Trump Slump Is Real + Top Airline Loyalty Programs + 4 Habits of Highly Successful Tourism Websites

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

September 6, 2017 View in browser

bsites Note From the Editor We've been anticipating a drop in international visitors coming to the U.S. this year given the double whammy of a stronger dollar and a new president who talks at length about border walls and travel bans but doesn't offer much in the way of welcoming words for foreign visitors. So we were surprised earlier this year to see data from the U.S. Travel Association showing stronger-than-expected international visitation to the country. Tuesday, we learned our surprise was not misplaced. In a mea culpa of a press release, the association revised its findings downward using new data that show international visitation actually declined in four out of seven months so far this year. So now that the industry has more than a hunch to go on, how will travel executives try to turn the tide? — Hannah Sampson, News Editor Skift Has Partnered With the Independent Lodging Congress Sponsored by Independent Lodging Congress Our partner is hosting the Independent Lodging Congress this October 4-6. It is known as the most provocative convergence of visionaries and thought leaders inside the independent lodging sector. Enjoy 15% off your Congress Pass with code SKIFT. Learn More Top Stories 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. Trump Slump Fears Are Realized as Revised Findings Show Tourism Drop U.S. Travel's initial forward-looking travel projections seemed too optimistic. Hopefully the industry can have a more serious conversation about averting a prolonged slowdown instead of hoping for the best and staying the course. Travel Habits of Americans: Gen Xers Lead Hotel-Mobile Bookings Among U.S. Travelers It's not a tsunami, but it's been clear for some time that the tides are turning: Skift's data show 23 percent of U.S. consumers who booked a hotel in the past year used a smartphone to do so. The waters – or mobile hotel bookings – will only keep rising. Southwest and JetBlue Offer the Most Generous Airline Reward Programs in the U.S. United MileagePlus has been making it harder for members to earn additional flights based on loyalty points. Delta SkyMiles, meanwhile, is making them more affordable. 4 Tourism Website Trends Highlighting User Experience and Design Tourism board websites in 2017 exist in an increasingly diverse world of platforms that have also been readily adopted by travelers as trip-planning resources. Here are some trends we noticed from our review of the world's best tourism websites this year. What It Takes to Build the Perfect Premium Airport Lounge Here are the brands that are innovating and getting the lounge experience right. Luxury News What Travel Brands Can Learn From Alibaba's New Luxury Marketplace Despite the popularity and discussion surrounding the Chinese consumer in recent years, it is still a developing market worth watching and studying for nuanced changes and opportunities. Rosewood's New Ad Campaign Tries to Make Luxury Guests Its Stars With everyone talking about experience curation and creating a sense of place, can a glitzy advertising campaign focusing on those characteristics actually differentiate a luxury hotel brand? The Plan to Make Puerto Rico a Destination for High-End Chinese Travelers Puerto Rico will take private investment however it can get it. If that means big resorts for wealthy Chinese travelers, it will be welcomed as good news. Popular Now 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. 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 kinder, 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? 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. 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.

Follow us Our address: 145 W 30th Street 5th Floor New York,  NY  10001  USA  Copyright © 2017 Skift, All rights reserved.

If you'd like to unsubscribe from this email, click here If you'd like to receive fewer emails, click here If someone shared this email with you and you would like to subscribe, visit our newsletters page on Skift