Extended Stay Gets Creative

Hostels aren’t known to be a popular choice for business travelers. But when you think about how traveler demands and behavior are changing, why couldn’t they be in the future?

BridgeStreet Global Hospitality added hostels and homeshares to its platform, hoping to entice travelers to explore options besides the traditional serviced apartment or extended stay hotel.

It’s a move that speaks to two important trends that cut across the travel industry. First, stronger distribution networks and connections between platforms are making it easier for travel managers to bring a wider variety of content to travelers with the requisite levels of security and support. Second, choice in business travel is on the rise as it learns and evolves to become more like the consumer sector.

If an employee wants to rent a private room in a hostel while on assignment for a month, so they can get a beer at night with some randos after a long day of meetings, now they can potentially do it within policy. Isn’t the future great?

In other news from around the wide world of business travel, travel managers are wisely staying away from basic economy fares and new changes from Apple will have big ramifications for trip itinerary and tracking apps.

If you have any feedback about the newsletter or news tips, feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] or tweet me @sheivach.

— Andrew Sheivachman, Business Travel Editor

Airlines, Hotels, and Innovation

BridgeStreet Adds Hostels and Vacation Rentals to Biz Travel Platform: BridgeStreet is bringing homeshares and hostels to its platform in order to offer more variety to business travelers. The key will be finding success among travel managers by making it easier for them to book stays outside traditional extended stay hotels.

Here’s Why Travel Managers Aren’t Buying Basic Economy Fares: Travel managers are avoiding basic economy fares, and rightfully so. The consensus is that travelers end up paying more over the course of a trip if they go basic economy and have a worse flight experience to boot.

Apple’s New iPhone Push Notification Tweaks Could Help Travel Brands: Despite the hype, Apple is merely playing catch-up to Android by rolling out new tools for fine-tuning app notifications. But it’s still good news for the many users of business travel apps on Apple devices.

What’s Behind the Face-Off Between Airports and Airlines in Australia: Australia’s airlines are urging the government to rein in the airports, claiming they are abusing their monopoly power to extract unreasonable charges. It’s a tough call for Canberra, which wants to see more investment in airport infrastructure, but doesn’t want to be seen allowing price gouging from some of the most profitable airport operators in the world.

Priority Pass Parent Invests in Mobile Airport Food Ordering Platform Grab: If it wasn’t obvious that Collinson and Priority Pass were expanding into the dining scene before, it is now.

Emirates May Resume U.S. Growth as Business Recovers From Trump Policies: Folks in Pittsburgh would probably love a nonstop flight to Dubai. But will they get it? It seems unlikely, even if Emirates CEO Tim Clark said the airline would consider flights from smaller U.S. cities.

The Future of Travel

Events Remain High Priority for Companies Even as Costs Rise: Executives know that events work for promoting their brands and driving business. A big opportunity exists, though, for organizations to get smarter about how they spend on events and making the most of the data they produce.

New Hilton-Foursquare Mobile Concierge Is a Promising But Missed Opportunity: The idea’s there, but why not take it a step further and personalize it that much more?

Airlines Extend Loyalty Incentives to Chinese Travelers as Asian Market Grows: International brands are clamoring to build loyalty with Chinese travelers. Just recently, American and Singapore airlines launched partnerships with Fliggy, a Chinese booking engine, to share loyalty perks across platforms.

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Skift Business Travel Editor Andrew Sheivachman [[email protected]] curates the Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Thursday.

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