers have unveiled plans for first class seats on their longest flights, including Qantas Airways and Lufthansa. Russell writes those investments are driven in part by the increase in premium leisure travelers coming out of the pandemic. Finally, the European Union and Google are teaming up to create a reliable measurement for flying’s climate impact, which has long been challenging for the travel industry, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.The European Union Aviation Safety Agency and Google announced on Wednesday they are teaming up to develop a framework for measuring a flight’s emissions impact. Schaal writes that finding accurate measurements has been a thorny issue because the science is inexact. He adds the collaboration will help Google and partners develop its Travel Impact Model, a publicly accessible model for measuring flight emissions per passenger. The Lufthansa Group has agreed to provide data for the emissions calculations. An executive at the safety agency said he believes the information will help travelers determine which flights may be more environmentally friendly.

Episode NotesHotel executives expressed optimism this week for a continued boom despite inflation and a possible recession, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin said at an event organized by New York University that the future for the hotel industry has never been as strong as it currently is. Bazin added that hotel rates in Paris have been 50 percent above 2019 levels for the past six months. O’Neill writes a limited supply of travel lodging has boosted the pricing power of existing hotels, with one executive describing low supply as music to her friends. O’Neill adds that hotel CEOs are bullish on a surge in travel from Asia, noting that Chinese travelers still haven’t returned en masse. In addition, Bazin said he envisioned India emerging as a major source of business, with the country’s rapidly expanding middle-class increasingly looking to travel abroad.Next, as short-term rentals sit at an inflection point after several years of enormous growth, Skift Research takes a deep look at what lessons industry giant Vacasa can provide the sector after its own boom.Senior Research Analyst Seth Borko writes Vacasa, the largest branded property manager in the U.S., is an important bellwether for short-term rentals that can help answer questions about the sector’s trajectory. Borko notes that Vacasa is a publicly traded company involved in practically every aspect of the industry. Despite experiencing a surge in occupancy rates compared to 2019 levels, Skift Research also found that Vacasa has seen demand cool down, with the period of pandemic-fueled growth coming to an end. Finally, Indian budget carrier IndiGo is closing in on a record deal to buy 500 jets from Airbus, according to Reuters. That’s the latest in a series of massive aircraft orders by Indian airlines, writes Middle East and Asia Reporter Amrita Ghosh in Skift’s India Travel Daily.Ghosh reports that Airbus is the frontrunner for an order that would surpass Air India’s purchase of 470 jets this February. The projected $50 billion deal comes as India — the world’s third largest aviation market — has seen a strong travel rebound coming out of the pandemic. Furthermore, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers recently said international expansion is on the horizon for the company. IndiGo is one of Airbus’ largest customers and had already ordered a total of 830 jets from the Europe-based plane maker.

Episode NotesTravel companies across the U.S. have seen an enormous boom in leisure travel demand coming out of the pandemic. However, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby believes the U.S. is in a “business recession,” reports Edward Russell, editor of Airline Weekly, a Skift publication. Kirby said at a conference in Istanbul on Monday that while consumer spending is strong, the same can’t be said for businesses. Russell writes that the downturn has contributed to a slower business travel recovery than many had expected. United Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella acknowledged that business travel demand at United has plateaued while declining to state how much it’s recovered.Russell adds the state of corporate travel is a major concern for airlines, noting the business travelers represent a significant portion of revenue — especially during periods of slower leisure travel. Next, Marriott is making another foray into the extended-stay sector. The company is launching a brand geared toward price-conscious travelers seeking stays between seven and 30 days, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. Marriott announced on Monday that it would expand into the “affordable midscale” hotel category with the yet-to-be named brand. O’Neill writes the new brand — Marriott’s 32nd — will be the company’s most affordable cost-per-room hotel brand in the U.S. and Canada. Marriott’s other brands with mostly long-stay guests are largely geared toward luxury travelers. O’Neill adds Marriott expects to open the brand in late 2024 or early 2025. Finally, roughly 90 percent of LGBTQ+ travelers in India consider their personal safety as an important factor when booking travel, reports Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia and Middle East and Asia Reporter Amrita Ghosh. A recent Booking.com survey found that the percentage of LGBTQ+ travelers in India prioritizing safety had jumped 20 percentage points from last year. Roughly 80 percent of respondents said destinations they perceived to be unfriendly to LGBTQ+ travelers were off their travel radar. Bhutia and Ghosh did note that India’s travel industry has made progress in becoming more inclusive for members of the country’s LGBTQ+ community. The survey also revealed 91 percent of respondents feel more comfortable while traveling. 

Episode NotesTourists from the U.S. are boosting the UK’s tourism recovery, with more Americans traveling to the country in 2022 than prior to the pandemic, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. A little more than 4.5 million Americans traveled to the UK last year, a 2 percent jump from 2019. In addition, American visitors were spending more and staying longer in the country. Americans spent a record $7.45 billion in the UK in 2022, according to national tourism board VisitBritain. That’s a 42 percent increase from 2019 levels. Tracy Halliwell, an executive at Visit London, said the UK saw a large number of American visitors immediately after the country lifted travel restrictions. However, Habtemariam notes tourism to the UK still hasn’t made a full recovery from the pandemic. Britain welcomed 31 million visitors last year, a 24 percent drop from 2019. Next, Associate Editor Rashaad Jorden takes a look at the challenges female business travelers face, nearly a decade after Skift Research reported travel companies were increasingly taking steps to meet their needs. Jorden reports safety is still a major concern for female business travelers. A survey by the Global Business Travel Association found 83 percent of women traveling for business had experienced safety-related issues in the previous 12 months. The organization also discovered that only 18 percent of corporate travel policies specifically addressed the security of female business travelers. One travel executive said women who experience issues on their business trips often don’t report them to their organizations. However, Jorden notes some advances that have significantly benefited female business travelers. All medium and large U.S. airports have been required since 2018 to provide private spaces in each terminal for lactating mothers, which another executive said was a godsend for women traveling on business after maternity leave. Finally, hotel industry expert Cindy Estis Green argues that too many hotel companies have yet to find the most profitable customers for their businesses, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill in this week’s Early Check-In column. Green, the CEO of data benchmarking service Kalibri Labs, believes hotel companies are too focused on boosting occupancy rates instead of maximizing total revenue. She also noted many hotel industry leaders have outdated approaches for running a business. Green said that their belief they’d automatically be better off with more guests just isn’t true.

Episode NotesThe short-term rental industry has seen an enormous boom over the last decade. And ahead of Skift’s Short-Term Rental Summit in New York next week, Skift Research has unveiled the Skift Short-Term Rental 250, a list of the 250 most prominent companies in the industry.Head of Skift Research Wouter Geerts writes the detailed look at the sector comes four years after its seminal report on the short-term rental ecosystem. He adds that Skift Research divided the 250 companies into three distinct sectors. The new report also delves into Airbnb’s dominance of the short-term rental industry.Next, India-based low-cost carrier Indigo had a banner financial year, flying over 86 million passengers, a 72 percent year-over-year jump. And the company believes an enhanced loyalty program will attract more customers, reports Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia.Indigo CEO Pieter Elbers said in an interview with Skift that the Indian market is ready for a loyalty system unlike 10 ten years ago. However, he added the company isn’t sure what features its planned loyalty program will include. Indigo had introduced in 2019 the Ka-Ching card in 2019, a cashback system that Elbers had described as a form of loyalty without classical tiers. Bhutia adds that international expansion is on the horizon for Indigo. It’s the world’s sixth largest carrier in terms of market size despite its low presence outside of India. Roughly 90 percent of its passengers are domestic travelers. The company is looking to fly into Nairobi and Jakarta among other destinations with its current fleet. We end today with a look at the hotel industry’s highest paid CEOs in 2022. Most major hotel CEOs actually ended the year with less overall compensation than they originally expected, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. Rob Goldstein at the Las Vegas Sands Corp. was 2022’s highest paid public hotel company CEO, taking home $40 million. He was immediately followed by Choice Hotels International CEO Patrick Pacious, who received $27 million in total compensation. However, O’Neill writes those figures weren’t the most noteworthy detail in hotel CEO pay. A new rule requires U.S. companies to more clearly state the equity awards that represent the pay packages for top executives. That new disclosure showed CEOs took home less money than anticipated. O’Neill adds European-based hotel companies weren’t required to disclose compensation in the same manner as U.S. companies. The CEOs of IHG and Accor received less compensation on average than their U.S.-based counterparts. 

Episode NotesExpedia Group CEO Peter Kern recently accused rival online travel agency Agoda of undercutting the nightly rates posted on official hotel websites, and that’s anathema to hotels. So how has Agoda been able to discover cheaper rates? Executive Editor Dennis Schaal explains how in his weekly Online Travel Briefing. Schaal includes a video of then-Agoda CEO John Brown at Skift Forum East in 2019 detailing his company’s mindset on hotel prices. Brown said the company has the responsibility to customers to find the cheapest hotel rates found online even though that caused friction with hoteliers. A spokesperson from Booking Holdings, Agoda’s parent company, said Agoda gets many different rates by contact from its partners. But Kern of Expedia said many hotels don’t realize how their rates are being mishandled. Schaal adds that Expedia has a tech tool that helps hotels weed out rates appearing in unauthorized outlets. smart_toyNext, generative artificial intelligence — which includes the creation of images, audio and video — could fundamentally change travel. So how do prominent executives in the travel industry view this emerging form of technology? Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes features several companies’ plans for generative AI in his weekly Travel Tech Briefing.Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is among the growing group of travel executives bullish on the potential for generative AI. He said the company could use the technology to learn more about prospective guests in a personal manner. In addition, Damian Scokin, the CEO of Argentina-based online travel agency Despegar, said his company sees opportunities for generative AI in areas such as software development and customer service. Finally, Miami-based vacation rental software platform Hostaway has raised $175 million in funding, with the aim of expanding globally, writes Short-Term Rental Reporter Srividya Kalyanaraman. Kalyanaraman reports that Hostaway also plans to use the funds to increase staffing and seek opportunities to expand market share. Hostaway recently launched a GhatGPT-powered artificial intelligence tool, which the company aims to manage listings. It also signed a distribution partnership with global travel technology provider Amadeus earlier this year. 

Episode NotesDestinations across the Middle East are poised to get a major tourism boost from China — or more specifically, China’s wealthiest citizens, reports Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia in this week’s Middle East Travel Roundup. More than 20 percent of Chinese millionaires plan to visit the Middle East in the next year, according to a recent report from luxury consulting firm Agility. Bhutia writes Middle Eastern destinations have been wooing Chinese travelers ever since Beijing resumed outbound group tours for its citizens on February 6. Dubai has launched a “China Ready” strategy and run campaigns in the country. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has included China in its e-visa program as part of its aim to attract 4 million Chinese visitors annually by 2030. Next, the ground transport sector worldwide has struggled to innovate in recent years, with many bus and train companies still forcing travelers to use paper tickets, for example. However, a growing number of companies are working to modernize the industry, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes.Dawes highlights three companies helping ground transport operators digitize operations. Nairobi, Kenya-based startup BuuPass provides software to long-distance bus operators that enables them to track sales and sell tickets digitally. BuuPass co-founder Sonia Kabra said before using its software, some customers had been losing up to $3,000 daily because of manual tracking. In addition, Dawes profiles Omio, a Berlin-based ground transport ticketing platform that is working to simplify the booking process for travelers. Omio enables digital ticketing for more than 1,000 transportation providers, mostly trains, buses and cars. The company is also looking to provide ground transport ticketing data to travel sellers like online travel agencies. We end today with a look at one of North America’s fastest growing online travel agencies, Hopper. Skift Research examined the rise of Hopper in its latest report, which features interviews with company executives. Senior Research Analyst Pranavi Agarwal writes that Skift Research takes a deep look into how Hopper has distinguished itself from its rivals as well as the factors behind its enormous boom. It became the most downloaded travel app in the U.S. in 2021. The report includes figures such as Hopper’s gross bookings and revenue in addition to Skift Research’s projections for Hopper’s growth. As Hopper is a private company, Agarwal notes much of the data presented in the report hadn’t been published in such detail before. 

Episode NotesIndependent hotel brand Arlo Hotels had emphasized smaller rooms in its properties when it launched as part of its appeal. But the company is moving to larger rooms due to a shift in consumer demand, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. Real estate development firm Quadrum Global recently announced it’s planning to bring Brookyln’s The Williamsburg Hotel under its Arlo Hotels brand by September. O’Neill writes rooms at The Williamsburg are considerably larger than the ones at the first Arlo properties. He adds Arlo has been shifting to properties with larger rooms after its first two hotels welcomed more affluent guests than projected. Arlo CEO Oleg Pavlov said the brand had originally focused on attracting millennials. Next, Montana recently passed a law banning all personal use of TikTok in the state in response to allegations China is using it to spy on Americans. However, while they wait for legal challenges to play out, Montana’s tourism boards are still active on the popular social media platform, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. Destination Missoula and Glacier County Tourism are two tourism boards in the state still using TikTok. Glacier Country Tourism Racene Friede said the agency is taking a wait and see approach before making any firm decisions about its TikTok account. Habtemariam writes TikTok has grown in popularity in travel marketing in recent years, with tourism boards increasingly producing content on the platform. Montana is part of a wave of states that have enacted bans on government agencies using TikTok. But it’s the first to outright prohibit all personal use of it within state borders. The state had released a memo last December banning agencies like the Montana Tourism Office from using TikTok. Finally, a growing number of hotels are hiring cultural managers, employees responsible for helping immerse staff and guests in local history and traditions, reports Contributor Carley Thornell. Thornell writes the rise in cultural managers is a response to surging consumer interest in cultural tourism. The United Nations World Tourism Organization found cultural tourism is a goal of roughly 40 percent of international tourist trips. Thornell cites Hawaii’s Four Seasons Resort Hualalai as one property that’s made heavy of cultural managers. The hotel has a different cultural manager for specialities such as hula dancing, music and weaving. Thornell adds many activities are free for guests.

Episode NotesSkift editorial events producer Jane Alexander is joined by Skift’s head of research, Wouter Geerts, P.H.D., and research analyst, Saniya Zanpure, to discuss a the travel industry's complete recovery from the pandemic. They discuss how this past April the Skift Travel Health Index average score surpassed that of 2019 for the first time, the weaknesses that still exist and the opportunities for growth.You can read an outline of the report and see supporting charts and graphs in the story Tourism Triumphs: Skift Travel Health Index Reaches Record High.