Sean O'Neill

Sean O’Neill is Skift's senior hospitality editor, reporting on hotels. Send him news tips at [email protected]. He's been a full-time journalist for two decades. He lives in Washington, D.C. Stop him before he starts another home improvement project.

Latest Stories

Online Travel

TripAdvisor CEO Responds to Analyst Critiques of Its Hotel Search Strategy

Analysts continue to critique TripAdvisor's near-term tactics. But CEO Steve Kaufer said Wednesday that no other company is as well-positioned to create value on mobile in the long run as his own.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

TripAdvisor CEO Responds to Analyst Critiques of Its Hotel Search Strategy

Tourism

Tourism Leaders Plot Strategy in an Age of Permanxiety

Tourism leaders across continents are recognizing the challenge of marketing travel in this new age of Permanxiety. Destination marketers ought to share best practices with each other on how to adapt.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Tourism Leaders Plot Strategy in an Age of Permanxiety

Airlines

Lufthansa Finds Collecting Passenger Data Is Easier Than Actually Using It

Airlines are getting better at data analysis. So now they face a fresh challenge of having to leverage that data by making their real-world operations correspondingly more responsive.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Lufthansa Finds Collecting Passenger Data Is Easier Than Actually Using It

Online Travel

Home Rental Platform Le Collectionist Raises $10 Million: Travel Startup Funding This Week

With this funding, Le Collectionist ramps up its marketing of luxury vacation rentals. But Airbnb and other tech and lodging brands may not let this profitable segment be siphoned off by this and other young startups for long.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Home Rental Platform Le Collectionist Raises $10 Million: Travel Startup Funding This Week

Online Travel

Despegar Hints at Its Latin American Travel Strategy After Successful IPO

With its IPO on Wednesday, Despegar became the world's seventh-largest online travel company by market cap. Its bosses talk a good game. But its major markets may have near-term hiccups ahead.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Despegar Hints at Its Latin American Travel Strategy After Successful IPO

Online Travel

Expedia-Supported Despegar Prices IPO at $26 Per Share

Expedia would own 14 percent of online travel agency Despegar post-IPO. But contemplating the odds of an Expedia takeover is a "rompecabeza,” or a head-breaker.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Expedia-Supported Despegar Prices IPO at $26 Per Share

Online Travel

Priceline May Be Spending Less on Trivago and Changing Hotel Metasearch Dynamics

Booking.com is pulling back from its advertising spend on Expedia-controlled Trivago. But we must await third-quarter financial data and any company pronouncements on the topic to know all of the implications.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Priceline May Be Spending Less on Trivago and Changing Hotel Metasearch Dynamics

Online Travel

Tour Operator Context Nets $5 Million in Funding for Its Task of Scaling

Context is a scholarly tour business betting that digital marketing will let it replicate its model profitably worldwide. Other experiential tour businesses will watch with a skeptical (but hopeful) eye.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Tour Operator Context Nets $5 Million in Funding for Its Task of Scaling

SkiftX

Booking.com Buys Evature for Its Chatbot Talent

This acqui-hire of Tel Aviv chatbot start-up Evature underlines the intense interest travel companies now have in natural-language search by text or voice -- and for the technical talent that can make the magic happen.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Booking.com Buys Evature for Its Chatbot Talent

Hotels

India Hotel Brand Oyo Rooms Attracts a $10 Million Strategic Investment From China Lodging Group

The 23-year-old CEO of loss-generating hotel aggregator Oyo Rooms has a business vision that has attracted total funding of $446 million to date. What could go wrong? Well...

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago