Accor's Dealmaking Strategy + Travelport Embraces Blockchain + Iceland's Overtourism Plan

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

June 22, 2018

Editor's Note A few weeks ago, AccorHotels gained quite a bit of attention when it confirmed it had an interest in potentially buying the French government's stake in Air France-KLM. Some people wondered if CEO Sebastien Bazin's frenetic M&A strategy had finally gone off the rails. The truth is Bazin is having Accor take a look at all kinds of investments, making it one of the more interesting companies in hospitality, if not all of travel, to watch these days. Senior Hospitality Editor Deanna Ting sat down in early June with Guarav Bhushan, the Accor executive overseeing all this M&A strategy, to make some sense of what can seem like an unfocused, scattershot approach to deals. Once you read her story, we're sure you'll have a better grasp of what Accor is trying to do, and realize that it is no longer a "sleeping giant." — Tom Lowry, Managing Editor The Travel Industry's Data Dilemma: Turning Insights Into Action Sponsored by Neustar High-quality customer data is the fuel powering today's personalization-driven travel marketing campaigns. Unfortunately, too many companies don't have enough access to customer data to fully understand customers' habits and preferences. Thankfully, there is now a growing range of solutions to help fill in the gaps. Read More Top Stories An Insider's Perspective on AccorHotels' Wide-Ranging M&A Strategy By the time we publish this, we wouldn't be surprised if AccorHotels has already purchased or invested in another business. Video: Iceland Denies Overtourism as Europe Searches for Solutions Iceland doesn't believe it's overrun with tourists but it's also been proactive in managing tourism growth. That's in sharp contrast to many other destinations only focused on higher numbers with no long-term game plans. Interview: Travelport Looks to Solve Hotel Distribution Problems With Blockchain Some think blockchain can help decentralize travel distribution, which has historically been dominated by a small handful of players. These entrenched companies, however, see blockchain as a technology that can help fix some of the inefficiencies in the travel distribution marketplace without fully disrupting the status quo. Skift Table: Olive Garden Is Still Extremely Cautious on Delivery Cautious isn't necessarily a bad approach, but delivery is a growing business for many competitors and it may be costing Olive Garden to be so slow to adapt. Indian Online Travel Agency Cleartrip Acquires Flyin Cleartrip is the second-place competitor against MakeMyTrip in India's online travel war. Its acquisition of Flyin signals a shift in its focus to the Middle Eastern market, where the price wars are less fierce. Ad Tech Firm Urban Airship Raises $25 Million: Travel Startup Funding This Week If you think you've been getting a lot of push notifications from travel companies, you ain't seen nothing yet. Companies like Urban Airship are aiming to make the most of this path for reaching travelers. Gain Insights at the Pacific Asia Travel Association Travel Mart (PTM) 2018 Sponsored by Pacific Asia Travel Association More than just a travel mart, PTM 2018 will offer industry insights and inspiration through the Travolution Asia Forum. PTM is also hosting its first Startup Innovation Camp, where travel and tourism-related startups pitch their game-changing business ideas. Popular Now Why U.S. Regional Airlines May Not Be Able to Fly Embraer's Newest Jet In three years, Embraer will be able to deliver new regional jets to U.S. airlines that could significantly reduce their fuel bill. But U.S. airlines may not be able to take them because of restrictions in collective bargaining agreements with pilots. It's easy to blame pilots for their stance. But they have leverage. Why shouldn't they use it? What Hotel CEOs Are Saying About Amazon and Google's Growing Influence in Travel Disruption in the travel industry is a universal constant, and we can certainly expect Amazon and Google to continue that tradition. An even more interesting question to ask ourselves for the moment: Why aren't Google and Apple doing more to get their smart devices into hotel rooms like Amazon is? Time Is Against UK Regional Airline Flybe as Challenges Mount Flybe's management team will be hoping the airline's latest turnaround strategy works, where others have failed. The carrier has plenty of challenges and is operating in a very tough environment. Might it find things easier as part of a bigger aviation group? 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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