United's Lux Class Woes + Airbnb’s Big Exec Shuffle + Expedia's Startup Solution

We're waxing a bit Dickensian today and thinking about great — if perhaps unreasonable — expectations.

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

October 20, 2017 View in browser

Note From the Editor We're waxing a bit Dickensian today and thinking about great — if perhaps unreasonable — expectations. Airline business reporter Brian Sumers explains that United Airlines set a high bar when it announced its cushy Polaris class last year, but reality is not living up to that promise as new seats are delayed, lounges are slow to open, and travelers are frustrated by unmet expectations. We've written at length about big travel companies setting up travel tech incubators and accelerators with hopes of nurturing the next big thing in travel. In the latest example, two brands in the Expedia Inc. family have launched a mentorship-driven program for lodging startups in Europe. As travel tech editor Sean O'Neill reports, travel isn't always the easiest field for entrepreneurs — but that doesn't stop many from trying. And speaking of trying? Late last night Airbnb named one of its co-founders as chairman of its China operations. These are some great expectations indeed. — Hannah Sampson, News Editor How Hotels Can Help Drive Direct Bookings in 2018 [SPONSORED] Sponsored by Criteo For hotels looking to drive direct bookings, simply offering more competitive pricing or better loyalty programs is no longer enough to compete with online travel agencies. Read More Top Stories United Airlines Struggles to Keep Its Polaris Promises Did United Airlines promote its new Polaris cabin faster than was prudent? The answer is probably yes. But remember, in 2016, United was losing high-value customers to competitors. It likely wanted to make a splash by highlighting its future plans. Airbnb Co-Founder Nathan Blecharczyk Named Chairman of Airbnb China With all the leadership changes taking place at Airbnb in the past few weeks, should we be expecting even more? Does this mean a CEO change is next? Ryanair Settles Legal Dispute Over Misleading Ads With Google and eDreams Sadly, whatever resolution was agreed upon will remain a secret between Ryanair, Google, and eDreams. We'll have to keep an eye on the Google search results to see if anything changes. China Outbound Travel Spending Disparity Shows Enormous Growth Potential Although China is the largest market in outbound travel, a deeper look at the figures shows that China is still far from its potential. Just 8.7 percent of Chinese hold a passport today. Expedia Affiliate Network and Hotels.com Hop on Travel Startups Incubator Trend Another day, another support system for travel startups. Given all these incubators and accelerators, travel startups must be enjoying in a golden age of innovation and profitability. Right? Business Traveler Anxiety Is Here to Stay — Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report Traveling for work can be fun, but it represents a huge hassle. Travel managers are finally working to adapt to the needs of the travelers they serve. Transparency Alleviates Anxiety in Restaurants Comfort food needs to go beyond a warm dish of mac and cheese. Diners and travelers are demanding more from their fine dining and their fast food, and smart restaurants are responding. Jonathan Keane, Managing Director, Aviation at Accenture, on Staying Hyper-Relevant [SPONSORED] Sponsored by Accenture Jonathan Keane, Managing Director, Aviation at Accenture, spoke with Skift CEO and Founder, Rafat Ali, about how companies can embrace hyper-relevance and vitality to create a living business. Watch Video Popular Now Priceline Invests $450 Million in Chinese E-Commerce Giant Meituan-Dianping The deal shows the pragmatism of Priceline Group's new CEO toward China. Glenn Fogel chose to sync up with an additional local player rather than rely just on its existing partnership with Ctrip. JetBlue Airways Drops a Dozen Online Travel Agencies in Cost-Cutting Move On its own, this is no big deal. Not many people book JetBlue tickets on Vegas.com or whatscheaper.com. But JetBlue called this phase one, so we'll be watching closely to see the airline's next step. Video: Priceline CEO Glenn Fogel on How Artificial Intelligence Will Make Travel Seamless We've heard for several years how travel brands will use new technology to make travel seamless. We wish it would happen next year. But it sounds like we'll have to wait awhile. Perhaps someday we'll get there. 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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