Traveling Blog: Travelport's Looming Shakeup + Dreamliner's New Mission + TUI Has Seller's Remorse

March 29, 2018

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Note From the Editor

Having private equity in the mix is often a recipe for conflict. Travelport finds itself in PE crosshairs again, this time with activist investor Paul Singer hellbent on disruption. Singer's history tells CEOs and their boards it's better to talk, than fight. Meanwhile, Skift's Europe Editor Patrick Whyte reports that TUI is buying back assets it had just sold a short while ago. Count yourself lucky, TUI, that Paul Singer didn't have you on his radar.

— Tom Lowry, Managing Editor

New Skift Trends Report

More consumers than ever are using vacation rentals. But as the line with hotels blurs and the industry enters a new growth phase, it faces unique challenges in delivering the hospitality guests expect. Technology will be key to providing an elevated guest experience and will help determine who sees the most success.

Travelport Faces Dramatic Changes if Activist Investor Gets His Way

The last thing travel tech giant Travelport needs is to be sold to private equity. It's still digging out from all the debt Blackstone saddled it with. Our best guess is that it will be forced to partly sell its ownership of eNett, a payments business.

Boeing's Newest Dreamliner Is More of a Regional Aircraft Than Its Predecessors

Earlier Boeing 787 Dreamliners revolutionized aviation, allowing airlines to open sexy new long-haul routes. The 787-10 probably won't do that, but it's still an impressive aircraft.

TUI Is Buying a Destination Services Business From Hotelbeds for $136 Million

TUI is using some of the cash it amassed from selling companies such as Hotelbeds to buy a business from ... Hotelbeds. Maybe its taken a bit of time for the management to realize that tours and activities are strategic and a potential growth area.

Why Airlines Almost Always Serve Breakfast on Long-Haul Overnight Flights

Could airlines stop with the 4 p.m. breakfasts? Savvy travelers want to get acclimated to their new time zone as fast as possible, and a later afternoon meal of sausage and eggs doesn't help. But keep the coffee. It's vital.

Online Booking Finally Becomes Reality for Meeting Planners

Figuring out where to hold a small meeting is becoming more like booking a flight or hotel online. As more of the giant hotel chains buy into this model, there is the potential for the wider distribution marketplace for meetings space to shift significantly.

China's Super Aggressive Sunac Picking Up Troubled Travel Assets

Sunac's valuation is skyrocketing as it buys up other companies' assets to fuel its own growth. But will its strategy backfire as debt mounts? And what does all the turnover mean for the travel industry in China?

Even consumers who embrace technology may worry that companies are exploiting them through so-called personalization. Hoteliers need to balance digital ingenuity with a human touch.

Being Informal Is the Future of Luxury Guest Relations

Luxury travelers are seeking out experiences that enrich their lives rather than isolate them from adventures. That's why The Thief in Oslo is one of a growing number of luxury hotels that are pursuing more informal and instantaneous relations with guests.

Skift Forum Europe Preview: How Tourism Transformed Iceland's Economy

In some parts of Iceland, odds are you're more likely to meet a tourist than you are a local. The country doesn't want to lose its cool, progressive, and beautiful Nordic edge that's fueling demand. That's why it's successfully worked to promote its offseason and use silly and relatable language in its marketing campaigns.

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