They Love You — But Are Not Coming Back: What Destinations Get Wrong About Repeat Travelers
Skift Research surveyed over 500 U.S. travelers and found a paradox: many highly recommend destinations they love yet have little intention of returning themselves. Satisfaction and iconic attractions are no longer reliable predictors of repeat visitation. Instead, emotional connection, novelty, and social‑media influence drive travelers’ decisions. The report urges destinations to shift from a first‑visit focus to strategies that actively earn loyalty through deeper engagement.
It’s Not Just Airfare: Travel Costs Are Running Double the Inflation Rate
U.S. travel expenses jumped 7.8% year‑over‑year in April, far outpacing the 3.8% overall inflation rate. Airline fares led the surge, rising 20.7% as jet fuel costs spiked, while gasoline and diesel prices climbed 43% and 60% respectively. The price shock...
Hotel Equities CEO: Here’s Which Technologies Can Actually Lift Owner Margins
Hotel Equities, a leading U.S. third‑party hotel manager, has launched HE Labs to evaluate and deploy emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence, aimed at boosting owner margins. The initiative focuses on automating back‑office accounting, using AI for labor‑scheduling optimization, and testing...
Where Travel Demand Is Heading: Middle East Down, Mediterranean Up
Travel demand in early 2026 is pivoting away from the Middle East after U.S.–Iran tensions forced Gulf airspace closures, slashing regional airline capacity by 57%. Meanwhile, the Skift Travel Health Index nudged up 1% to 101, masking stark regional gaps....
Air India Scales Back International Flights: What’s Cancelled, What’s Reduced
Air India announced it will reduce or temporarily suspend a range of international services between June and August 2026, affecting routes to North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. The airline cited persistent airspace restrictions and record‑high jet fuel prices as...
U.S. Inbound Tourism Drops 14% in April, Erasing Two Months of Gains
The National Travel and Tourism Office reported that the United States received 2.6 million international visitors in April, a 14.1 % year‑over‑year decline that erased the modest gains of February and March. The drop was observed across all source regions, with the...
OpenAI Builds AI Deployment Biz Around Team Behind Virgin Atlantic Concierge
OpenAI has launched a $4 billion OpenAI Deployment Company, acquiring Tomoro to accelerate enterprise AI adoption. The deal brings roughly 150 engineers who built Virgin Atlantic’s AI concierge, giving OpenAI a ready‑made travel proof point. The new venture will embed OpenAI...
Expedia Promotes B2B Chief to Lead Global Supply as Partner Business Takeover Accelerates
Expedia has elevated Alfonso Paredes to President of B2B and Chief Commercial Officer, giving him joint oversight of the company’s partner solutions platform and global supply operations. The move follows a 25% year‑over‑year revenue surge in Expedia’s B2B segment, which...
The Most Dangerous Word in Hospitality Right Now Is ‘Resilience’
London’s luxury hotel market, once buoyed by rates of roughly $1,540 per night, is now confronting a supply glut and a shrinking pool of affluent travelers. Operators who celebrated resilience are being forced to acknowledge that the post‑pandemic boom was...
Where Canadians Are Traveling: U.S. Breaks Losing Streak, Europe and Caribbean Make Big Gains
Canadian travel to the United States posted a modest 1.4 % year‑over‑year increase in April, the first positive swing in fifteen months. The gain was driven by a 5.8 % rise in car trips, while air travel fell 8.1 %. At the same...
Indian Hotels Company Takes Hit From Iran War. Domestic Travel Is Making Up for It.
Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), the operator of Taj Hotels, disclosed a revenue hit of up to $10.5 million caused by last‑minute cancellations and event rescheduling linked to the Iran war. The losses, estimated at INR 400‑500 million at the consolidated level and nearly...
Egypt and Morocco Dominate Africa’s Hotel Pipeline
Egypt is leading Africa’s hotel development surge, accounting for over a third of the continent’s planned rooms. The W Hospitality Group reports a record pipeline of 675 hotels and 123,846 rooms, a 18.6% increase from 2025, with Egypt alone adding...
Expedia Spent $279 Million on Acquisitions in Q1, Airbnb Gained $70 Million on Tiqets Deal: Scoop
Expedia Group spent $279 million in Q1 2025 to acquire Amsterdam‑based ticketing platform Tiqets, as disclosed in its 10‑Q filing. Airbnb, which previously invested in Tiqets, recorded a $70 million gain from the sale, boosting its quarterly profit. Expedia plans to first embed...
Higher Fuel Costs + Spirit’s End = Higher Fares
Spirit Airlines, long credited with the “Spirit effect” that shaved up to 17% off fares on 13% of nonstop domestic routes, has ceased operations in the United States. Analysts expect its departure to give rival carriers greater pricing power, especially...
Middle East Instability Is Sending Summer Travelers to Spain and the Caribbean, Meliá Says
Meliá Hotels reports a sharp rise in summer bookings for Spain, southern Europe and the Caribbean as travelers steer clear of Middle‑East conflict zones. The surge has pushed Spain’s reservations into double‑digit growth versus last year, supporting the chain’s forecast...
Iran War Costs Have Hit Travel’s Profit Forecasts
The Iran war has driven jet fuel prices nearly double since the U.S. strikes in February, adding billions to airline expense lines. Airlines and cruise operators have responded by cutting or suspending full‑year earnings forecasts, while hotels and online travel...
The Middle East Hub Stress Test: What Airlines Build Now Will Define the Next Decade
The Iran conflict triggered a massive stress test for Gulf aviation, grounding more than half of the 92,000 flights scheduled between February 28 and March 12. Ongoing airspace restrictions now cause over 4,000 daily cancellations, affecting hubs that move roughly 15 % of...
Wyndham to Launch Vienna House and Dolce Branded Residences in Ras Al Khaimah: Exclusive
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is launching two new branded‑residence brands—Vienna House and Dolce—on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah. The projects, developed by Sugee Group and BNW Developments, aim at the mid‑market segment that the company says has been overlooked in the...
Wynn Al Marjan Island Faces ‘Modest Delay,’ CEO Cites Supply-Chain Challenges
Wynn Resorts announced a modest delay to the opening of Wynn Al Marjan Island, the UAE’s first casino resort, pushing the target past the early‑2027 window. The postponement stems from logistics and supply‑chain disruptions tied to regional geopolitical instability. Construction remains...
Air India’s Town Hall: No Layoffs — But Salary Bumps Are Paused
Air India told staff that no layoffs are planned despite a projected fiscal‑2026 loss exceeding $2.3 billion. However, the airline will defer annual salary increases for at least one quarter as part of a broader cost‑containment drive. CEO Campbell Wilson urged employees...
The Hotel Industry CEOs Can’t Decide What Letter the Economy Is
Hilton and Marriott CEOs reported strong first‑quarter results, highlighting a rebound in mid‑tier hotels. Hilton’s Chris Nassetta described the recovery as a “C‑shaped” economy, while Marriott’s Tony Capuano pointed to a 3.5% RevPAR increase in its select‑service segment. Both executives...
From Booking to Boarding: How Capital One Is Redefining the Modern Travel Journey
Capital One has launched a dedicated travel app that unifies flight and hotel bookings, rewards, lounge access, and real‑time flight updates into a single platform. The move brings its travel technology, supplier relationships, and talent in‑house, allowing deeper personalization and...
Spirit Airlines Collapsed. What Happens to Budget Travel Now?
Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations, marking one of the most significant U.S. airline collapses in decades. The shutdown was driven by soaring fuel prices, a failed merger with Frontier that was blocked by the DOJ, and an...
Expedia’s B2B Engine Speeds Up as AI Moves Intensify
Expedia’s B2B travel platform posted a 22% jump in bookings and a 25% rise in revenue in Q1, outpacing its consumer brands that grew 10%. The segment now accounts for $10.7 billion of bookings, still far below the consumer side’s $24.8 billion...
Sabre Claims Amadeus Blocks Competition in Airline Technology
Sabre announced its strongest quarterly results in more than two years while accusing rival Amadeus of monopolistic behavior that limits airline access to the Altéa passenger service system. The company highlighted its AI‑powered offer, order, settlement and delivery (OSD) suite,...
IHG Reports Strong U.S. Demand, a Middle East Hit, and a Bet on AI Content Over Scale
IHG Hotels & Resorts announced a natural‑language search tool for its website and app, covering more than 7,000 properties. The initiative is backed by partnerships with Google, OpenAI and Anthropic, and includes a data‑overhaul to make hotel content AI‑ready. While...
Trivago Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google, Alleges Ongoing Harm
Trivago has filed an antitrust lawsuit in a Hamburg regional court accusing Google of systematically favoring its own hotel‑metasearch service in search results since 2014. The complaint cites a 34% drop in Trivago’s referral revenue from Google over the past...
Tripadvisor Has Made ‘Good Progress’ on Selling TheFork, Explores LLM Data Deals
Tripadvisor reported progress on selling its European dining‑reservation platform TheFork, with potential buyers such as Booking’s OpenTable, American Express, Mastercard and DoorDash. CEO Matt Goldberg said an update will follow soon and the company could also pursue a commercial agreement...
How to Buy a Hotel (Without Being Rich)
Hotel entrepreneur Davonne Reaves, who has overseen more than $1 billion in hotel assets, explains how aspiring investors can acquire hotels without vast personal wealth. She details her own $8.3 million acquisition during the pandemic, the mechanics of the capital stack, and...
The Weather Company’s New Ad Play Aims to Sell Experiences and Hotel Bookings
The Weather Company and travel‑content platform Steller are piloting a new ad product on Weather.com that surfaces creator‑led destination videos and direct booking links whenever users search for out‑of‑town weather. Leveraging the site’s more than 400 million monthly users, the feature...
D.C. Tourism Flatlines as Foreign Visitors Fall and Hotel Tax Funds Get Redirected
Washington, D.C.’s tourism market stalled in 2025, adding only 20,000 visitors to reach 27.2 million. International arrivals slipped 4 % as National Guard deployments and federal shutdowns dampened overseas interest. The city’s tourism agency saw its advertising budget slashed by two‑thirds after...
U.S. Airlines Are Spending Over $5 Billion in Fuel, Up More Than 50% Since the Iran War Started
U.S. airlines spent $5.06 billion on jet fuel in March, a 56% jump from February. The average price per gallon climbed 30.9% to $3.13, driven by geopolitical tension from the Iran war. Carriers responded with five industry‑wide fare increases and higher...
Kayak Founders Team Up for Booking Holdings AI Startup: Scoop
Kayak co‑founders Steve Hafner and Paul English are launching Lola, an AI‑driven travel startup under Booking Holdings. The venture follows Booking’s purchase of the Lola.com and Lola.ai domains and marks the brand’s return after a previous stint as a business‑travel...
Dubai Hotel Occupancy to Plummet to 10% in Q2 — Moody’s
Moody’s Analytics projects Dubai’s hotel occupancy to tumble from 80% in February to just 10% in the second quarter of 2026, driven by the Iran‑UAE conflict. The war has sharply reduced air traffic, visitor arrivals, and room bookings, prompting widespread...
Disney’s U.S. Park Spending Up Despite Drop in Visitors
Disney’s U.S. theme parks saw attendance dip 1% in Q2, yet per‑guest spending rose 5% and per‑room revenue climbed 7%, delivering record second‑quarter revenue for the segment. Hotel occupancy fell to 89% from 92%, reflecting weaker international visitation and competition...
The Great AI Upskilling of the Travel Workforce
Travel companies are beginning a wave of AI upskilling, but only a handful—Airbnb, Amadeus, SNCF, Expedia and Booking.com—have formal programs that target both engineers and non‑technical staff. Airbnb’s internal “AI for Non‑Developers” workstream and a dedicated Staff AI Innovation Engineer...
Mindtrip Launches Sabre’s Agentic Flight Booking With In-Chat Checkout
Mindtrip has launched an AI‑driven flight‑booking tool that keeps the entire search, selection, and payment process inside a chat window. The solution integrates Sabre’s live inventory and PayPal’s checkout, allowing travelers to complete purchases without leaving the conversation. Mindtrip’s CEO...
Turkey’s Tourism Held Up in March Despite Sharp Drop in Gulf Travel
In March 2026 Turkey saw an almost 80% plunge in arrivals from Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain after the Iran war forced airspace closures. Despite this regional dip, total foreign arrivals and hotel occupancy rose year‑over‑year in the first...
Grab Takes Taxis Across the Singapore-Malaysia Border
Grab has launched a pilot cross‑border taxi service linking Singapore with Malaysia’s Johor region, offering door‑to‑door rides in four‑ and six‑seater vehicles, including premium options. The service is priced with discounts of up to 20% and operates under the first...
Why Agentic AI Is the Biggest Threat to Legacy Hotel Software Vendors
Vivek Bhogaraju, a private‑equity‑backed hospitality tech advisor, warns that agentic AI is rapidly eroding the relevance of legacy hotel software. Unlike generative AI that merely suggests actions, agentic AI can autonomously execute tasks such as rate shopping, inventory optimization, and...
Spirit’s Failure Shocked America – The Rest of the World Is Used to It
Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations, marking the first major U.S. carrier collapse in over two decades. The shutdown highlights the stark contrast between the U.S. aviation market, which has been stabilized by decades of consolidation, and regions...
Spirit Details Final Hours and Lays Out Liquidation Plan in 500+ Page Filing
Spirit Airlines announced its liquidation after a 500‑page court filing revealed that soaring fuel costs—driven by the Iran war—sapped $100 million between March 1 and April 30. The carrier failed to secure a government bailout, prompting CFO Fred Cromer to confirm a wind‑down...
Uber CEO Says Travel Rivals Like Expedia Can’t Match Its On-the-Ground Edge
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company’s on‑the‑ground presence in more than 70 countries gives it a distinct advantage in travel, especially for airport‑to‑city trips. He highlighted that over 100 million riders book airport rides each year and that 1.5 billion trips...
Dubai International Airport Passenger Traffic Plunged 66% in March as Iran War Closed Airspace
Dubai International Airport saw passenger traffic plunge 66% in March, handling only 2.5 million travelers as the Iran‑Israel war forced regional airspace closures. The first quarter recorded a 21% year‑over‑year decline to 18.6 million passengers, pushing the airport’s 2026 target of 99.5 million...
Air India to Cut International Flights Due To Rising Costs, CEO Shortlist Narrows
Air India announced it will trim its long‑haul international schedule between May and July as jet fuel prices surge and mandatory reroutes inflate costs. The airline cited airspace closures linked to the Iran conflict, which add distance and fuel burn...
Budget Airlines Are in Trouble. What’s the Outlook for a $2.5 Billion Bailout?
Budget airlines have asked the Trump administration for a $2.5 billion loan to cushion soaring fuel costs, but the request faces little political support. Spirit Airlines announced it will wind down operations after a proposed $500 million government loan fell apart. Transportation...
Fire Sale: What Assets Does Spirit Have and Who Could Buy Them?
Spirit Airlines announced it will cease operations after a failed government bailout, placing its entire portfolio of assets up for sale. The carrier’s liquidation filing values aircraft and engines at about $1.3 billion, parts at $167 million, LaGuardia slots at $86.7 million, and...
Luxury Brands Have Been Marketing to Humans. But Their Next Booking May Be AI.
Luxury hospitality brands are witnessing a shift as AI agents, not humans, conduct most of the research and booking for high‑end travel. An example shows a ChatGPT‑driven assistant scanning 23 sites in 14 minutes and surfacing only two options for...
The End of Spirit Airlines: Live Analysis
Spirit Airlines ceased operations on May 2, 2026 after a failed $500 million government bailout and resistance from major bondholders, marking its second bankruptcy within a year. The collapse was driven by soaring jet‑fuel prices linked to the Iran war, which crippled the...
Full Video: Staying Competitive as Asia’s Hotel Market Shifts
At the Skift Asia Forum 2026, Accor’s chief development officer Andrew Langdon highlighted a rapid shift in Asia’s hotel landscape, where 80% of properties remain unbranded. Generational turnover among family‑owned hotels is prompting owners to seek global brand partnerships, especially...