Weekend Review: Hostels Go Corporate + Pilot Warning

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

November 17, 2018

Editor's Note A Morgan Stanley report this week found that Airbnb's growth is slowing in Europe and the U.S., and Expedia and Booking Holdings are making gains. Although Airbnb disputes the numbers, this race was almost inevitably going to tighten. These are very early days for alternative accommodations, and leading players will dip and fade over the years. Anyone remember when Travelocity was the world's leading online travel agency? Anyone? — Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor How New Zealand's Unique Approach to Hospitality Drives Group and Incentive Travel Sponsored by Tourism New Zealand Hospitality is ingrained into New Zealand's culture, creating a destination committed to wowing group and incentive trip planners — with experiences like behind-the-scenes visits to the set of The Hobbit films. Read More Top Stories The Big-Money Reinvention of the Humble Hostel: A Skift Deep Dive Money is flowing into the hostels market and established hotel companies want a piece. Will this new corporatization cost hostels the soul of their original mission? United Airlines Warns Pilots on Issue That Plagued Fatal Lion Air Flight It seems like operators were caught off guard about some advanced functionality on the Boeing 737 Max. This is both odd and unusual. Airbnb's Growth Is Slowing Amid Increasing Competition From Booking and Expedia: Report If Airbnb is indeed seeing a slowdown of its business in more mature markets like Europe and the U.S., that's all the more reason for the company to double down on its efforts in emerging markets like China, and to work on adding more professional inventory, ahem, hotels. Sabre to Buy Farelogix for $360 Million to Help Airlines Sell Better Sabre allegedly tried to kill smaller rival Farelogix years ago. But now there's peace in the valley. Farelogix's merchandising and direct connection technology will plug a gap in Sabre's offering and could accelerate the travel tech giant's growth. Skift Forum Asia: Program Announcement + Last Chance To Buy Super Early Bird Tickets The excitement continues to build for the inaugural Skift Forum Asia to be held on May 27th, 2019 in Singapore. We've announced our program theme and first speakers. Just a few super early bird tickets left so don't wait to get yours! Airlines Find Another Way to Wring Out Extra Revenue: Auctioning Unsold Premium Seats Remember when airlines used to give away their best seats for free? Ha! The economy is strong, and airlines are offering fewer upgrades. Passengers who want to sit up front need to pay for it. But don't worry. Another recession will come, and the good days (for upgraders, at least) should return. Editor's Picks JetBlue CEO Defends Bag Fee Hike as Cost of Doing Business JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes knows there is nostalgia for the days before airlines introduced so many fees. But he said he is more focused on the carrier's other priorities: legroom, entertainment, and Wi-Fi. Capital One Adds Frequent Flyer Mile Transfer Option to Its Credit Cards A new tool coming from Capital One will make its travel credit cards more competitive with American Express and Chase. Only seasoned travel pros, however, may find it useful. WebBeds on Shopping Spree for Bedbanks: Should Hotelbeds Be Worried? The acquisition of Destinations of the World seals WebBeds as the second largest B2B bedbank player, but incumbent Hotelbeds need not worry – for a very long time. Airbnb and Other Unicorns Suffer by Staying Private, High-Profile Tech Investor Argues Would Airbnb and Uber, for example, be truly better off as public companies? It's unclear because they both have access to tons of money already. But they would both certainly be better equipped to spin their own narratives. Rome Tour Bus Restriction Stirs Europe's Latest Overtourism Controversy Tour buses bring thousands of people to Rome each day, but many increasingly run on cleaner fuels than their passenger car counterparts. Buses also replace some of those cars and probably know the traffic laws better than the average driver, another reason that has us scratching our heads at Rome's plan. 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