Weekend Review: Expedia's New Respect + Google Connects the Dots

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

February 10, 2018 View in browser

Note From the Editor Three of our top stories are as intertwined as a pretzel. Expedia acknowledged that hotels' direct-booking campaigns have established a new equilibrium in the perennial hotel-online travel agency tug of war. Google is making strides as it begins to connect its flights and hotel products into a killer app. And Airbnb wisely isn't content to dabble in apartment rentals, but is expanding into boutique and independent hotels. In other words, these three stories illustrate a travel marketplace that's evolving at a frenzied clip, sometimes sending yesterday's assumptions into the scrap heap. — Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor Skift Research Makes You a Smarter Travel Professional Put your 2018 budget to good use with premium access to Skift Research. We send comprehensive deep dives on industry topics to your inbox twice monthly plus way more. Subscribe to Skift Research and become a smarter travel professional today. Subscribe Now Top Stories Expedia Acknowledges a New Balance of Power With Hotels in Direct Booking Challenge A year from now — or perhaps sooner — we wouldn't be at all surprised to hear Expedia executives admit that hotels' direct-booking campaigns were having more of an adverse impact than the company initially articulated. Hotels have taken back some control from Expedia, and its shift toward independent hotels has far-reaching implications. Google Is One Step Closer to Its User-Centric Vision of Travel Booking Google is making it easier for travel shoppers to find and use its flight or hotel search through some design changes rolling out in the coming weeks. Watch out, Kayak and Skyscanner. Airlines and hotels will have to pay attention, too. Airbnb Strikes Deal to Make a Bigger Hotel Push Anyone willing to bet that you may find your favorite "mass-produced" hotel chains on Airbnb in the not-too-distant future? American Express Global Business Travel Agrees to Buy Hogg Robinson Group Hogg Robinson Group has gone through a significant amount of restructuring in recent years. The board obviously thinks now is the right time to cash in. United Airlines May Change Its Boarding Procedures Most experts say airlines should board aircraft randomly if they seek maximum efficiency. But that's a problem since most carriers want to reward their best customers with early boarding. Under the circumstances, airlines do the best they can. Steve Wynn Is Out as Wynn Resorts CEO Effective Immediately Wynn's departure has us thinking about another hotelier (a hotel brand, really) with much less success in the gaming industry, and even more proof of having committed assaults against women. But, alas, it's proving much tougher to get him to resign. Hospitality Hotel CEOs Reveal Strategies for Expedia, Google and Airbnb As we've noted before, as much as hotels and online travel agencies may not necessarily love one another, they certainly need each other. Their current love-hate relationship will certainly change, however, if and when other players like Airbnb or Google become bigger players in the hotel booking space. Wyndham Finally Joins Competitors With Discounted Loyalty Rates When it comes to Wyndham finally offering loyalty program members discounted rates, it's always better late than never, right? Small Luxury Hotels CEO: Soft Brands Aren't Hurting Our Business There's nothing better than a travel CEO, like Filip Boyen of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, who isn't afraid to speak his mind. Flying Spirit Airlines Is Doing Just Fine With Its Contrarian Approach If you're an investor, it's not clear Spirit's model is the right one. But if you're a passenger, you should love the airline, even if you never fly it. Spirit is responsible for many of the U.S. fare wars we've seen in recent years. Coach Passengers Can Get Premium Amenities — For a Price Even if they buy first class pajamas, an upgraded meal, and an amenity kit, coach passengers still won't feel like they're in a premium cabin. But at least some airlines are giving travelers the chance to buy up to a better experience. It's cheaper than an upgrade. Luxury Retail Brands Love Airport Pop-Ups Airports are paying much more attention to their retail offering with pop-up shops become a popular way to generate buzz and attract new customers. Digital Trivago Forecasts Slower Growth and 'Difficult' Quarters in 2018 It seems that Priceline Group's recent pullback from advertising on Expedia-backed Trivago may be a new normal. In a brutal move, Booking.com pulled almost entirely out of Trivago's search listings in Germany and Italy in December. Travel Megatrends 2018: Google's Product-Led Vision Is Bearing Fruit Little can stop Google Flights and Hotels from continuing to take market share because of Google's speedy response time, enhanced focus on user experience, and position as a dominant search engine — except the looming threat of regulation. Profitability Is Not On the Horizon for India's MakeMyTrip as Price Wars Take Hold India has many homegrown online travel players, but only a couple will thrive. MakeMyTrip will be one of the survivors, but it may take until 2022 for it to achieve profitability. Expect it to make more acquisitions and investments to consolidate market share. Tourism Tourism Australia's Super Bowl Ad Launches Its Largest U.S. Marketing Campaign to Date A genius marketing move or a waste of money that's more flashy than effective? That's the debate that many destination marketers are likely having as they wonder if Tourism Australia's ad will be a huge win or a major interception. Thomas Cook Looks to Turkey and Egypt to Ease Its Pain in Spain Spain's popularity among UK tourists has not dwindled. Thomas Cook will be hoping demand to higher-margin destinations such as Turkey continues to grow or else it faces an expensive summer. Travel Megatrends 2018: Africa Needs to Woo Millennials at Home and Abroad Millennial-friendly products and services are finally on the rise in South Africa's tourist industry, and the desire for immersive experiences could see a much-needed trickle down of tourism spend. Meetings Event Tech Firms Want to Be Everything to Planners There's no one-size-fits-all solution for meeting and event planners, so technology companies are offering a variety of different services to meet their needs. Corporate Travel BCD Travel Opens Its Platform for Simpler Integration With Startups Big travel management companies usually operate with strict controls on how third-party companies can interact with their systems. This new platform from BCD Travel is a step in the right direction toward allowing travel managers to use more innovative solutions. What to Expect From Air Canada's New Loyalty Program There's much to look forward to with Air Canada's new loyalty program — as long as it doesn't copy too much from American carriers. Theme Parks Disneyland Paris Finally Had a Good Year Disneyland Paris got a boost from its 25th anniversary activities in 2017; will the momentum continue? Cruising Australians Are Cruising Like Locals — Close to Home Australians have taken to cruising like ducks to water. With around 85 percent of bookings going through travel agents, this sector is providing a shot in the arm for travel retailers hit by falling margins in their bread-and-butter flights and hotel business. 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. 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