Second Half Blues and 12 Other Coronavirus Travel Stories This Week

It Won’t Get Better in the Second Half of 2020: Let’s start planning 2021, assuming most of our businesses get there …

Travel Managers Are Working Out How Companies Can Return to Travel — Is It Worth It?: With so much uncertainty, you might wonder why travel managers would bother pitching any process to get employees moving again. But there is a method to the madness.

IHG and Accor Leaders See Short-Term Virus Response Fueling Longer-Term European Hotel Strategies: The hotel sector is nothing if not inventive, and IHG and Accor have bold ideas to take advantage of what’s shaping up to be a mostly domestic summer season.

Could This Be the End of Hostels in Singapore?: The spectre of vanishing hostels in Singapore is a dreadful one. The city needs these establishments, which keep its accommodation landscape affordable and vibrant.

What Global Hoteliers Need to Learn From China’s Hotel Recovery … and Hiccup: The U.S. and China have taken similar hotel recovery paths following coronavirus shutdowns, but how U.S. leaders respond to recent case spikes may determine if the transpacific rebound correlation continues.

Less-Visited Destinations Have a Chance to Be on Travel’s Larger Map: Top Expedia Group Exec: All the recent search-and-booking activity for historically less-visited destinations will make it easier for them to justify marketing expenditures even after the pandemic wanes, says Expedia’s Cyril Ranque. Could be true, given the curious logic of algorithms.

A European Summer Without Americans Threatens Already Struggling Luxury Hotels: The EU’s ban on American travelers is another revenue hit for European hoteliers, but also an opportunity to build up a domestic travel base.

Booking Marketing Chief Skeptical Rentals Will Recover Faster Than Hotels: Booking.com’s Arjan Dijk gave a feisty interview at Skift Forum Europe, touching on his skepticism about Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s bold predictions about the future of travel, the marketing strategies of his competitors, and whether aid programs for the industry make sense.

European Union Excludes U.S. From Its Final List of Countries Allowed to Travel to Bloc: It’s official. As the European Union begins to open its borders, American travelers remain personae non gratae.

KLM CEO Still Sees Slow Recovery Even as More Flights Resume: KLM has a powerful brand and should be able to withstand this crisis. But it is not a good time for legacy European airlines that usually rely on lucrative corporate travelers.

United Turns Bullish, Adding 25,000 Flights for August: United is adding nearly 25,000 flights for its August schedule. It’s a big bet that the demand will be there to make it worth it.

GetYourGuide CEO Highlights Google’s Alleged Failings During the Pandemic: GetYourGuide’s Johannes Reck is underplaying the Google threat in tours and activities. Sure, Google has much larger priorities, but how much will it cost to build the GetYourGuide brand with Google controlling the airspace?

Is the Packaged Holiday Poised to Make a Comeback in Post-Crisis Europe?: Everyone is looking for their competitive advantage in the post-Covid crisis landscape. TUI may find its own in the very thing it’s been offering for years: end-to-end packaged tours, with full control over the experience.