Weekend Review: Google Deepens Hotel Footprint + Spirit's Turnaround

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

November 3, 2018

Editor's Note For any brands having difficulties anywhere in the world, take a look at Spirit Airlines, as Aviation Business Editor Brian Sumers did in our story below. Many consumers detested the airline a few years ago and its operational performance was a mess. Under CEO Robert Fornaro, Spirit's popularity in the form of net promoter scores are heading in the right direction — up, that is — and the airline's on-time performance and completion factor are doing likewise. Turning around a struggling company is indeed possible. Just look at Spirit. — Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor How Fort Worth is Connecting Meeting Planners and Local Innovators in High-Growth Sectors Sponsored by Visit Fort Worth Different sectors in advanced and creative industries in Fort Worth work together to support the city's rise on the national scene. Read More Top Stories Why Low-Cost Airline Spirit Sees Little Impact From Competitors' Basic Economy Fares It was not clear three years ago whether Spirit could make it long term. It ran a shoddy operation, and it had alienated many of its customers. But Spirit is back, and it's making good returns for shareholders. Google's New Hotel Search Is a Greater Threat to Booking Rivals When it comes to Google and its hotels redesign, few things are all or nothing. TripAdvisor can worry that Google now has more traveler photos and reviews, but some of them are from TripAdvisor. Hotel websites and phone numbers get featured, but clicking on a book button brings customers to an online travel agency site. In travel, it's never winner take all. British Airways Is Filling In Where South African Airways Is Fading To the delight of local tourism authorities, British Airways has been only too happy to fill the gap left by an ever-shrinking South African Airways. This week, Durban was the latest African city to welcome a direct route to the United Kingdom. Virgin Voyages Will Join the Cruise Ship Crowds in Cuba Virgin Voyages has been talking about visiting Cuba for three years now, so this announcement is no surprise. But will the destination still be as popular in 2020 as it is now? Sign Up For Skift Wellness Newsletter Our latest issue covers yoga at work, digital thermometers, and vitamin vaporizers. Sign up today to read all this and more of the latest wellness trends each week. A Lesson in Hotel Loyalty That Goes Beyond Just Points The personal touch never loses its appeal. Hector Ruiz, a 27-year veteran of The Carlyle, shares lessons learned from a career at the hotel and how sometimes, analog approaches yield the best results. Air Canada Struggles With How to Fill Planes in Winter Air Canada has built a successful business flying customers between North America and Europe during the summer. But much of that business dries up the rest of the year. Now, Air Canada wants to find a way to produce more revenue in winter. Can it succeed? Hyatt's High Hopes for Two Roads Revealed We all knew Hyatt was in the mood for a major acquisition. (NH Hotel Group or Starwood, anyone?) And now we have a much better idea of what its plans are for Two Roads, as well as other acquisitions down the line. How Air France-KLM's CEO Wants It to Be Like Other Airline Groups New CEO Benjamin Smith is trying to do something his predecessors failed at — bring Air France and KLM closer together. The two airlines need to work in sync more if the group is going to compete better with rivals in Europe. Skift Table Highlights Spyce Wants to Talk About Robots, Not Workers Automation has some key benefits to the industry. But we'd like a closer look under the hood before Spyce gets anointed (again) as the next great thing. Starbucks Wants to Get to Know You Better Starbucks hopes digital loyalty plus face time with in-store employees will help continue its turnaround. Earlier access to egg nog lattes and other holiday drinks — available a full week earlier than last year — won't hurt, either. Yelp's New Nowait Kiosks Take Aim at the Host Stand Call us traditional — because we are on some matters — but we'd rather be greeted and check in with a human. Then we're happy letting the computer program run its course. Shake Shack CEO: Labor Will 'Probably Always Be Our Greatest Challenge' CEO Randy Garutti is right: Shake Shack has "got to win" on labor in order to keep up with the company's wide-ranging expansion plans. 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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