Expedia Scoffs at Acquisitions + Hilton Eyes Flexible Pricing + Beverly Hills’ Tourism Facelift

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

October 27, 2017 View in browser

Note From the Editor Have you ever thought about how Amazon, the online-retail behemoth, might be hurting tourism? Tourism reporter Dan Peltier and the Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau have, and the latter has been pursuing creative strategies to wean locals and travelers off online shopping and into city shopping outlets to boost the visitor bureau's coffers. London and other locales, too, have been conjuring ways to illuminate the prospect of nighttime shopping and visitation. Speaking of illumination, two big-time CEOs, namely Mark Okerstrom of Expedia and Hilton boss Christopher Nassetta, shed some light on their expansion strategies, as we described in stories today. Because of where they sit, though, we don't expect them to agree on distribution strategy anytime soon. — Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor Save on Your Ticket to Skift Global Forum 2018 Super Early Bird tickets for our flagship Skift Global Forum are now on sale for a limited time! Save $1300 when you register, and secure your spot for what is sure to be 2018's most innovative and influential travel conference. Register Now Top Stories New Expedia CEO Just Became His Own Guy in Outlining a New Strategy It should be no surprise that the new Expedia CEO, who Barry Diller claims to have selected without conducting a wider candidate search, would have his own ideas about where to take the $22 billion company. Okerstrom is even talking about a path for Expedia becoming number one in online travel. That's definitely something we haven't heard publicly articulated in awhile. Beverly Hills Tourism Gives a Facelift to Its Shopping and Evening Strategy in Amazon Era Shopping is one of the parts of any trip that many travelers look forward to. Online shopping is certainly impacting in-destination spending in some markets, and more tourism boards are getting creative with how to compete with e-commerce giants. Hilton CEO Previews New Brands and Tech Launches for 2018 Here's hoping that new "hostel on steroids" brand is more than just a beefed-up Tru by Hilton. And that the technology powering Hilton's Connected Room actually works. Redefining the Guest Experience with Better Hotel Technology [SPONSORED] Sponsored by Cenium Hotels are looking at the guest experience and the offerings available in more sophisticated ways than ever before. However, the current technologies that these services are based upon limit the hotel's ability to provide the guest with a seamless journey. Read More American Airlines Believes It Doesn't Need Over-the-Top Luxury to Compete With Gulf Carriers We're not surprised American Airlines is not interested in blinged-out first and business class cabins. But we're still slightly puzzled at the U.S. carriers' anger toward the Gulf airlines. Yes, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar receive government assistance, but so do a lot of airlines. GuestReady Raises $3 Million for Airbnb Rental Management: Travel Startup Funding This Week While venture capital funding of startups has dropped steadily since 2012, there are still ideas investors find worth funding, such as for short-term rental management, event venue marketplaces, and hotel distribution. Laptop Ban 2.0 — Corporate Travel Innovation Report Between travel bans, actual and potential laptop bans, and stepped-up security measures, the last nine months have given us whiplash. Business travelers who have had to navigate these various changes must be wondering what the U.S. government will come up with next. Southwest Airlines Joins the Chorus of Carriers Projecting Higher Airfares To End the Year Now that's its figured out its labor issues and revamped its reservation system, Southwest Airlines has its sights set on Hawaii as low-cost competition heats up in the continental U.S. Skift Table Videos At this year's Skift Global Forum we announced Skift Table, our new brand devoted to the business of dining out. We were joined on stage by two leaders in the industry. You can see what they had to say below. Video: Danny Meyer Talks Change, Technology and Hugging Millennials Union Square Hospitality Group CEO Danny Meyer and his team have become shorthand for a well-run, innovative restaurant group, and it's done so through a fine balance of traditional service and a willingness to adapt. Video: Noma's René Redzepi Hates Routine How does one of the best chefs in the world keep from falling into the routine of his own success? By challenging the notion of a restaurant, tirelessly iterating on new ideas, and working hard to push himself well out of his comfort zone. Popular Now Growth Juggernaut Trivago Sees Revenue Slump Coming as Biggest Customers Pull Back Expedia's fast-growing hotel search site Trivago may see its pace of growth stall as both Expedia and rival The Priceline Group have pulled back on spending. This is an extraordinary development given the fact that Trivago was one of Expedia's growth engines and there was seemingly no end in site. Marriott CEO Believes There Are Limits to What Hotels Can Do About Security After Las Vegas Sorenson didn't mince words talking about the negative impact the Trump administration's rhetoric and multiple travel bans are having on international visitation to the U.S. His comments about corporate tax reform may also not please proponents of raising the minimum wage for hospitality workers. Analysts Take Alaska Airlines to Task for Mishandling a Broad Array of Issues Many have dreamt of finding easy fortune in California. But Alaska Airlines is discovering -- via its merger with Virgin America -- that the airport tarmacs aren't paved with gold. 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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