Golf-Hotel-Resorts AND CASINO News: Hotel Soft Brands Galore + Airbnb's Room to Grow + Video: TripAdvisor CEO Fights Back

October 31, 2017

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Note From the Editor

Do you want a quick primer on where today's hospitality industry is headed? Then read two of hospitality editor Deanna Ting's stories today. In one, Best Western announces the debut of another soft brand collection, the BW Signature Collection, which will go after the upper midscale market. There you see some prevailing trends: another soft brand collection of the asset-light variety, and it's in the hot, hot, hot midscale space.

Then in another story, Ting details the strategy of the much-smaller Loews Hotels, which prefers building rather than buying in an asset-heavy approach that tilts toward stronger control than the asset-light crowd. Meanwhile, Hyatt is carving out a middle ground, retaining much of its owned strategy, but viewing growth as coming from franchise businesses and management contracts. As is apparent, hospitality today is not a one-size-fits-all industry, and that's a good thing.

— Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor

New eBook: The Modern Tourism Marketer's Guide to Video [SPONSORED]

Another day, another hotel soft brand collection. So, who's next? Hilton or IHG?

Business Travelers Rarely Use Virtual Payments In Another Sign of Companies' Slow Adoption

Most companies still give their business travelers corporate cards or ask them to pay upfront for later reimbursement. Given the rapid development of mobile and virtual payment methods for consumers, corporate travel is lagging behind yet again.

A Majority of Avid U.S. Travelers Have Never Used Airbnb

Despite Airbnb's precipitous growth in the travel industry, our latest survey results show that the company still has lots of room for growth among U.S. travelers.

Video: TripAdvisor CEO Believes Company's Performance Is On Track

No other current online travel company CEO is as outspoken as TripAdvisor's Stephen Kaufer about the the global refugee crisis and U.S. visitor policies. We wish more executives would step up and speak out.

Loews Hotels Is Taking a Contrarian Approach With Its Asset-Heavy Strategy

It'll be interesting to see what works better for relatively smaller hotel companies like Loews, Red Lion, and even Hyatt with each of their respectively divergent business strategies: traditional asset ownership; totally asset-light; and asset recycling.

Rethinking the Current State of Hotel Technology [SPONSORED]

Sponsored by Cenium

Using a single integrated platform to manage operations can help hotels keep up with the competition and consumer demands.

Business of Loyalty: United Airlines Appoints a New Head of Loyalty

United Airlines has a new head of loyalty starting this week at the same time that major changes are happening within the program.

Upside is trying to reach a more high-yielding audience of business travelers through its partnership with The Wall Street Journal. Whether the Upside experience ends up resonating with its users over the long term is another story.

Air France-KLM CEO Touts His Millennial-Focused Airline That's Really for Everyone

You may have seen Air France's new airline designed for millennials. But that's mostly a creation of marketers. Let's be honest. This is a lower-cost airline that needs to attract passengers of all ages if it's going to be successful.

Video: Expedia CEO on Blockchain and Competitive Threats

Expedia Inc. seems ready to further develop existing brands like HomeAway in 2018. An opportunistic acquisition or two might also take place, but CEO Okerstrom says he's focusing on organic growth from companies already in Expedia's portfolio.

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