2017 Archives

It's one thing for a private equity group to own many fragmented hotel and travel assets. It's another to own a distribution platform to sell those products. Apple Leisure Group's new owners have to feel good about leveraging the company's scale and using its resources to help increase the viability of its existing assets.

What will be really interesting is how Hilton proceeds as a new asset-light company, and one with a new major stakeholder by the end of the first quarter: China's HNA Group, the same new owner of Carlson Hotels.

The three primary trends in meetings in 2017 revolve around the growing convergence of different communities collaborating together, the festivalization of business events, and the role of conferences as experiential brand-marketing platforms.

The meetings industry is evolving beyond its preoccupation with event technology and the impact of Millennials over the last five years. The new focus for 2017 revolves around developing more multidisciplinary business events, integrating education and entertainment, to engage attendees in new ways on different levels.

These are the newest travel startups from AngelList vying for travelers’ interest and investors’ attention.

Since the heady days of a stock market floatation in 2007, there has not been much to shout about for All Leisure Group. Like a number of other travel companies, it has not been able to cope with the level of geopolitical upheaval in key destinations. It is unlikely to be the only big travel casualty of 2017.

Luxury hospitality groups and tour operators are saying that their guests today are craving more simplicity, better wellness options, and a greater convergence of experiences combined together in one place.

Although much focus as of late has been on Airbnb's ability to become a new kind of online travel agency, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that it continues to be a major disruptor to the traditional hotel industry, too.

Yes, this seems like a potential invasion of privacy, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. The chances of airlines adopting this technology are low.

Though Virgin America and Alaska Air still run separate loyalty programs, the former seems to be shoring up partnerships in preparation to wind down.