American's Basic Economy Backtrack + Online Travel Media Standouts + Accor's Onefinestay Setback

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

July 27, 2018

Editor's Note Earnings season is like a confessional: We get to hear from executives which of their gambles have paid off, which they're paying for, and what new risks they're taking. And Thursday was full of painful reckoning: AccorHotels revealed it took a hit on investments in Onefinestay and John Paul and decided against pursuing a piece of Air France-KLM Group. Alaska Airlines said it doled out too many free seats to loyalty members, hurting quarterly profit. And American Airlines made its basic economy a little less basic, adding a free carry-on bag to the fare category after admitting it was losing out on customers because of the fee. Meanwhile, some companies explained how they will stick with what works for them. Universal Parks & Resorts parent Comcast confirmed the company is exploring a fourth theme park in Orlando, a market where their investments have led to significant growth over the past several years. And despite rising fuel prices and lower profit, Southwest will not abandon its customer-friendly policy of not charging for bags or assigned seats. Risks are interesting and sometimes rewarding, but often a safe bet is the smartest move. — Hannah Sampson, News Editor How Amazon and Netflix Are Inspiring a New Generation of E-Commerce in the Hotel Industry Sponsored by Duetto Following the roadmap of platform-focused businesses like Netflix and Amazon, the hospitality sector is moving toward more comprehensive and personalized online experiences that encompass the broader aspects of travel beyond the hotel walls. Read More Top Stories Online Travel Media — Skift Research Looks at Who Stands Out in 2018 The majority of first travel searches have no mention of a brand or destination, putting publishers of digital destination information in a uniquely influential position. Yet publishers are challenged to differentiate themselves in an overwhelming number of options. Expedia Marketing Spend Levels May Reflect a Changing Advertising Environment Has the worm turned? Have Expedia and Booking.com found a way to trim the growth of their bloated advertising spend? That would not be great news for some advertising platforms, and would be a significant change in the way the largest players conduct their marketing operations. American Airlines Cites the Competition in Forcing Basic Economy Changes When Delta Air Lines launched Basic Economy, it allowed a free carry-on bag. When American Airlines subsequently launched a similar fare type, it barred free carry-ons, and that has turned out to be a poor decision because American has been losing market share to Delta. Universal Confirms It Is 'Looking At' Adding Another Orlando Theme Park Theme park watchers have long been waiting for Universal to announce plans for another Orlando park. While Thursday's comments don't amount to an official announcement, executives sure sound positive about the prospect. Southwest CEO Says Assigned Seats Still Don't Make Sense You have to give Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly credit. Analysts are constantly prodding him to embrace tried-and-true approaches for generating ancillary revenue. For the most part, he resists. He doesn't want to mess with the airline's secret sauce. AccorHotels Takes $288 Million Hit on Onefinestay and John Paul Investments Uh oh! Is this the start of Accor's ambitious acquisition strategy unraveling or simply a bump in the road? Spirit Airlines Makes Gains Despite Rising Fuel Prices Spirit Airlines increasingly aims to prove it is possible to be cheap and loved. Extended Stay America Might Spin Off Its Real Estate Unit We're fairly certain Extended Stay America — just like nearly every other public hotel company in existence — will likely pursue a spinoff. Alaska Airlines Made a Costly Loyalty Mistake by Offering Too Many Free Seats There's no doubt U.S. airlines are spooked by higher oil prices. By historical levels, they're not that bad. But perhaps they're catching carriers by surprise. Expense Management Startup Divvy Raises $35 Million: Travel Startup Funding This Week Divvy launched six months ago, but it already claims a $150 million valuation. One possible lesson for other startups is that customers may be eager for simple, one-stop interfaces because they're facing "dashboard fatigue" from having to check too many other online systems. Radisson Hospitality in the Dark Over HNA's Plans Given HNA's willingness to sell many of its other assets, offloading the Radisson Hotel Group looks like a likely scenario. Higher Costs to Weigh on Business Travel After a few years of renewed focus on improving the business travel experience for employees, the corporate travel sector could soon flip back into cost-saving mode when faced with global pricing increases and a more uncertain overall business outlook. Follow 4 Travelers on Road Trip Through the United States With Your Big Year Sponsored by Your Big Year Our partner Your Big Year is chronicling the journey of four travelers on a road trip through the United States this summer. Follow along with their once-in-a-lifetime adventure on YouTube! Popular Now Ryanair Plans to Capitalize on Norwegian's Problems With Norwegian and others out of the way, Ryanair would have access to more pilots and probably be able to reduce its aircraft costs. Trivago Lays Off Staff in Strategy Shift to Emphasize Profitability Over Growth A lot of Trivago's problems, including an advertising diss from Booking Holdings, are beyond the company's control so it is doing what it can, namely reducing advertising spend and headcount in an attempt to get into the black. Speaking of Booking Holdings, Trivago may need a dot-com-like Priceline comeback to right the ship. Expedia's Hotel Boss on Becoming a Global Platform We still think there's a pretty good chance that we'll see Expedia-branded hotels in the near future if not sooner. 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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