Puerto Rico Governor Unfiltered + Skift Buys Airline Weekly + Best Western's Boutique Brands

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

September 27, 2018

Editor's Note What we do here at Skift is cover other companies' news. So today is a bit unusual, as we reveal our own news — and lots of it on the first full day of our Global Forum. First, we are announcing the acquisition of Airline Weekly, an essential newsletter for the industry that will be a key addition to our already outstanding coverage of all things that fly. And because nobody covers the sectors where people spend their disposable income better than Skift, we are launching a new vertical focused on wellness. It's an exploding industry, and we see a huge opportunity to tell the most important stories behind the trends and the businesses creating them. Last but not least, Skift is launching its own nonprofit foundation, leveraging its know-how and resources to give back to under-served corners of travel. Now back to what we do best: Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló had plenty to say Wednesday night in a discussion with Executive Editor Dennis Schaal. He criticized President Trump, emphatically called for Puerto Rican statehood, and made an unabashed pitch to travel executives to invest in the island's economy. Direct and refreshing talk, and just a warmup. Please keep checking in with Skift today and tomorrow as we bring you all the news from our Forum. — Tom Lowry, Managing Editor Skift Global Forum Is Today Skift Global Forum is happening right now! View coverage of the event here, and follow along with the conference on social with the hashtag #SkiftForum. Learn More Skift News What to Expect at Skift Global Forum Sept. 27–28 Here's everything you need to know about Skift Global Forum kicking off today in New York City. Can't make it in person? We offer the next best thing, with suggestions on how to stay on top of session topics and speaker insights over the next two days. The Next Phase of Skift's Growth: Welcoming Airline Weekly to the Family We are doubling down on coverage of the global airline sector and now have the strongest business coverage of commercial aviation, both online and through our Forums around the world. Introducing Skift Wellness: Covering the Business of Modern Wellness Skift Wellness lives where wellness meets commerce, mindfulness meets technology, the yoga studio meets the boardroom, and health meets business. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter below! Introducing the Skift Foundation: Supporting the Promise of Travel Through Our Expertise The Skift Foundation is in a position to contribute our insights, energies, and resources to help under-resourced destinations and organizations in travel. Puerto Rico's Governor Pushes Back on Trump With Calls for Statehood Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló is not shy about advocating for the island's potential future as a U.S. state. At Skift Global Forum's opening night event Wednesday, he reminded us that the travel industry has a duty to fight injustice and build connections despite political drama. Other Top Stories Best Western Debuts 2 New Boutique Hotel Brands There's been a sea change in terms of how new boutique hotel brands are named: Instead of recycling other brand names (ahem, Clarion Pointe) and looking to active adjectives (hello, Avid and Tru), we've now entered the era of brands on a first-name basis. African Low-Cost Airline Fastjet Is Running on Fumes It looks like the end is nigh for beleaguered Fastjet. Unless investors are willing to put up more cash for an airline that shows no sign of profitability six years after launching. Leading Hotels of the World Revamps Its Loyalty Program Leading Hotels is taking a traditional, yet also somewhat contrarian approach to hotel loyalty — but will it pay off for its independent hotel members? Increased Meetings Demand Continues to Drive Costs Up More demand for meeting space has driven up prices around the world, giving upscale hotels more leverage during negotiations. Meanwhile, some planners are being left behind even as event technology catches on among more ambitious organizations. Yet Another Reminder on Why Airline Competition Is a Beautiful Thing Frontier is far from the most perfect U.S. airline. It gets more than its share of complaints, and its on-time rate is worse than the U.S. average. But the airline is making some improvements to try to keep passengers from defecting to legacy carriers. That's good for consumers. Popular Now Disney World's Latest Pricing Changes Take Aim at Crowd Control Disney shifted to seasonal pricing a couple of years ago, and the entertainment giant is drilling down even more with the latest changes. Visitors will likely grumble at the more complicated new system, but we don't expect Disney's business to suffer. Booking Holdings Tweaks Momondo's Marketing Strategy Well, well, well…if Booking Holdings is cutting brand marketing spending, what does it mean for the Momondo name going forwards? Discount Airlines Take Frequent Flyer Programs More Seriously After Initial Snub Not long ago, all discount airlines needed to compete was cheap fares. But times change, and with legacy airlines poaching some of their customers, more ultra-low-cost carriers are taking loyalty seriously. 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.

Follow us Our address: 145 W 30th Street 5th Floor New York,  NY  10001  USA  Copyright © 2018 Skift, All rights reserved.

If you'd like to unsubscribe from this email, click here If you'd like to receive fewer emails, click here If someone shared this email with you and you would like to subscribe, visit our newsletters page on Skift