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— Jason Clampett
It was a hotel-heavy week at Skift, with talks about Accor’s Big Investor Day and reports from the annual HITEC conference in Toronto. Travel Tech reporter Justin Dawes joined us to explain the current state of hotel technology and ask about future ideas.
And speaking of future ideas, don’t forget to sign up for Skift’s new AI in Travel newsletter, or one of our 13 free newsletters, at our newsletter hub.
This week’s top travel news stories
Accor’s Investor Day: 7 Top Slides from the Hotel Group’s Presentation
The six-hour event for Accor investors included 172 slide presentations. Here are seven of his stories that caught our eye, including new financial insights on the much-talked-about Ennismore joint venture. more: Accor announces plans to add 1,200 hotels in five years
United Airlines wreck in New York shows how weather can disrupt airline operations
It doesn’t take much weather to disrupt airline operations. Add in a shortage of air traffic controllers and some internal issues, and it’s been a turmoil at United this week.
Carnival says ‘on the sidelines’ in China, onboard spending ‘substandard’
Carnival appears to be on track to meet high demand, but rising costs are proving to be rough for the company.
They are the top players in boutique hotels. They believe brands and hostels have power.
Investor Steven Zhang has co-built a number of independent boutique hotels, including luxury hostels. However, creating a new playbook for each property is time consuming. Will his team master the art of master branding?
Booking.com chooses OpenAI over Google Bard to deploy Generative AI
Both Booking.com and Expedia have started their retaliation in generative AI one-manship with the introduction of ChatGPT apps. This will go on for years. more: Priceline releases new AI platform and chatbot ‘Penny’
Delta Air Lines Gives New Hope to Gen Z and Millennials, Not Business Travelers
As business travel continues to recover, Delta is seeking new customers for its premium service.
The Airbnb collapse that didn’t happen
If you’ve seen the storm of tweets about the alleged “Airbnb collapse” and wondered if the data was too dramatic, you’re not alone, and you might even be wrong. Stories exclusive to Skift STR Report and Skift Pro subscribers.
The hotel is far behind in technology. These brands are trying to change that.
Hotel executives admit they are lagging behind when it comes to adopting technology. Now they are trying to understand the basics and at the same time introduce innovation. more: New hotel technology: room service robots and holograms
Serena takes investment while still struggling with losses
The capital injection promised by Global University Systems, which has long been involved in for-profit education, is small. But what Serena needs is commercial discipline. In that vein, Serena plans to cut up to 350 jobs.
The Real Risks of Using Facial Recognition for Events
How the privacy-first approach of using facial recognition for event check-in protects event organizers from hefty GDPR fines.
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In this episode of the Skift Ideas podcast, Colin Nagy has a candid conversation with renowned hotelier Liz Lambert about creating exceptional guest experiences.
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Skift Short Term Rental Top 250 Brands
Skift Research took a closer look at the current state of short-term rentals. Here are the top 250 companies that are at the forefront of shaping the short-term rental industry.
Photo credit: Accor CEO Sebastian Bazan conversing with Skift CEO and founder Rafat Ali at Skift Forum Europe in London, March 24, 2022.
