Traveling Blog: Priceline Ends Bidding Service + Soho House Under Pressure + Expedia Name Change

March 27, 2018

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Note From the Editor

If a travel business stands still these days, then it's actually falling behind. Several stories you'll see below punctuate this trend, and we'll highlight two. Hospitality Editor Deanna Ting took a look at the private members club model as it relates to hotels, and found some properties turning communal spaces into a blend of exclusivity and public access. Some hotels are striving to be everything to everyone, and this is part of the trend.

Meanwhile, Priceline.com shuttered its bidding service for car rentals after having done so for flights in 2016. Its Name Your Own Price hotel service remains intact — for now. But mobile phones and sleek apps may have written the obituary for Priceline's hotel-bidding service, as well.

— Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor

Mobile and the Future of Customer Experience in the Travel Industry

It sounds antithetical but, in their efforts to make everyone feel "like a local," perhaps hotel brands should be taking a look at The Curtain and Karl Lagerfeld Hotels, seeing how the private club model could work for them.

The Death of Priceline's Name Your Own Price Is Likely Drawing Near

Booking Holdings is still making considerable money from Priceline.com's bidding service for hotels. But the service has outlived its usefulness, and will likely fold within a year or two. Take a look at how Priceline.com markets other ways to book hotels on its site. Enough said.

SeaWorld CMO Is Latest to Go in Executive Purge

SeaWorld has said its new marketing campaign is an important step as the operator tries to bring in more visitors and leave its troubles behind. Now that the chief marketer is gone, will the emphasis change?

Longer Flights Have Hong Kong Airlines Rethinking Customer Experience

We'd love to see an airline rethink the business class experience. Perhaps one might retire all the fluff, like the multi-course attempts at fine dining, served on tablecloths. But people apparently like the business class pageantry, so it sticks around, even on new entrants, like Hong Kong Airlines.

Expedia Tweaks Name After Priceline Rebrand

Hotels.com, Egencia, Trivago, and HomeAway, among others, are all Expedia companies. The parent company wants Wall Street to understand that it is more than just the Expedia brand. The Priceline Group had long been associated with Priceline.com even though Booking.com is the company's largest brand. So there seemed to be more of a reason for Priceline's name switch than for Expedia's.

Paris Hotel Stays Rebound to Record Level in 2017

Paris is following the positive tourism trend that the rest of Europe enjoyed last year, thanks in largest part to business travel and companies like Airbnb. But with another terrorist-related shooting in France last weekend, it remains to be seen whether the city can continue to prove it's safe to visit.

Besieged United CEO Looks to Move Beyond Apologies, Crises

Oscar Munoz has once more adopted the role of chief apology officer as loyal passengers raise questions about how the airline treats animals. It's a role that he's used to at this point.

In a world where actual connection is more important than ever as a technology backlash looms, how can travel brands create more human experiences through addictive shared spaces?

Skift Podcast: The Airbnb Threat to Hotels and Booking Sites

Airbnb always gives us plenty to talk about — and this episode of the Skift Podcast features a lively conversation about the many ways the homesharing company is venturing beyond its original focus and disrupting wide swaths of the travel industry.

Skift Forum Europe Preview: Marriott Exec on the Luxury Evolution

Marriott's Tina Edmundson has plenty to say about the value of brands, and how hospitality companies need to respond to changing consumer demands and needs, especially when it comes to the lifestyle and luxury spaces.

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