Skift Take

This was a week of short-term rental news, with the announcement of the Skift Short-Term Rental 250 and Airbnb’s Friday lawsuit.

This week was packed with so much short-term rental news that we’re worried it may overshadow next week’s sold-out Skift Short-Term Rental Summit (but not too worried, especially since you can still register to watch the livestream). First it was the release of our big list of the most-influential 250 brands in short-term rentals. Then it was a flurry of activity on Friday as Airbnb sought to put an end to New York City rules that will restrict certain types of activity in the city. We have everything covered, below.

This Week’s Top Stories

Expedia CEO Calls Out Rival Agoda: How They Get Those Cheap Prices

Apple doesn’t let Best Buy discount iPhones, and hoteliers don’t want online travel agencies like Agoda to undercut their rates. A win for the hotel industry would be a loss for travelers.

Highest-Paid Hotel CEOs

Most CEOs at the largest hotel companies ended 2022 with less actual overall compensation than they might have. We know this fact thanks to a splendid new U.S. reporting requirement, which cast pay packages in a fresh light. See More: Highest Paid Online Travel CEOs

Indigo CEO on Big Planes, Bigger Plans and a Potential Loyalty Program

Recognizing Indian low-cost carrier Indigo’s achievement of flying 86 million passengers in 2023 fiscal, CEO Pieter Elbers acknowledges that customer choice plays a vital role in achieving such remarkable numbers. No wonder, Indigo thinks it’s now time to implement a loyalty program to help attract and retain customers.

Travel Die Hards: Agents Continue to Adapt to Disruption

Managing complexity and adding a human touch has always been the strength of travel agents. They’ll need to embrace that as they face the latest travel tech disruptions.

GetYourGuide’s $194 Million Investment Raise Pushes it Towards $2 Billion Valuation

GetYourGuide has moved into the $1 billion+ funding league with its latest raise. This might seem high in the short term, but not if projections for growth in the experiences sector hold.

Airbnb Says These Rules Chill the Host Registration Process in New York City

It is a charade for New York City to require hosts to have no locks on any bedroom door in their unit so guests and hosts can live in a “common household.” On the other hand, requiring platforms to submit transaction reports doesn’t seem unreasonable. More on This: Airbnb Sues New York City Ahead of July Deadline That Puts $85 Million in Annual Bookings at Risk

Small Cities Lose Air Service as Large Airlines Exit

Post-pandemic airline economics is killing flights to small cities.

Unleashing AI: The Potential for Hospitality Brands

Hospitality brands stand to benefit from both the creative possibilities and the efficiency that AI will bring. Here’s how to start thinking about it now.

Blueground Buys a Rival Housing Platform to Help Launch a Partner Network

Blueground’s second acquisition this year is part of its strategy to build a global accommodation network, listing third-party inventory.

Airbnb, Expedia, Uber: What Top CEOs Are Saying About AI

Generative AI is still in the early stages, but major travel companies are investing in tools that many of them say will be an important part of the future.

Research Highlight

Exclusive: Hopper’s Rise in Travel 2023

Hopper is one of the fastest growing online travel agencies (OTAs) in North America, but as a privately-held company, the publicly-available data on their growth has been extremely limited – until now<.

Skift Research has gained unprecedented, behind-the-scenes access, paving the way for this truly unique report. We interviewed nine senior executivesacross each of Hopper’s verticals, including their co-founder and their CFO, to produce a deep dive analysis of Hopper’s rise in travel.

Podcast of the Week

U.S. airports saw roughly 300,000 more travelers than in 2019 over the Memorial Day weekend holiday, a sign of a busy summer to come. Are airlines ready? Listen to Airline Weekly’s experts discuss.

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Tags: airbnb

Photo credit: An Airbnb ad in New York City. Skift

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