Traveling Blog: Marriott Battles Tech Platforms + Thomas Cook CEO on Transforming a Brand + Luxury Resorts That Deliver for Summer

June 8, 2018

Editor's Note

Choose your media. Today's newsletter underscores just how many ways we offer you journalism at Skift. In our content below, you can listen to a podcast that features Marriott global brand guru Tina Edmundson expressing her joy about the chain's brand riches, or watch a video where Thomas Cook CEO Peter Fankhauser describes how his 177-year-old company is blending personalization into packaged tours. Of course, in a digital story, sans audio or video, we bring you the views of Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson about his battles with Google and Facebook. No, contrary to the arguments of Marshall McLuhan, the medium isn't the message because this content stands on its own.

— Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor

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Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson, along with his fellow hotel CEOs are right: It's not the "disruptors" like Airbnb that are the biggest threat, but the already established tech giants like Amazon, Google, Facebook, Tencent, Alibaba, and others that are the real competition for the hotel industry.

Video: Thomas Cook Group CEO on the Slow Evolution of a 177-Year Legacy

The pace of Thomas Cook Group's evolution seems glacial, but that's part of being a legacy and enjoying the associated brand recognition and market share.

The Best Luxury Experiences for Summer Travel

There's a lot of discerning experiences vying for a customer's money. Here are some worth your time as you set out on the road this summer.

PerfectStay Raises $17 Million for Distribution Tech: Travel Startup Funding This Week

This week's roundup of travel startup funding includes a Paris-based travel distribution technology company, a San Francisco-based corporate travel booking tool, and a London-based maker of property management software.

Skift Podcast: Why Marriott Is So Attached to Its 30 Brands

One of the big questions when Marriott bought Starwood was which brands would survive. Executives at the company had the same question, and global brand officer Tina Edmundson explains what went into the decision to keep all 30.

What Corporate Travel Can Learn From Top Startups

Startups are about ideas, some good and some bad. Skift has put together a list of some of the top travel startups, which we think have some pretty good ideas — far-ranging business models that will help anyone in corporate travel understand the future.

Lisbon's post-crisis evolution and corresponding tourism boom show the dramatic impact and lasting ramifications of overtourism. Efforts have centered on sustainable tourism and limiting tourism's potential negative impacts, but, in our view, the focus has been all wrong. Sustainable tourism should be about sustainable cultures, and we all have a role to play.

Skift's Top Travel Startups to Watch 2018

Better, faster, stronger. We pinpointed 20 venture-backed companies — mostly young — that promise breakaway potential. These startups prove that innovation is happening everywhere, from Atlanta to Ramallah to Queensland.

Thailand-Based Hotel and Restaurant Giant Minor to Take Over NH Hotels

AccorHotels and the rest of the hotel industry have some competition in their respective quests to get bigger.

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