Flyers Demand 1-on-1 Attention + Americans Traveling Close to Home + Laptop Ban Unplugged

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

July 7, 2017 View in browser

Note From the Editor For all the tech innovation in travel — we're looking at you, chatbots and mobile check-in — a new survey shows travelers aren't eager to abandon human interaction. As airline business reporter Brian Sumers writes, almost half of passengers in a recent report said they usually check in with an airline employee at the airport, and more than four in five leave bags with an agent rather than at a DIY bag drop. The key for the travel industry, it seems, is in finding the right balance. That is echoed by the general manager of The Upper House, the luxury Hong Kong hotel, who tells columnist Colin Nagy that blending technology and human hospitality is essential to creating great guest experiences. Sometimes an app just isn't enough. — Hannah Sampson, News Editor Skift Research Annual Subscriptions Come With Perks We've set out to make our Skift Research Annual Subscription the most valuable subscription in the travel industry. Along with getting twice monthly, in-depth research reports, when you become a subscriber today you'll gain early access to our daily news stories and much more! Learn More Top Stories Many Airline Passengers Still Prefer Interacting With Employees Instead of Technology It's 2017. According to SITA, 98 percent of airline passengers fly with at least one mobile device. It's amazing that so many passengers still prefer to the face-to-face experience at airports. It's a lot slower than self-service, and often less effective. Domestic Travel Became Even More Dominant for Americans Last Year Some U.S. travelers will always want to stay close to home, regardless of the state of the world. Road trips to visit nearby friends and family continue to be the foundation of most American trips, and that will likely be the case again this year. Upper House Luxury Hotel Experience Aims for Custom Approach to Tech and Personalization Upper House's general manager details how the Hong Kong-based hotel finds the balance between tech, customer relationship management, and frontline service. Chinese Travelers Turn to Messaging Apps To Make Payments The Chinese outbound market is booming yet travelers still find low acceptance of their typical payment methods. As travel becomes more accessible to the Chinese lower and middle class offering payment methods such as AliPay and WeChat Pay will be a definitive competitive advantage. The U.S. Laptop Ban Is Winding Down — Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report As the initial laptop ban fades away, pay attention to the next wave of security concerns caused by the new procedures put in place to screen flyers. Skift In-Depth Flying Cars: Separating Hype From Real Potential We're not saying flying cars won't exist; they already do. But at this point, it's ludicrous to expect the market to grow beyond a niche offering for the wealthy anytime in the next few decades. Don't buy the hype. Still Popular Trivago Is Spending Three Times More Than TripAdvisor on U.S. TV Ads Will TripAdvisor be able to break through as it starts its TV campaigns around the world? Trivago has a big advantage. At this juncture in its life, Trivago is focused on gaining share while profit concerns take a back seat. Destinations Struggle to Use Data to Manage Tourism Growth Some destinations are still early to the party in harvesting data from residents and travelers on tourism trends and impacts. Many have plans with how to use the information they've gathered but how that information is shared with local politicians and residents is still a work in progress. Acquisition of Rail-Booking Site Loco2 Shows Sector's Potential Europe may be criss-crossed by thousands of miles of rail track, but it has taken a long time to link each of the different countries. Train travelers who want to go between countries have not benefited from the single market approach that liberalized the aviation industry, and it has been left to startups like Loco2 to connect the different players. For Gmail users: If you are using the tabbed inbox, Skift emails may be pushed to the 'Promotions' tab. To get updates from Skift direct to your primary inbox, drag and drop this email to that tab. You received this email because you are subscribed to Skift Daily Newsletter from Skift.

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