2020 › February

Technology plays an important role in helping tourism companies market local attractions and businesses more effectively. As smartphone functionality expands, Visit Houston is proving that augmented reality tools can have a real impact on visitor experience.

The cruise industry is compliant with International Maritime Organization pollution guidelines largely through the use of scrubber technology. But this week, critics are once again questioning whether scrubber technology should be allowed in the first place.

Consumer brands that see the passion of travelers are taking a leap. These brands are becoming hotel proprietors in greater numbers to reach out to millennials, who see travel as a lifestyle experience. Expect more retailers to invade the hospitality space.

Accor's transformation over the past few years has been remarkable, but now it's facing a new challenge in Europe from the likes of Oyo. Can its accelerating development of upscale brands help offset growing competition in the midrange and economy sectors?

No other country or region has an airline industry as strong as that of the U.S. What's the secret? Have U.S. airlines cracked the perennially difficult code to airline profitability, and will it last? Skift Airline Weekly dove deep and zeroed in on trends that explain the U.S. airlines' success.

Oyo appears to be taking its once-explosive global expansion strategy down a few notches, and that could be a good thing for the young company in the face of still-uncertain impacts from the coronavirus and the reputational damage it recently suffered. These losses aren't pretty.

This week in airline news, after years being unaligned, Alaska Airlines is joining Oneworld. The carrier is also ramping up its codesharing agreement with American Airlines to include international flights, potentially posing real competition for some of Delta's routes. Plus, with Air Italy's closure, yet another European airline bites the dust.

This week in digital news, Expedia Chairman Barry Diller led an eventful earnings call during which he tore into the company's work-life balance and bloat, but also admitted he was just beginning to understand the business. Plus, Skift Research explores Google's far-reaching impact on the travel industry.

It's always been a hot-button issue aboard planes, but the debate of whether to recline or not to recline your seat resurfaced this past week. Delta's Ed Bastian found himself in the crosshairs of that argument. He was upright with his answer — and apparently in his seat too.

This week in hospitality news, the far-reaching impact of coronavirus on the industry is becoming clearer, with Hilton CEO predicting business to be affected for up to a year after closing hundreds of hotels in China. Plus, Vacasa's CEO steps aside as company looks to go public.