Weekend Review: Secrets of Repeat Visitors + Airbnb Promotes Superhosts

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

December 8, 2018

Editor's Note I​f there was one subtext for this past week it would have to be loyalty​ — and how that is never taken lightly across the travel ecosystem. Starting with what creates traveler loyalty, Skift Research offered a report looking at what prompts tourists to return to the same destinations, and how businesses can exploit that. To ensure that its most highly rated hosts stay loyal, Airbnb is deciding to make the so-called superhosts the centerpiece of new marketing efforts — not a bad idea given the homesharing giant needs to buff up its best assets ahead of a possible 2019 IPO. Meanwhile, Expedia held its annual conference this week in Las Vegas for its hotel partners. The hard sell was on in a big way, as alternative accommodations join the listings fray, prompting Expedia to express its loyalty to hotels that might feel a tad displaced. Three great examples of the enduring anxiety loyalty generates within the industry. — Tom Lowry, Managing Editor Executive Q&A: Why Travel Brands Need to Look Beyond the Big Trends for Planning in 2019 Sponsored by Koddi Travel brands love a good trend projection, but is chasing trends the best business strategy? According to Koddi President and Co-Founder Nicholas Ward, the devil is in the data. Read More Top Stories Why U.S. Travelers Return to the Same Spots: New Skift Research Creating customer loyalty can be a challenge for brands in the travel industry, and this is especially true for destinations. The results of Skift Research's U.S. Repeat Visitation Survey help decode visitors who choose to return to destinations. Airbnb Touts One of Its Most Valuable Assets as It Prepares for IPO Combatting host fatigue is a very real thing, but it'll probably take a lot more than this from Airbnb to make sure those Superhosts remain loyal. Trivago Faces Multimillion Dollar Fine for Misleading Advertising in Australia Trivago has reportedly admitted to misleading consumers about its hotel comparisons and will have to appear in court later this month to defend its actions. This comes as Australians are being whipped up to boycott foreign-owned hotel aggregators that are accused of ripping off local hotel owners and operators. Michelin Guide Owner Buys Tablet Hotels to Build a Travel Business Tablet Hotels found itself a world-class strategic buyer to propel its growth. Tablet as part of Michelin will face huge marketing hurdles, and the challenge of trying to reshape Michelin's legacy guide offerings. Skift Forum Europe: Latest Program Announcements The third installment of Skift Forum Europe continues our laser focus on examining Europe as a bellwether for leading trends in global travel. Join us on April 30 in London as we Define the Future of Responsible Travel. Selina Receives $150 Million for Millennial-Friendly Hospitality Until recently, Selina has been a glorified hostel operator. Its ambition to provide work-life balance to millennials who travel internationally has been more of a work-in-progress than a consistent offering. Yet massive fresh funding this year will help drive Selina to become one of 2019's most fascinating experiments in hospitality. Expedia CEO: Google Is Our Biggest Competitor It's rare to have an Expedia CEO speak so candidly about Google's threat to his own company. After all, Google knows how to punish companies when it wants to. Given Barry Diller's recent statements, and Okerstrom's view, there must be a lot of concern in Expedialand behind the scenes. Skift Table Highlights Amazon Restaurants Still Lags Far Behind U.S. Delivery Rivals The tech giant's restaurant business arm hasn't grown very much, perhaps by design, but an acquisition or two can change that. Yum Brands' Franchisees Don't Pay Delivery Fees, Thanks to Grubhub Partnership Yum Brands' size and scale allow it to negotiate much better deals on delivery partnerships, as executives outlined during the company's annual investor day. No wonder Taco Bell and KFC franchise owners are so excited to participate in the Grubhub integration. Pizza Hut Says Its Tech Innovations Haven't Worked Yet On one hand, the company has made great strides in upping its digital prowess. But on the other, many of its outdated U.S. outposts do not scream modern technology. Fazoli's Loyalty Play Is Built on Data and Breadsticks It's not just about discounts for diners. A well-executed loyalty program can open up a window into customer behavior and feedback that hasn't previously existed for most restaurants. Editor's Picks Amtrak Sleeper Car Attendant Brings Old-Fashioned Hospitality to the Rails Business travelers and commuters may be Amtrak's bread and butter, but many leisure travelers have decades of warm feelings for its sleeper cars, and the old-fashioned hospitality they afford. Travelport Close to Being Taken Private by Activist Investor Travelport has only been on the public market for four years, but hedge fund Elliott Management believes it can engineer a leveraged buyout that will unlock more value from the company. A spin-off of payments unit eNett is a likely early goal. What Zuji's Suspension for Missed Payments Means for Asia's Online Travel Pioneers All is not well with Zuji, a pioneer in the online travel space in Asia-Pacific. An ownership that is more adept at aviation than running an OTA may be an issue, but it's clear the entry of global OTAs flush with marketing wherewithal and expertise is making it difficult for the pioneers to compete. How Southwest Airlines Looks to Grow in Los Angeles It has been a long time since Los Angeles International Airport has seen real gate growth. It's nice to see the airport considering some expansion. Expedia to Hoteliers: Vacation Rentals Won't Steal Your Business Expedia officials can try to assure hoteliers that the rise of alternative accommodations is no big deal for their businesses. But you can be certain that figuring out how to manage this changing dynamic is of paramount concern for all parties involved. 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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