Hyatt’s Vegas Boost, TSA’s Busiest Days and a New Indie Hotel Giant

Skift Daily Briefing Podcast

Listen to the day’s top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday.

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Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, December 19, 2024. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

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Episode Notes

Hyatt has reached an agreement with The Venetian Resort Las Vegas to allow guests to book stays at the property via Hyatt’s platforms, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. 

Guests staying at The Venetian Resort will also be able to participate in Hyatt’s loyalty program. The deal represents a significant expansion for Hyatt in Las Vegas, with The Venetian Resort containing roughly 7,000 rooms. The partnership comes as leisure and group business travel to Las Vegas is making a significant recovery. 

Hyatt’s Chief Commercial Officer said the company has seen group business customers request rooms in Las Vegas at a higher volume than prior to the pandemic. 

Next, Lark Hospitality announced a joint venture Wednesday with Life House Hotels that will create one of North America’s largest operators of independent boutique hotels. The companies said the venture will have a “nearly $1 billion portfolio” of small, lifestyle hotels with about 97 U.S. properties and 3,000 rooms.

The merger combines 50 hotels run under the Life House brand with Lark’s nearly 47 design-forward hotels run under several brands. Executives expect revenue to exceed $150 million next year, with a geographic footprint of 27 states.

In an exclusive interview with Skift’s Sean O’Neill, Lark Hotel founder Rob Blood said the joint venture provides Lark with strategic geographic clusters in California, the Rocky Mountain region, and Texas, creating hub-and-spoke expansion opportunities.

Finally, the TSA has revealed its projection for the three busiest days at U.S. airports during the 2024 holiday season, writes Contributor Krystin Arneson. 

The TSA expects to screen almost 40 million travelers between December 19 and January 2, and the agency said December 20, 27 and 30 will be its busiest days. The TSA also expects a roughly 6% increase in passenger volume over last year, with spokesperson Mark Howell predicting the agency will screen a record number of travelers over this year’s Christmas period.