Golf-Hotel-Resorts AND CASINO News: Expedia's Art of the Deal + Spirit Plays Nice + Kayak Sends Layoff Notices

September 5, 2017

View in browser

Note From the Editor

Shouldn't everyone just meet in the middle already? In a way that's already happening in the airline industry. As airlines such as United and American get "meaner," after a fashion, in selling their highly restrictive basic economy seats, airline business editor Brian Sumers walks us through how Spirit Airlines, under relatively new leadership, is striving to make up for lost time and get "nicer" to its customers. Somewhere, Ryanair's Michael O'Leary must be saying, "attaboy."

Meanwhile, Uber's new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, knew how to play both good cop and bad cop through two decades of deal-making at Expedia, and senior writer Andrew Sheivachman shines light on DK's art of the deal and what it means for the ridesharing company. Along those lines, you are invited to join us on Thursday in a Skift call as our experts try to illuminate what all the C-suite changes mean for Expedia.

— Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor

Now's your chance to take a look at our event schedule and find out when each of our world-class speakers are taking the stage at Skift Global Forum. The big day is in less than three weeks, so register now before we sell out.

Expedia IPO and Spin-Off History Sets Up Uber for a Deal-Making Era

Khosrowshahi's financial acumen will be crucial to Uber's turnaround, especially after just giving Uber an 18 to 26 month window to go public. The first step is to find a way to become profitable.

Spirit Airlines Wants to Win Back Customers by Being Nicer

Spirit Airlines spent years angering customers with shoddy customer service. Now it wants those travelers to return, promising they'll find a kindler, gentler airline with an increased emphasis on on-time arrivals. But will they come back or will they opt for deeply discounted fares from full-service airlines?

Tourism Imbalance Is Vexing Problem in U.S.-China Travel

One market where the U.S. leads China in a trade imbalance: The United States is taking in way more tourists from China than it's sending. Pollution, bureaucracy, and bang for buck are the major factors.

Kayak Sets Layoff Process in Motion for Nearly 50 Momondo Group Employees

You can't blame the Priceline Group and Kayak for cutting costs and axing employees because they are part of a public company and their role is to make money for shareholders. Still, Kayak should do as much as possible to ease the transition for the people who built the Cheapflights and Momondo brands.

Airlines Could Reveal Strategies to Impede Spirit and Frontier — Travel This Week

It will be interesting to see whether American and United can continue discounting to the degree they've been doing now that Hurricane Harvey has added vigor to already-rising fuel prices. With the likes of little Norwegian Air bringing its low fares across the Atlantic, this promises to likewise raise blood pressure levels in legacy airline boardrooms.

London Lays out a Strategy for Smart Tourism Growth Amid Brexit Concerns

London is quick to paint a bright future for its tourism industry in the face of Brexit, but it also needs to accept that visitors won't be happy with their experiences if the city loses its EU tourism workforce and that causes problems ranging from longer wait times to lagging infrastructure investment.

Skift Call: Expedia Under New Leadership

Expedia Inc. moved quickly to name a successor to departed CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, but the group of brands including Hotels.com, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotwire, HomeAway, and more will have challenges ahead. Understand them better by listening to our experts.

Expedia Names New CFO as Orderly Transition Unfolds After CEO's Abrupt Departure

For all the chaos earlier this week, it seems like Barry Diller and the Expedia Inc. board of directors have ensured an orderly transition into a new era for the online travel giant.

What Eclipseville, USA Learned From Hosting a Once-in-a-Lifetime Event

For a small town, Hopkinsville, Kentucky has some big-time lessons on how to plan and host a mass tourism event that will only happen once. The town is still figuring out how to use the positive PR to its advantage and how it can convince some of the eclipse chasers to come back.

Six Flags Is Trying to Outdo Itself With Slate of New Rides

Six Flags is sticking with its strategy of investing in new rides to drive visitors back to parks again and again. It could use some cooperation from the weather for the rest of the year to make sure those people show up.

Chefs+Tech: This Summer's 4 Hottest Restaurant Trends

You don't need to paint your restaurant millennial pink to attract customers (I promise), but these four summer trends are worth your attention.

The Black Travel Movement becomes all the more relevant as the NAACP issues a travel warning domestically, and destinations question what Confederate monuments say to visitors. Take a look back at our coverage of this $48 billion market.

Skyscanner Deal Is Starting to Work Out For Ctrip

Skyscanner is boosting Ctrip's margins, and Skyscanner's new instant booking service shows promise as a way to propel future growth.

Ctrip Makes Offline Store Push in China as Its Profit Margins Rise

Ctrip is betting on 6,000 franchise shops to take aim at cities where most travel shopping happens offline. At the same time, it hopes to increase its operating margins to Priceline-like levels. The two initiatives don't necessarily collide since Ctrip doesn't own the real estate or pay labor costs for the offline shops.

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.