Weekend Review: Wow Air Reinvention + TripAdvisor Finds Inspiration

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

September 22, 2018

Editor's Note This week's news showed that while there are mixed views on the effectiveness of influencers, travel companies are still willing to rely on social media personalities in a variety of ways. One story highlighted the ways influencer marketing is going through growing pains, and what that means for travel brands. On the other hand, we also detailed how TripAdvisor began a private beta in which influencers and publishers would play a big role. It's a big change for TripAdvisor, which traditionally has relied on traveler reviews for trip-planning wisdom. TripAdvisor will use influencers such as celebrity chefs to provide travel recommendations so the company can enhance its travel inspiration and personalization capabilities. No money is changing hands as TripAdvisor offers influencers access to a slice of its 456 million monthly unique visitors. It's an interesting experiment, and for now the price is right. — Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor Loyalty Beyond Points and Miles: Creating Rewarding Experiences for the Experiential and Millennial Traveler Sponsored by Switchfly Today's consumer no longer thinks about loyalty solely in terms of points and miles. That's created a growing opportunity for travel brands to rethink the strategies they use to build loyalty with travelers. Read More Top Stories 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. TripAdvisor Digs Deeper Into Social Travel With a Personalized Recommendation Feed TripAdvisor already was a social travel site before the beta launch of its new travel feed, and it has resources in this area that many failed startups didn't have — namely, a massive user base, a global brand, and profit. Still, this site redesign may not move the proverbial needle as much as the company hopes. 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. Emirates Looks to Become World's Largest Airline With Potential Takeover of Etihad An Emirates-Etihad merger makes a lot of sense. Emirates may not be as strong as it once was, but it's still a well-run global airline that strikes fear into established competitors. Eithad, however, is in rough shape. It could use a makeover. Skift Podcast: Travel's Tough Truths and Inspirations Skift Founder and CEO Rafat Ali sparked some heated debate with a recent story on lessons he's learned about travel in the six years since he started the company. In this podcast, he riffs with Co-Founder Jason Clampet on uncomfortable observations as well as inspirations. Join the Only Hotel Operations Festival in Europe Sponsored by HOW Festival Hotel Operations Weekend Festival is the leading hotel middle management meeting place. Discuss global every-day hotel operations with fantastic panelists, GMs, Operations Directors and Hotel Department Managers. Editor' Picks 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? Booking Holdings' Agoda Takes a Distinctive Approach on Short-Term Rentals Airbnb may have popularized the idea of travelers staying in homes. But Booking Holdings is using its Agoda brand to make a push to gain share through discounting and price guarantees. Growing Pains for Influencer Marketing Raise Questions for Travel Brands Influencers are still getting a chunk of some travel brands' marketing budgets, but the amount of pull they have over travelers' trip decisions is questionable. As the form matures, influencers and brands are still figuring out the rules of the road. Hilton Commits to Growing Its Portfolio of All-Inclusive Resorts And it won't be the only one. Expect Marriott and other global hotel brands to join Hyatt and Hilton in growing their respective all-inclusive resort portfolios, too. AccorHotels Expects Voice Search to Be Revolutionary for Travel Voice search isn't ubiquitous for travel yet, but as consumers grow more comfortable with the technology, travel brands should be making major inroads too. 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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