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

Airbnb Buys Payments Company Tilt to Let Travelers Split Trip Costs

Travelers have long asked Airbnb to make it easier to share the cost of a rental, including when they are using different currencies from a lodging host. By acquiring Tilt, the startup will likely add that service to its app.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Airbnb Buys Payments Company Tilt to Let Travelers Split Trip Costs

Online Travel

Stayzilla Closes Indian Alternative Lodging Business Despite Raising $34 Million

It was only last May that Stayzilla received $13 million in a Series C round. An impressive-seeming execution must have blinded investors to spreadsheet data showing the company was not generating enough revenue to cover its costs.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Stayzilla Closes Indian Alternative Lodging Business Despite Raising $34 Million

Online Travel

China’s Ctrip Will Focus on Domestic Hotels Following International Spending Spree

After making a string of investments, Ctrip may be keeping its gunpowder dry in 2017 — at least according to our interpretation of the latest comments of its executives. That will give it a chance to digest its recent acquisition of Skyscanner and to deepen its hotel coverage within China.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Online Travel

BridgeStreet Pushes Corporate Housing Towards a Mini-Revolution in Online Booking

A fresh approach to online distribution will heat up the corporate housing sector. It will make it easier for property managers to distribute serviced properties and for travel managers to book them.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

BridgeStreet Pushes Corporate Housing Towards a Mini-Revolution in Online Booking

Online Travel

4 New Travel Startups Helping Hotels Engage With Guests

Tink Labs is a standout Hong Kong company in the hotel ecosystem. It attracted $170 million in funding to make its Handy loaner smartphones a free amenity in hotels worldwide. But we found some other companies that are also offering promising tools for hoteliers.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

4 New Travel Startups Helping Hotels Engage With Guests

Hotels

Choice Hotels Mulls Options for a Tech Division That Struggled to Break Even

Choice talks a good game about its SkyTouch subsidiary. But signs point to continued heartache. Expect the franchisor to focus instead on the vacation rental software it gained by acquiring Dutch startup Maxxton plus its own reservation system.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Choice Hotels Mulls Options for a Tech Division That Struggled to Break Even

Online Travel

OAG Gets Sold Again as it Pushes its Flight Schedule and Forecasting Service

OAG was taken over by private equity in 2013, which retrofitted it with a focus on airline data services. But this once legendary brand will face tough competition from FlightGlobal and other players.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Online Travel

Dreamlines Raises $19 Million for Its Cruise Site: Travel Startup Funding This Week

The bar for success is higher than usual for these companies because of their unlikeliness: an online seller of cruise trips, a traditional "high street" travel agency, a network of freelance photographers, and a maker of eyewear that records 360-degree-video.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Dreamlines Raises $19 Million for Its Cruise Site: Travel Startup Funding This Week

Hotels

Hotel Revenue Managers Say They Want a Revolution

Change has not come as fast as a 2010 survey had predicted. This study offers a few reasons why, but misses a big one: The industry is in desperate need of loud champions of new techniques and strategies.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Hotel Revenue Managers Say They Want a Revolution

Business Travel

Egencia Is Growing Fast but Corporate Travel Rivals Still Dominate Large Accounts

Egencia's ambitious growth will likely pressure two of the remaining global travel management companies to merge as a defensive move.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Egencia Is Growing Fast but Corporate Travel Rivals Still Dominate Large Accounts