Weekend Review: Polaris Problems + Priceline’s Big Investment + Kimpton’s New Loyalty

You never want to be on the wrong side of the "over promises and under deliver" warning, yet some of the brands and places we reported on this week have found themselves there.

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

October 21, 2017 View in browser

You never want to be on the wrong side of the "over promises and under deliver" warning, yet some of the brands and places we reported on this week have found themselves there. First up is United Airlines, which is struggling to explain why its marketing doesn't match its product. It turns out that the complexity of fleet management and installing seats over a multi-year period is beyond the interest of 99.9% of the flying public. In Spain, we're witnessing the Catalan version of a Brexit (although they'd vehemently deny this comparison) as the region anchored by Barcelona struggles to figure out what it means once you've voted for independence and your leaders aren't prepared. Meanwhile, the tourists that crowd Barcelona's streets are asking "What's a Catalonia? I though we were in Spain." — Jason Clampet, Editor-in-Chief Missed Last Week's Research Report? Skift's newest Research Report takes a look at key outbound travel markets to determine tomorrow's growth opportunities. Become an Annual Research Subscriber today to gain access to this report and more. Buy Report Now 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. IHG Is Finally Adding Kimpton to Its Loyalty Program Whatever IHG ultimately does as it proceeds with this loyalty program merger, the No. 1 thing they don't want to do is to anger Kimpton Karma elites. We also wonder: Will new IHG CEO Keith Barr start letting IHG's most elite loyalty members get access to his phone number too? 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. Catalonia's Bid for Independence Is Complicating Tourism in Spain A prolonged period of uncertainty over Catalonia's future does nobody any favors. The region and the city of Barcelona have endured a difficult 2017 and it will be interesting to see if this has any impact on tourism in 2018. 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? Digital Airbnb Reverses Strategy in Return to Affiliate Partnerships With Big Players The homesharing giant is only partnering with websites that attract at least a million visitors a month. Airbnb is calculating that the revenue upside would be worth the brand sacrifice that comes with affiliate marketing. Vacasa Raises $103 Million as Venture Capital Commits to the Property Management Sector Vacasa spent years building a business before venture capital came along for the ride at this level. Its fate now depends on how well it executes the sometimes-cumbersome task of on-boarding new properties at scale, and whether it can avoid hubris. 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 a golden age of innovation and profitability. Right? Hospitality IHG Is Planning to Create a New Luxury Brand IHG has fewer brands in its portfolio compared to most of its competitors, so adding a couple more makes sense. Trivago Launches a Subsidiary to Sell Hoteliers on Its Business Tools Trivago, its parent Expedia, and Booking.com all want to provide business services to hotels. It's easy to see the potential value to resource-strapped hotel managers. Still, many hoteliers remain suspicious of these giants. Belmond Looks to Solidify Its Brand Image Against Competitor With Its Old Name While part of the goal of Belmond's new branding campaign is to establish itself as an entity apart from its former Orient Express moniker, we wonder if the images it presents may be just a little too reminiscent of its former self. Airlines Business of Pajamas, Pillows and Bragging Rights on Airplanes What we learned from this story: Jessica Alba is one reason airlines improved pajama quality, and passengers steal pillows and blankets from airplanes. Plus, not everyone is sure why airlines give premium passengers amenity kits on every long-haul flight. 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. 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: Why Singapore Represents The Next Generation of Travel [SPONSORED] Sponsored by Singapore Tourism Board At Skift, we see the Singapore as the gateway to Asia. It's where innovation is being tested and knowledge is being exchanged to spur what the next generation of travel is all about. That's why Skift has chosen Singapore to be home to the first ever Skift Forum in Asia. Read More Tourism Carnival Corp. Is Delaying the Full Launch of Its New Wearable Tech The last thing Carnival Corp. wants is for its much-hyped new technology to be a flop with guests. So a phased rollout it is — though we wonder why that wasn't the plan from the beginning. 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. Puerto Rico Convention Bureau CEO Is Focusing on 2018 After Hurricane Maria The Puerto Rico Convention Bureau is actively selling for 2018 meetings and conventions despite the fallout from Hurricane Maria, but with the rebuilding efforts, the island should reposition itself more as a hub of industry innovation rather than just a U.S. tropical paradise. Business Travel Business Travelers Remain Concerned About Work-Life Balance Travel managers may finally take the initiative to improve quality of life for their travelers in a meaningful way. Business travelers themselves remain worried about the negative effects of traveling for work. Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Buzz Could Be a Problem for United Airlines Yes, a lot of people have ditched their airline-branded credit cards. But even people who have snazzy new cards, including the Chase Sapphire Reserve, like to redeem points for free travel on United and other airlines. For that reason, United MileagePlus miles are still valuable to Chase. What's Worrying the Business Traveler In a complicated world, businesses are concerned with the safety of their workers on the road. Technology can help ease business traveler anxiety, but there is no flawless solution when something goes wrong. Skift Global Forum Highlights 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. Video: Delta CEO Sees Basic Economy as Way to Show Passengers They Aren't Getting Ripped Off Unbundling has been one of the biggest buzzwords in the airline industry in recent years, and for good reason. Full-service carriers like Delta think it is a great way to hit a broader range of consumers, but it doesn't come without its risks. Looking at the World Through Anxious Eyes The world has always been a complicated place, but shifting geopolitical tensions and the echo chamber of social media have contributed to a culture of anxiety affecting travelers around the world. 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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