Rivals Fear Chinese IPO + SeaWorld Settles Blackfish Fraud + Congested Cities Welcome Tourists

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

September 19, 2018

Editor's Note Just when the Chinese travel market has returned to a degree of pricing sanity, after dominant online travel agency Ctrip bought every rival in sight a few years ago, along comes food-delivery and hotel-booking service Meituan-Dianping. It is about to execute a mega initial public offering, valuing the company at $55 billion or so. China is reverting to its take-no-prisoners discounting wars, if it ever totally abandoned them, in a cutthroat market, and a volatile and inscrutable one for non-Chinese companies. Booking Holdings is more than an interested observer in the Meituan stock market float. Learning from the mistakes of Expedia Group and, to a lesser extent, TripAdvisor, both of which bought their way into China and later withdrew for the most part bleeding from their losses, Booking Holdings is taking an investment tack instead. It is spreading its money around, taking substantial minority stakes in Meituan, Ctrip, and ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing. When it comes to China, slow and steady may win the race. — Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor Creating the Hotel of the Future With Ancillaries: New Report Sponsored by iSeatz Our newest report takes a look at the rapidly evolving world of hotel ancillaries. These "add-on" purchases are already a key tool for hotels to maximize revenue. But now, they are taking on much greater importance as hotels look to deepen relationships with guests and play a greater role in the entire customer journey. Download Now Top Stories Skift Global Forum Mobile App Now Available for Attendees If you haven't registered for Skift Global Forum, you really should. Attendees get access to our new and improved mobile app, where you can schedule meetings, ask questions live, and message attendees throughout the conference. Only 17 seats are left! Meituan's Hong Kong IPO May Intensify Its Rivalry With Ctrip China's travel market is fast-growing enough that it could support a competitor to current leader Ctrip. That day may arrive soon, too, given that Meituan-Dianping is showing surprising traction in hotel booking. SeaWorld, Ex-CEO Agree to $5 Million SEC Settlement in Blackfish Fraud More than five years after the Blackfish documentary made a splash, SeaWorld is finally facing the music for lying to the public about the impact. In a way, though, the company has been paying a price for years: A $5 million settlement is a drop in the bucket compared to quarter after quarter of lost revenue. Some European Cities Don't Want Tourism Caps Even as Congestion Problems Grow Given how attitudes over tourism have been boiling over across Europe's hotspots in recent years, some of the findings in this report, such as residents not wanting tourism numbers to be capped, are very surprising. MakeMyTrip and Despegar Make Localization a Key Competitive Advantage Does Expedia or Booking have the energy to launch their booking apps in four local Indian dialects? Maybe not, but MakeMyTrip does, and that local effort matters. Skift Global Forum Preview: Why Ovation Is Embarking on a New Elite Luxury Brand Jack Ezon of Ovation's leisure business is starting Embark, a luxury agency with an unusual business structure. In this Q&A, Ezon shares how agents can thrive in the digital era, the biggest problem facing the travel industry, and why he hires so many millennials. Luxury Fashion-Branded Hotels Aim to Exceed Chinese Expectations It is said the future of luxury lies at the intersection of luxury and fashion, a nexus attractive to Chinese consumers who are still driven by brands and status in making purchase decisions. Popular Now Tours and Experiences: The Next Great Untapped Market in Online Travel Vacationers want to experience something new and are tired of the same old tours and activities. While global tour operators are baking more customization into their products, digital distribution is changing the way local operators do business. TripAdvisor CEO on Moving From User Reviews Toward Professional Content TripAdvisor will start showcasing content from long-dismissed professional reviewers so it can be more of a resource to visitors who aren't ready to book. Is nothing sacrosanct anymore? Onetime Disruptor Wow Air Is Ready for a Reinvention Wow Air is being squeezed from all sides. It will need to reinvent its business if it wants to survive. The good news is that the company's founder and CEO, Skúli Mogensen, is willing to take some risks. 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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