The podcast discusses Skift's Megatrends for 2024 and how hotels will seduce the middle class traveler. It covers strategies of hotel groups in appealing to the middle class traveler, the simplicity and success of Wyndham's loyalty program, the mid-market opportunity in India, targeting the rising middle-class traveler market in India and China, the challenge of junk fees, hotel regulations, AI in the hospitality industry, and the importance of personalization in marketing.

One year ago, on January 8 2023, China began reopening to tourism. In our first dispatch of 2024, Skift founder and CEO, Rafat Ali, talks with Check-In Asia director, Gary Bowerman, to discuss the state of Chinese tourism. It is a wide-ranging conversation covering the evolution of the Chinese reopening, how China is addressing the "3 pillars" of travel and tourism, visas, the importance of travel influencers in China, and much more.If you enjoy this conversation visit skift.com for breaking travel news, the latest research, and industry-defining events.

Hany Abdelkawi, Google's Head of Travel Sales, discusses the impact of technology on the travel industry and the importance of personalized content. They explore the capabilities and limitations of AI, including the introduction of Gemini, a multi-model service. The speakers also discuss the role of AI in travel products, traveler preferences, and strategies for customizing travel experiences.

Kerzner CEO Philippe Zuber discusses pushing boundaries in hospitality, Siro's innovative approach to luxury, company vision and brand expansion, personalization in hospitality, and the importance of partnerships with celebrity chefs.

His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai Department of Economy & Tourism, speaks with Skift's CEO on Dubai's emphasis on security, efficiency, hospitality, and wellness. They discuss the 20-minute city concept, Dubai's 2040 master plan, and efforts in improving walkability. Additionally, they explore the growth and potential of the Middle East region, including the positive impact of the World Cup in Qatar.

This episode of the Skift Travel Podcast is a rebroadcast of a session that took place at Skift Global Forum East in December of last year: "A Global Outlook for the Year Ahead" featuring Hilton President & CEO, Chris Nassetta speaking with Skift CEO, Rafat Ali. As we prepare to return to Dubai on December 12-14, we're revisiting a few of the most popular sessions.Visit live.skift.com for info on how to attend or view Skift Global Forum East 2023.

The podcast discusses the impact of the Israel-Palestine conflict on tourism in the Middle East, Dubai's forward-thinking approach in attracting travelers, the potential influence of COP 28 and the World Cup, and the growth of tourism from various source markets. The hosts also explore opportunities for tourism growth in the region and highlight the significance of attending the Skift conference in Dubai for industry insights.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi discusses Uber's burn rate, AI, Uber Teens, and becoming a super app. They also talk about the importance of Uber Eats, profitability through growth, targeted advertising, credit cards, and career compounding.

This week Choice Hotels publicly offered to acquire Wyndham Hotels & Resorts following months of private discussions between the two companies. This was pretty exciting in itself, with the last major M&A deal in the hotel industry being the Starwood-Marriott merger in 2015. However, later that day, more news broke that Wyndham had rejected Choice’s offer and saw its stock being halted on the NYSE.All of this drama had Skift's team asking: Are we covering Twitter here or the relatively stable hotel industry?In this episode Pranavi Agarwal, senior analyst at Skift Research, Skift senior hospitality editor, Sean O’Neill, and Alan Woinski, editor of the Daily Lodging Report, talk us through the details of the deal, what might be motivating each side's actions, and what the story tells us about the current state of the hospitality landscape.

Today, we’re happy to share the latest episode of The Skift Ideas Podcast, which recently returned with its fifth episode. In it, host Colin Nagy is joined by Harsha L'Acqua, Founder and CEO of Saira Hospitality. Together, they delve into the past and future of hospitality, and the undeniable importance of unlocking opportunities within communities.If you like what you hear, be sure to sure follow The Skift Ideas podcast for more candid conversations on the innovations and ideas powering the future of travel.