Business Travel Booms as Hotel Chains Reap the Rewards

Forecasts pegged 2018 as a banner year for business travel globally, and the results so far have been impressive.

I delved into what the most important executives in travel had to say about business in the first quarter of the year. The trend lines indicate that lodging demand from corporates remains strong, even as homesharing grows in popularity among business travelers. When hotel chains renegotiate with corporate customers in the fall, though, they hope to increase corporate rates more than usual, which could be bad news for business travel. Check the story below.

We also have a deluge of global airline news and the latest on how hotels are finally making a serious push into homesharing.

If you have any feedback about the newsletter or tips, feel free to reach out via email at as@skift.com or tweet me @sheivach. This business traveler forgot his raincoat this week at C2 in Montreal, which was certainly ill-advised.

— Andrew Sheivachman, Business Travel Editor

Airlines, Tech, and Innovation

Corporate Travel Demand Remains Strong: Industry CEOs: Corporate travel continues to grow as the global economy hums along, immune to the geopolitical issues cropping up around the world. How long can it last? And will increasing hotel rates eat away at the increased spending made by corporations?

Reimbursement for Flight Disruptions Slowly Gets Smarter: Flyers are sometimes owed money from airlines following disruptions and delays, usually small amounts. New advances make it easier to submit claims, but it can still take a long time for flyers to get the money they deserve. Smarter predictive technology will eventually make delays and disruptions less of a hassle, or at least lead to insurance products that are actually useful.

Airlines Aren’t Passing on Higher Fuel Costs to Passengers Because of Competition: Remember when airline CEOs argued mergers would benefit consumers because it would create more formidable competitors? It’s looking like they were right — at least short term. Fuel prices are surging, and airline executives would love to raise fares. But it’s hard for one airline to pass on added costs to travelers if the pack doesn’t follow. For now, the pack isn’t following.

Hotel CEOs’ Views on Homesharing Evolve Even as Industry Remains Critical: Now that AccorHotels, Hyatt, and Marriott have started getting into homesharing, what does that mean for the hotel industry’s crusade against it? Can AH&LA continue to fight Airbnb when some of its members are now actively participating in the short-term rental space?

Cheap Award Tickets Are Getting Easier to Find: On the surface, more inexpensive award tickets may sound like a good sign for air travelers. But with the supply of award miles shrinking and cheap seats only available on select routes, the news is just a silver lining on a much bigger, darker cloud.

The Future of Travel

Why Ryanair Is Hungry for Acquisitions: Ryanair is the great white shark of the airline world. It knows which airlines are bleeding cash and it is in the mood to feast.

U.S. Gas Prices Rising as Road Trip Season Approaches: The price of gas for U.S. drivers is heading back to 2014 levels. Experts think road trippers will cut back on their dining spend, even if the wider U.S. economy won’t feel a huge impact.

Trivago Spins Alternative Accommodations as Its Ace in the Hole: In some ways, Trivago and TripAdvisor find themselves in similar situations, although TripAdvisor has more upside because of its global brand awareness and the breadth of its offerings. But both need time to play the long game. In Trivago’s case, it is now seeing alternative accommodations as a potential lifeline.

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Skift Business Travel Editor Andrew Sheivachman [as@skift.com] curates the Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Thursday.

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