Golf-Hotel-Resorts AND CASINO News: Weekend Review: Accor Fears Google + Takeaways on Personalization and Platforms

June 16, 2018

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Editor's Note

At the Skift Technology Forum in Silicon Valley earlier this week, Linda Jojo of United Airlines deftly summed up the personalization dilemma, which was a theme that ran throughout the program. It is a fine line between personalization and creepiness, Jojo said, and the airline will labor to find the sweet spot between the two. So will companies across the travel industry.

Meanwhile, AccorHotels' global chief brand officer Steven Taylor was hearing footsteps — from Google and Amazon — and he's fearful that their voice assistants will exacerbate the threat that the chain will suffer an even greater disconnect from its customers.

Both of these issues, personalization and platforms, are ones the travel industry will have to deal with for years to come..

— Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor

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How Travel Brands Can Use Audience Data To Think Strategically About Their Customers' Digital Moments

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Brands in the travel industry have a leg up over those in other industries when it comes to connecting with their customers. Audience data can help them find stories resonating at an exact moment, leading to inspiration that can create moments that matter to travelers and foster connection for brands.

Skift Tech Forum Coverage

AccorHotels Chief Brand Officer: 'We Need to Watch Google and Amazon Carefully'

Smart hotel brands like AccorHotels know that the real threat isn't Airbnb or even their fellow hotel companies. It's the Googles, Tencents, Facebooks, Amazons, and Apples of the world.

4 Key Insights on Travel Tech Advances, Personalization, Voice, and Amazon

What do Amazon's Alexa, personalization, and the tech arms race have in common? They were common refrains overheard this week at our inaugural Skift Tech Forum in Silicon Valley.

Tomato Juice Is Back on United Airlines Flights, But It's Still Not Popular

In May, United removed tomato juice because few passengers drink it. Afterward, though, United got another lesson in the power of social media. Many folks complained, and so tomato juice has returned. The funny thing is, United's customers still aren't asking for it. But at least it's there.

Global Distribution Systems Retool for the Next Digital Revolution

The global distribution systems are each pushing forward in their own unique way. By investing like technology companies in flexible distribution and payment technologies, they hope to provide a better value proposition to travel partners that are keen to cut out the middleman. Decades of bad blood between the two, however, still linger over the conversation.

United Plans New App But Is Weighing 'Creepy' Versus 'Personalized'

There are limits to how much an airline like United knows about you and that is comforting to some travelers. But putting the data it does have to good use remains a challenge, although we see nothing controversial about wishing someone a happy birthday.

Hilton Is Wary of the Risks of Hyper-Personalization

Hyper-personalization may be all the rage, but so is respecting the customer's data. Hilton wants to be on the right side of that fine line.

The Personalization Dilemma in Travel: Read the New Magazine

Read on for executive insights and data-driven reporting on topics that include the future of personalization, the mobile payments transformation, Europe's new General Data Protection Regulation, and the problem with digital assistants.

Expedia Is Closing Gap With Booking on Cloud-Based And Search Engine Tech

For all of the hype over its shopping spree of acquisitions in recent years, Expedia didn't have much to show for it compared to rival Booking Holdings. That's starting to change, and Expedia feels it's ready for a cloud-based future.

Editor's Picks

How the Ritz-Carlton at Sea Will Avoid the Bus-Route Nature of Cruising

Luxury cruisers have some well-known options, but the new Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection believes it can win over both fans of cruising and non-cruisers alike. Will newcomers abandon land to check out how Ritz-Carlton translates to sea?

Royal Caribbean Is Buying a $1 Billion Stake in Silversea to Boost Its Luxury Offerings

Buying Silversea will certainly improve Royal Caribbean's offering in the luxury and expedition sectors. Will it be happy as a majority shareholder, as it says now, or will it eventually want complete control?

Why Cathay Pacific Wants to Take On Low-Cost Carriers Without Creating Its Own

Like many airlines, Cathay Pacific underestimated the digital revolution and the threat of low-cost competition. It is playing catch up, and its recent financial results have not been pretty. But Cathay Pacific has an excellent brand, and it serves a lucrative home market. It should be OK.

Rwanda Is Making a Push for the Right Number of High-Spending Visitors

Rwanda is setting itself up as Africa's new big luxury tourism destination. And while mountain gorillas are the country's main attraction, new luxury lodges will help open up other regions of this small, yet highly diverse country.

Booking CEO Gillian Tans Gets a Ctrip Board Seat

Online travel's two most influential female executives, Ctrip's Jane Jie Sun and Booking.com's Gillian Tans, will now deliberate around the table together at Ctrip board meetings. Ctrip felt the need to announce that the two companies are strengthening their ties after Booking's 2017 investment in Ctrip rival and IPO-bound Meituan-Dianping.

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