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

Flight Metasearch Analysis: Why Are Sites Slow to Add Instant Booking?

We have the technology, as they used to say on TV's "The Six Million Dollar Man." We have the capability to make booking flights on mobile better than it was before. Better... stronger... faster. But short-sighted airline business strategies seem to be holding back the hot price-comparison companies of the hour -- Momondo, Kayak, and Skyscanner -- from offering direct, or instant, bookings of flights.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Flight Metasearch Analysis: Why Are Sites Slow to Add Instant Booking?

Airlines

Sabre’s New CEO Wants to Instill an Accountability Culture

In January there was a changing of the guard at Sabre. New CEO Sean Menke thinks his background as a former airline CEO gives him insight into what airlines want from Sabre in new products. But he'll need to up his company's product execution and delivery if he wants to maintain market share, according to employee complaints.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Sabre’s New CEO Wants to Instill an Accountability Culture

Business Travel

Hotelbeds Plans to Buy Tourico Holidays to Expand in the Americas

Hotelbeds has an outstanding market position on the strength of its booking technology. The plan to acquire Tourico shows that its financial backers, particularly buyout firm Cinven, see a path to growth. Expect further acquisitions that add new supplier relationships in new market segments.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Hotelbeds Plans to Buy Tourico Holidays to Expand in the Americas

Online Travel

Skift Forum Europe: Skyscanner’s CEO Is Looking Beyond Scale

Skyscanner CEO Gareth Williams is the rare Western executive to have played his cards right in China, in light of the successful recent sale to Chinese giant Ctrip of the price-comparison company he co-founded. Williams' next bets for growth are on voice-activated Internet search, instant booking for airlines, and mobile-first transactions in Asia.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Skift Forum Europe: Skyscanner’s CEO Is Looking Beyond Scale

Airlines

Airline Services Leaders Accelya and Mercator Announce Merger

Piece by piece, private equity firm Warburg Pincus is building Mercator into a rival to Sabre and Amadeus -- two travel technology providers that provide overlapping software and operational services to commercial airlines (and that recently went public after restructurings by buyout experts). Expect the Mercator merger with Accelya to spur an acquisition spree.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Airline Services Leaders Accelya and Mercator Announce Merger

Online Travel

5 New Travel Startups From India That Have Momentum

India's public company stars MakeMyTrip and Yatra get all the attention in travel. But several startups have the execution chops and the support of experts like Sequoia Capital and Amadeus to thrive in providing services to the country's online population, now numbering more than 400 million.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

5 New Travel Startups From India That Have Momentum

Online Travel

Oasis Receives $2.5 Million for Its Hotel-Style Home Rentals: Travel Startup Funding This Week

Last year, AccorHotels took a 30 percent equity share in Oasis, a curated marketplace for luxury rental properties, while also investing in similar concepts like OneFineStay and Squarebreak. This week Oasis received $2.5 million from an "undisclosed investor." We wonder who might that be.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

Oasis Receives $2.5 Million for Its Hotel-Style Home Rentals: Travel Startup Funding This Week

Business Travel

iCars Buys Limos.com in Crowded Corporate Travel Ground Transport Market

The iCars merger with Limos.com could make the combined company a viable competitor against Blacklane and GroundLink, leaders in private car aggregation for corporate travelers. But all the companies need to step up their games.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

iCars Buys Limos.com in Crowded Corporate Travel Ground Transport Market

Online Travel

5 New Travel Startups From China That Challenge the Status Quo

Chinese travel startups are innovating, not cloning, these days. For instance, Zanadu is using virtual reality to sell luxury travel in real world shops, Baoku is bringing integrated workflows to corporate travel planners, and Aipinji is applying an Uber-like user interface to an old-school wholesaler model.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago

5 New Travel Startups From China That Challenge the Status Quo

Airlines

American Airlines Expects to Catch Up to Delta With Its Basic Economy Strategy

Airfares in the U.S. are still near historic average lows, and a transatlantic fare war should last for more than a year. But after a delay, American is copying Delta's playbook. It aims to fix its profit margin problem by coaxing business travelers to pay more on routes worldwide by 2018.

Sean O'Neill, Skift | 7 years ago