Tax Cut Travel Myth + Car Rental Recovery + Uncomfortable Travel Truths

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

August 9, 2018

Editor's Note An interesting nugget came out of the Choice Hotels earnings call on Wednesday. Unprompted by questioning from analysts, Patrick Pacious, the CEO of a company whose holdings include such middle-America lodging staples as Quality and Comfort Inns, volunteered in prepared remarks that he hasn't yet seen any pickup in travel spending from the sweeping tax cuts Republicans put into law earlier this year. It's very early to see any ripple effects, of course, but it's interesting to hear a CEO bring up potential non-impacts so soon. Pacious stands out among his CEO peers for saying he has not yet seen an uptick in Americans traveling because of extra cash from the tax cuts President Trump has trumpeted so loudly as a pillar of his economic platform. The travel industry lobby has been conspicuously quiet on calling out Trump in general, even after his travel ban and all its horrid implications for the industry. Who knows? Maybe at some point the false promise of big gains from trickle-down tax savings will prompt travel executives to hold this White House more accountable. — Tom Lowry, Managing Editor The 2018 Skift Global Business Traveler Report Sponsored by Turkish Airlines Our new SkiftX research initiative takes a deep dive inside the minds of global business travelers and corporate travel managers, offering a snapshot of the disruptive trends and technologies reshaping the corporate travel space. Download Now Top Stories Luxury Hotelier Belmond Considers Putting Itself Up for Sale Now the question is: Who will buy it, and does the company name happen to end with "riot"? Choice Hotels Not Yet Seeing Tax Cuts Spur More Travel That corporate tax rate has helped companies with their balance sheets, but will those extra dollars actually translate to increased travel? Is a Smarter Car Rental Industry Emerging From Its Funk? Rumors of the car rental sector's demise may have been greatly exaggerated. Fundamentals have improved for Hertz and Avis, while partnerships with ridesharing companies and autonomous vehicle innovators bring potential for sustained growth. The 21 Uncomfortable Truths That I Have Learned About the Travel Industry Never accused of holding back on what we think, what we have learned and unlearned. My lessons from six years of Skift and eight years exploring the travel industry. Minor Hotels Founder Offers Lessons in Bottom-Up Entrepreneurship Minor Hotels founder William Heinecke has had quite the entrepreneurial journey. As an American expat, he started his entire empire of businesses in Thailand from the age of 17. Here he shares thoughts about the state of hospitality, luxury, and embedding social good into the core of his properties. Why Did Qantas Hire a Jet Lag Expert? Few airlines take marketing and public relations as seriously as Qantas. The airline should be commended for its efforts to persuade passengers they want to spend 17 hours on a plane, when they have other options. Meeting Planners Face Challenges Amid Commission Cuts in Sellers' Market The third-party commission cuts by a growing number of hotel companies are emerging as planners' biggest challenge in 2018. That's followed by the current sellers' market but, somehow, the cuts feel personal. Popular Now Marriott Still Working Through Starwood Integration Two Years After Deal Can Marriott hold onto hotel owners and SPG elites? That was the underlying question on many analysts' minds during Marriott's second-quarter earnings call. After all, the bigger you are, the harder you have to fall, right? But the world's largest hotel company, not surprisingly, doesn't see things that way. IHG CEO: Amazon Is a Threat to Online Travel Agencies, Not Hotels IHG CEO Keith Barr's take on how we'll be using technology now and in the future is both contrarian and perhaps more pragmatic than the views of some of his travel industry peers. Is the Metasearch Model in Big Trouble? Much of the metasearch business is beyond the control of the metasearch companies themselves because their largest advertisers can switch things up five minutes ago. Just ask Trivago, and to a lesser extent, TripAdvisor. The best they can hope to do is to diversify their advertiser base and to keep plugging away. 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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