What Hotels Leaders Say About the Future of the Industry

First Things

Hotel leaders from around the world gathered in London this week for the Skift Future of Lodging Forum. Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill wrote an excellent summary of the event earlier this week where he shared slides from speakers, quotes from attendees, and a Paris Hilton TikTok.

Skip to the bottom to watch full videos from the day’s sessions.

We’re going quiet on events for the next few months, but we’ll return to in-person experiences in early June in New York City for the Skift Short-Term Rental Summit. We sold out of early-bird tickets this week, but regular price tickets remain as do discounted group tickets. Learn more here.

Chart of the Week: Hotel Sustainability Growing in Importance

Emission reduction targets can have wide-ranging impacts. Hotel companies will need to invest more in carbon reduction, portfolio growth might slow down, and supply chains will go under the magnifying glass 

Read our latest report on hotel sustainability progress

This Week’ Headlines

Why New York Thinks Tweaking Iconic Tourism Slogan From ‘I’ to ‘We’ Matters

Tourism marketing slogans should stick to their domain when they try to spur locals to civic pride and action: focusing on what makes the destination so great to attract locals and visitors in the first place.

The Postcard Hotel Looks to Challenge Aman in the Luxury Boutique Segment

There’s always room for innovative entrepreneurs to create whitespace. Kapil Chopra, founder and CEO, thinks he’s found some in the luxury boutique segment with his Postcard Hotel brand. Watch out, Aman, Six Senses, and One&Only.

U.S. Visa Wait Times in Some Indian Consulates Drop Below 1 Year

Brand USA’s recent sales mission in India and the US Consulate’s all-hands-on-deck approach to reduce visa wait times surely highlight the importance of India as a source market. But a waiting period of almost eight months for visas is still an incredible test of patience.

Southeast Asia’s Fragmented Tours Sector Gets Long-Awaited Tech Upgrade

Southeast Asia, known for its tech-savvy, mobile first consumers, has as an experiences sector that is 80 percent offline, presenting widespread opportunities for the region’s tours and activities landscape to become digitized. Stat.

Investors Rethink Hotel Sector’s Main Performance Metric

Every commentary on hotel performance refers to revenue per available room as a key industry metric — RevPAR. Yet non-room revenue from cafes, co-working, spas, and events is growing in importance. Hoteliers should focus more on overall earnings per square meter.

American Airlines Will Offer Its New Fares in Sabre From April 3

There’s no going back with the final global distribution system in place, so next week really is crunch time for whether corporate travel booking flows will face an apocalyptic disruption — or not.

Airbnb Mulls New Revenue Stream — Charging Hosts for Additional Services

Airbnb has lot on its plate: suspensions in multiple jurisdictions, incessant regulatory hurdles and more. But when its comes to business focus, the company is growing and paying more keen attention to how it serves the hosts on its platform.

Watch All Forum Sessions