Weekend Review: Priceline and Blockchain + Marriott and Politics + Delta and Texting

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

September 30, 2017 View in browser

It was a different kind a week at Skift, with our energies focused on the fourth Skift Global Forum in New York City, and on the attendees and speakers that had joined us. We had some excellent conversations with some of the industry's top leaders, which you can partially relive, below. Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we release more videos, backstage interviews, and highlights from the Forum print magazine. Thanks as always for joining us. Not just as attendees, but as readers, subscribers, and fellow travelers. — Jason Clampet, Editor-in-Chief Latest News Travel Brands React to New U.S. Travel Warning for Cuba It's hard to see how other airlines, hotels and cruise lines don't follow JetBlue's lead in issuing waivers on change fees and cancellations for itineraries to Cuba given the U.S. government's ill-conceived warning for travel to the Caribbean island. The warning looks like it will help reverse the Obama administration's loosening of restrictions on U.S. citizen travel to Cuba. U.S. Warns Americans Not to Travel to Cuba and Guts Embassy Staff The Trump administration is looking for any excuse to reverse President Obama's travel policies loosening travel to Cuba. The travel warning is another step, pending an already-announced rollback. Ousted Uber CEO Fills 2 Board Seats and Wants Everyone to Know He's Still a Force We hope there will be security guards sitting in during Uber's next board meeting because this is going to be rough. To borrow a phrase, former CEO Travis Kalanick is not going gentle into that good night. At all. Skift Global Forum Day 1 Priceline Group CEO Sees No Big Investments in Blockchain for Now A CEO such as the Priceline Group's Fogel has to pick which new technology to panic about next. He's keeping tabs on blockchain, but it's not on his investment to-do list yet. Hilton CEO Outlines Plans For 'Hostel on Steroids' Hilton's plan for an urban micro-brand is certainly intriguing, but we'll have to wait until next year for more details. Royal Caribbean CEO Thinks Hurricane Recovery Will Happen More Quickly Than Expected Tourism will be crucial for the recovery of island nations devastated by recent hurricanes. The travel industry, across all sectors, needs to do its part to help in the recovery effort. Tourism Leaders Plot Strategy in an Age of Permanxiety Tourism leaders across continents are recognizing the challenge of marketing travel in this new age of Permanxiety. Destination marketers ought to share best practices with each other on how to adapt. Restaurateur Danny Meyer on Instagram, Postmates and Why Everyone Really Just Wants a Nice Meal Restaurateur Danny Meyer's take on the past, present, and future of the restaurant industry begins with genuine, traditional, face-to-face hospitality. Why René Redzepi Needed to Close the Original Noma It's clear that Redzepi's stints in Japan, Australia, and Mexico have been crucial in helping him develop new ideas. The new Noma will be very different from the old one, but that's a good thing. Lufthansa Finds Collecting Passenger Data Is Easier Than Actually Using It Airlines are getting better at data analysis. So now they face a fresh challenge of having to leverage that data by making their real-world operations correspondingly more responsive. Airbnb Still Hopeful About China Despite Earlier Missteps On Airbnb being successful in China, we'll believe it when we see it. More power to Airbnb if it can actually pull it off. Skift Global Forum Day 2 Expedia CEO Doesn't Need Any Mergers But He's Monitoring All Possibilities Expedia Inc. might be quiet on the acquisition front as its new leadership settles in. But history shows the online travel giant will look to be opportunistic as its competition with the Priceline Group evolves. Marriott CEO Addresses Anti-Muslim Hate Group Meeting Controversy Sorenson makes a valid point: Hotels in the U.S., by law, can't discriminate who they will allow to stay with them. The hosting of meetings and events is more of a gray area, though. And a hotel could always decline to host a particular group for a variety of reasons. But the bigger question is: Should hotels and accommodations providers be able to say whose views are acceptable and whose are not? Delta to Introduce Free Texting Service on Most of Its Flights Delta's move will delight plenty of its passengers and the promise of better Wi-Fi to come is even better news. But please set your phones on silent while you're texting. Travel CMOs Weigh Keeping Brands on TV in a Digital Marketing World Some travel brands are still hooked on TV and see the value in creating ads for that medium, and then repurposing TV content for other platforms. In those varied other platforms, they can try and reach diverse audiences wherever they watch their content. Aman Hotels Can Deliver the Experiences and Adventure Millennials Crave Why wouldn't Millennials like Aman Hotels? It's among the most luxurious operators in the world. But here's a better question: When they're paying with their own money, will they still be as happy with the brand? TripAdvisor CEO Responds to Analyst Critiques of Its Hotel Search Strategy Analysts continue to critique TripAdvisor's near-term tactics. But CEO Steve Kaufer said Wednesday that no other company is as well-positioned to create value on mobile in the long run as his own. More News This Week Travel in an Age of Permanxiety: An Introduction Travel is where all the Permanxieties show up in a concentrated form. What can travel brands do to participate and alleviate travelers' Permanxieties? Yotel Is Getting $250 Million From Starwood Capital to Fuel Expansion It's a smart move on Barry Sternlicht's part to diversify his portfolio of hotel brands, especially when pod-style hotels are growing in popularity and interest among developers and consumers alike. Carnival Is Creating New Ways to Get People to Consider Taking a Cruise Carnival Corp. is eager to communicate directly with consumers, and continues to invest in new ways to do so. It will be interesting to see if potential cruise passengers respond to these new methods of engagement. Air France Unveils Its New Millennial-Focused Airline Joon Air France might need a low-cost airline. That part makes sense. But why is it trying so hard to attract millennials? Just offer cheap fares and reasonable service, and young people will fly your airline. Red Roof Joins the Soft Brand Hotel Movement Do we really need another soft brand collection? (You know the answer.) But more importantly, does Red Roof have the loyal customer base and big-enough distribution system to make it worthwhile for an independent hotel to want to join its soft brand? Hong Kong Airlines Wants to Disrupt Cathay Pacific on Trans-Pacific Routes We think the last thing the Hong Kong-North America market needs is more capacity. This seems like a shaky idea. But remember, Hong Kong Airlines is controlled by HNA Group, a giant conglomerate with deep pockets. You can't count it out. Expedia CEO to Receive a $17 Million Award if He Hits Share-Price Mark You want your CEO to be very motivated for shareholders and employees — and for his or her personal gain. Mark Okerstrom clearly is such a guy. 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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