Kayak CEO's OpenTable Takeover + Qatar Disses Oneworld + Accor's Investment Flops

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

October 19, 2018

Editor's Note OpenTable CEO Christa Quarles is out, and Kayak CEO Steve Hafner will lead both Booking Holdings companies, Kristen Hawley, senior editor of Skift Table, reported exclusively Thursday. Hafner later told me he's "really focusing on improving connections between the brands — the functionality we offer, the data we share, and how we can share consumers and insights." There is something about these potential connections. In China, rising star Meituan attracted 80 percent of its new hotel bookers last year from its food delivery and in-store dining categories. OpenTable and Kayak are looking to create similar brand intimacies. — Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor Skift Webcast: Reimagining Extended Stay — The Bold New World of 5+ Nights Sponsored by BridgeStreet How is the extended stay sector evolving to meet demands from employees for accommodations offering more flexibility, convenience, and choice? And how will they do it while satisfying company concerns about consistency, quality, and safety? Our latest webcast shines a light on this rapidly evolving business travel segment. Listen Now Top Stories Kayak CEO Takes Control of OpenTable The complete consolidation of Kayak and OpenTable's teams means OpenTable — Booking Holdings' only restaurant business — won't have a dedicated leader. It's disappointing to lose one of the few female CEOs in the restaurant tech space, especially the one who's arguably the most visible. Qatar Air CEO Threatens the Airline Could Exit Oneworld 'Soon' Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker may be posturing about leaving Oneworld, but he is indeed making alternative plans nonetheless. AccorHotels Is Still Struggling to Make Onefinestay and John Paul Profitable The first step to making things right is to admit things are wrong, followed by figuring out how to make things right again. At this point, we're not sure we know how AccorHotels wants to fix its problems with Onefinestay and John Paul, but at least it admits something is wrong. Airbnb's Strategic Advisor Never Saw Homesharing Coming Chip Conley mixes some self-promotion into his predictions, but these insights from a longtime hospitality insider warrant attention. Wellness Newsletter: Inside Adidas' Love-Hate Relationship With Amazon Teaming up with Amazon could mean cash flow now, but at what cost down the line? It's a question every brand that partners with the giant should ask –– especially in the wellness industry, when so much of a company's DNA centers around cultivating a feel-good image. MSC Cruises Targets Growing Luxury Market With New Ship Order MSC Cruises is already spending billions on big ships, so why not add a few luxury vessels to the mix? The cruise operator has a built-in customer base, but the trick will be to offer a product that gets those passengers to pay more for the high-end experience. TravelPerk Raises $44 Million for Biz Trip Management: Travel Startup Funding This Week TravelPerk's funding further supports Skift's 2018 megatrend that companies are becoming more interested in booking systems that more directly serve business travelers. Frequent Business Travelers Need More Sleep to Survive I'm tired, you're tired, we're all tired when we travel for work. It's leading employees to burn out and quit, causing problems for travel managers and companies that push their workers too hard. Some sleep and nicer flights can help. Vacasa Raises $64 Million for Vacation Rental Management Venture capital has awoken in a big way to the potential of vacation rental property managers. World Rail Festival 2018 Is Happening Next Month in Amsterdam Sponsored by World Rail Festival Join CEOs & leaders from the rail, bus & urban mobility industries to discuss the digitization of travel impacting sales, customer experience, ticketing & commercial strategy. Check out the World Rail Festival 2018 schedule and register today! Popular Now Why American Airlines Is So Obsessed With On-Time Departures Deep down, American Airlines President Robert Isom is an operations guy. We've rarely seen someone get so excited while talking about what it takes to make sure an airplane departs on time. Google Working on Solving the Pain Points in Vacation Package Shopping When Google perfects vacation package search, this could be a very compelling product because some have tried, but few are doing it in any meaningful way. This is all part of Google's steady and ongoing rise in the travel e-commerce ecosystem. Online Travel Agency Kiwi Has a Plan to Fight the Giants Kiwi has grown fast without venture capital or marketing gimmicks. The online travel agency's story shows what it takes for a startup to scale today. Its story also reveals the long shadows cast by the mighty travel conglomerates. 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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