Tripadvisor Stands Up for Free Speech and 10 Other Top Travel Stories This Week

Throughout the week we are posting original stories night and day covering news and travel trends, including on the impact of coronavirus. Every weekend we will offer you a chance to read the most essential stories again in case you missed them earlier.

Tripadvisor Struck Back at Thailand Hotel That Had Reviewer Jailed A Thailand hotel filed criminal charges, now dropped, against a review writer. But it’s now the hotel itself that will get penalized because its placement on Tripadvisor’s pages will get demoted for 90 days.

JetBlue to Debut Short-Term Rentals as Part of Its Growing Non-Air Offerings JetBlue has a strong brand and plans to curate the short-term rental inventory it offers with the backing of its own customer service abilities rather than relegating that to a partner. This expansion is worth a try, but will come with brand risks.

October U.S. Travel Grew the Smallest Since April: New Skift Research Travel Tracker Survey In October, 38 percent of Americans traveled, marking the smallest monthly increase since reaching the low point in April. Will the changing course of the pandemic, with a new president and possible vaccine, give the U.S. travel industry a much-needed boost in the coming months?

Key West’s Big Ship Ban Signals a Major Shift Ahead for Cruise Tourism In an unprecedented citizen-led push against mass cruise tourism during a time of undertourism, Key West voters boldly chose to protect the environment and public health. It’s sparked hope for change across similarly challenged port communities, but at a time when destinations are desperate for tourism. What’s for sure: the “reset” conversation is no longer just talk.

Biden Will Rejoin the Paris Agreement Global Climate Pact — What Does That Mean for Travel? The Paris Agreement binds politics and climate change. President-elect Joe Biden now gets to have a say in how much greener travel becomes.

Should Companies Offer ‘Hazard Pay’ to Tempt Workers to Travel Again? Apple has reportedly offered employees a $500 daily cash bonus to fly to China. Despite a few ethical and liability questions, it’s not as controversial as it sounds.

Stop Dreaming of a Pre-Pandemic Travel Industry: Key Takeaways From Skift Design The Future Don’t look to the past in how to rebuild the travel industry’s post-pandemic future. Look at everything from design to diversity to structuring events.

A Superapp Betting on Corporate Travel During a Pandemic 🔒 Latin America’s Rappi now offers business travel alongside things like takeaways, pet food and furniture. It doesn’t sound like a winning combination, but different parts of the world have different appetites for digitization.

Reviving Chaotic Street Life Seen as Thailand’s Biggest Reopening Challenge After Merchant Exodus Reopening isn’t just about giving tourists an entry pass, but having the ability to offer them the product they imagine it to be. In Thailand, both are a problem — unless the government acts.

Big Long-Term Gains Ahead for Southeast Asia Online Travel, Even With Pandemic Setback The pandemic has brought about a permanent and massive digital adoption in Southeast Asia. This structural change should be good for online travel. But first it has to swallow a great deal of bad.

New Vaccine Optimism Boosts the Event Industry The massacred event industry has been in need of some good news for awhile. The news came earlier this week with the announcement of a 90 percent effective vaccine.