Weekend Review: Flying Cars Won't Fly + Passengers Prefer Humans +Trivago's HUGE Splurge

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

July 8, 2017 View in browser

This short week — at least for those of us in the U.S. — was an excellent reminder of the rejuvenating power of a few days off. For those of us lucky enough to enjoy a four-day weekend leading up to Independence Day, the time at home or on the road was an opportunity to reconnect with destinations, friends, family, or just a good book. Which seems like a good time to remind you of our year-long series of surveys into the Travel Habits of Americans. We'll have a new survey out soon, but in the meantime do what you can to not be one of the many that don't take a break this year. — Jason Clampet, Editor-in-Chief Skift Global Forum Is Less Than 3 Months Away Skift Global Forum is rapidly approaching. We are thrilled that for the second year in a row, you'll have the chance to hear from Arne Sorenson, President & CEO of Marriott International, Inc. Find out who else has made it on our speaker lineup. Register Now What We Learned This Week Why Flying Cars Are Never Really Going to Fly 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. Trivago Is Outspending All Its Rivals on U.S. Television 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 Still Struggle to Manage Tourism Growth Using Data 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. 13 Big Winners in Travel Advertising at Cannes Lions 2017 The big lesson here is that digital first is the future. Airline Passengers Prefer Humans to High Tech at Airports 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. American Travelers Stayed Very Close to Home 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. Pod Hotels Owner Is Thinking Small to Grow Big Boutique hotelier Richard Born is betting big on micro-hotels — and he isn't alone these days. Will most hotels going forward take the same approach? Or will hotel guests eventually tire of tiny rooms? 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. What Next-Level Hotels Have in Common: 5 Podcast Takeaways A hotel that's just a hotel is so passé. Today's successful hospitality brand knows that the hotel is the first chapter of a long story of connected experiences. 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. How Hong Kong's Upper House Hotels Combines 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. 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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