Golf-Hotel-Resorts AND CASINO News: Top Travel Startups + HomeAway's Quiet Hotel Strategy + Emirates Takes Defiant Stance

June 6, 2018

Editor's Note

It's tough to be a travel startup these days, to get your brand before page five on Google, and to break through the noise when the roster of newbie companies and other competitors is so crowded and imposing. In an annual exercise, Skift identified 20 travel startups from around the world that have wrangled some differentiation and a degree of traction.

Travel Tech Editor Sean O'Neill put together Skift Top Travel Startups 2018, which ranges from the fastest growing site you've never heard of, namely Kiwi.com in the Czech Republic, to vacation rental management platform Futurestay in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Perusing the collection will not only educate you about these startups themselves, but will give you an appreciation for the wide swath of sectors that make up today's vibrant travel industry.

— Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor

Who Will You Meet at Skift Tech Forum Next Week?

Our list of companies attending Skift Tech Forum will only continue to grow in the days leading up to the Forum. You only have six days to have your company represented at Skift Tech Forum, so act fast!

Better, faster, stronger. We pinpointed 20 venture-backed companies — mostly young — that promise breakaway potential. These startups prove that innovation is happening everywhere, from Atlanta to Ramallah to Queensland.

Here's the First Round of Speakers for Skift Restaurants Forum

We have an excellent lineup of speakers to share with you today. The only thing that could make this event better is if you join us.

It's Not Just Airbnb — HomeAway Starts Adding Hotels Too

While Airbnb has been brashly adding independent hotels, HomeAway has been quietly doing the same — although it has been using an entirely different business model given its ties to parent Expedia. Curation may have its place, but all of these companies realize that the more inventory and choice they give consumers, the more likely they are to spend on a stay.

Emirates President Won't Rule Out More U.S.-Europe Nonstop Flights

It's funny. Fifth Freedom flights — those are routes where an airline flies from a place other than its home country — account for roughly 1 percent of Emirates' capacity, according to the airline's president. And Emirates has only two such routes to the United States. But it's a hot topic among airline insiders, and it doesn't sound like that will change.

Why Luxury Hotels Spend So Much Time Choosing Bathroom Amenities

The general manager of Le Royal Monceau, Raffles Paris once told us that "the bathroom says everything about a hotel." We agree. Focusing on the bathroom amenities — the soaps, lotions, and potions — provides a valuable insight into the brand story.

Airports Could Improve Revenue by Figuring New Uses for Empty Parking Lots

When flyers think about spending money at the airport, sandwiches and lattes quickly come to mind. But airports are thinking just as much about money spent in the parking lot, and they might need to change their approach.

The Rise of Luxury Wellness Tourism in Africa

An expanding definition of wellness experiences that includes self-actualization and adventure as much as farm-fresh meals and sophisticated spa treatments is positioning African destinations and operators to become the next leaders in the luxury wellness travel market.

AccorHotels, Airbnb, and everyone else in travel are clearly thinking about what it'll take to be the "super brand of travel" before other mega brands like Amazon and Google deepen their own investments in the travel space.

The Highest Paid Travel CEOs in Europe in 2017

European travel CEOs are paid well by most standards — but not compared with their peers across the pond.

Lisbon's Overtourism Lesson: Living Like a Local Is Not Enough

Lisbon's post-crisis evolution and corresponding tourism boom show the dramatic impact and lasting ramifications of overtourism. Efforts have centered on sustainable tourism and limiting tourism's potential negative impacts, but, in our view, the focus has been all wrong. Sustainable tourism should be about sustainable cultures, and we all have a role to play.

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