Skift Take

This week Airbnb had our attention, and its attention was on China as it chose a new chairman for the country. The homesharing giant also returned to affiliate partnerships and debuted new vacation rental tools.

Throughout the week we post dozens of original stories, connecting the dots across the travel industry, and every weekend we sum it all up. This weekend roundup examines hospitality.

For all of our weekend roundups, go here.

>>This makes perfect, if long overdue, business sense for Airbnb. But can Airbnb really make sure these tools won’t be abused by commercial operators running illegal hotel businesses in cities like San Francisco or New York? Airbnb Debuts New Tools for a Bigger Cut of the $138 Billion Vacation Rental Industry

>>Hyatt just launched another partnership for its loyalty program, signaling an interest in expanding further into the business of experiences: Business of Loyalty: World of Hyatt Adds Another Tours and Activities Partner

>>Hyatt isn’t alone. But the bigger question is why does this keep happening at so many hotels? And why does it always take so long for customers to find out about these data breaches? Hyatt Suffers Second Data Breach in Two Years

>>The home-sharing giant is only partnering with websites that attract at least a million visitors a month. Airbnb is calculating that the revenue upside would be worth the brand sacrifice that comes with affiliate marketing: Airbnb Reverses Strategy in Return to Affiliate Partnerships With Big Players

>>With all the leadership changes taking place at Airbnb in the past few weeks, should we be expecting even more? Does this mean a CEO change is next? Airbnb Co-Founder Nathan Blecharczyk Named Chairman of Airbnb China

>>Comfort food needs to go beyond a warm dish of mac and cheese. Diners and travelers are demanding more from their fine dining and their fast food, and smart restaurants are responding: Transparency Alleviates Anxiety in Restaurants

>>Whatever IHG ultimately does as it proceeds with this loyalty program merger, the No. 1 thing they don’t want to do is to anger Kimpton Karma elites. We also wonder: Will new IHG CEO Keith Barr start letting IHG’s most elite loyalty members get access to his phone number too? IHG Is Finally Adding Kimpton to Its Loyalty Program

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Tags: hospitality, Travel Trends, trends roundups

Photo credit: Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk was named chairman of Airbnb China. Bloomberg

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