Skift Travel News Blog

CDS Groupe, a hotel booking platform for business travel, is expanding into the German market through an acquisition. 

The France-based company said this week that it has acquired Corporate Rates Club, the business travel segment of TourisMarketing Service GmbH. 

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Corporate Rates Club will continue to operate independently with its full staff,  CDS Groupe said. The CRC tool is available through a customized online booking portal or through integrating its hotel offerings into a third-party online booking engine. 

The deal is part of what CDS Groupe says is a plan for international growth.

The company in 2022 acquired Rydoo Travel, an online booking tool, from Marlin Equity. 

The combined company said it completes about €800 million annually in hotel bookings on behalf of its clients, which include corporations and business travel agents. The acquisitions have also allowed the buyer to expand its portfolio of contracts with hotels. 

The company now has 300 employees in France, Italy, Poland, Germany and Croatia.

CDS Groupe was founded in 2001 and is managed by founding shareholder Ziad Minkara.

Private rail operator Brightline will open long-awaited passenger service between Miami and Orlando on September 22, three weeks later than previously planned.

Brightline will initially offer 16 daily trains between Florida’s two largest metropolitan areas. Trips will take a little over three-and-a-half hours — comparable to the time it takes to drive between Miami and Orlando — and make four intermediate stops, including in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

Brightline previously planned to begin train service to Orlando on September 1.

The rail line is the first newly built passenger train in the U.S. in decades. Amtrak has opened several new lines in recent years, including to Burlington, Vt., in 2022, but those expansions mostly involved upgrading existing tracks. Brightline upgraded existing tracks between West Palm Beach and Cocoa, Fla., and built 40 miles of new track and right-of-way to Orlando. Trains terminate in the new South Terminal complex at the Orlando airport.

Orlando is only the beginning for Brightline. The company, which is owned by private equity firm Fortress Investment, also plans to build a 281-mile high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., in the Los Angeles area. Work on the roughly $12 billion Brightline West line could begin later this year with a target of opening in time for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Both the Orlando and Las Vegas rail lines come amid a flurry of new passenger rail investment in the U.S. President Biden’s 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $66 billion for new passenger rail with the bulk of that going to Amtrak and the Northeast Corridor that connects Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. The Department of Transportation will distribute a portion of those funds as competitive grants to projects around the U.S., funding that Brightline plans to seek for its Las Vegas project.

Selina, a hotel and experiences brand focused on youth travelers, said on Wednesday that its financial metrics were trending in the right direction as it reported earnings results.

In the second quarter, the company generated $52.5 million in revenue, a bump of 15.9% year-over-year. Factors included higher occupancy rates, reductions in corporate overhead, and essentially higher revenue per customer.

The company also narrowed its losses. It reported $700,000 in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, compared to a $5.8 million loss in the same period a year ago.

Selina said it was “aggressively executing a comprehensive real estate portfolio optimization plan” that “includes renegotiating all leases through abatements, deferrals, and terminations.”

In the quarter, the company also collected $10 million as the first phase of a planned strategic investment of up to $50 million led by Global University Systems (GUS), which runs for-profit universities. It also drew $10 million under its $50 million credit facility with Latin America’s Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Selina’s stock price dipped below $1 last month, where it has remained. If Selina’s stock remains below $1 for about a month, the Nasdaq exchange will issue a notice of a plan to delist the shares from trading. Selina will then have 180 days to push the value of shares higher.

The company aims to report a continued upward trend, which could appeal to investors.

“Selina continues to focus on three key strategic areas: improving cash flow, advancing toward profitability, and building our brand,” said Rafael Museri, co-founder and CEO, in a statement.

Ambitious plans for a permanent human habitat under the ocean have been announced by ocean technology and exploration company, DEEP.

The company – whose purpose is to ‘Make Humans Aquatic’ – will construct the underwater base using submarines, and will use its modular Sentinel habitats to house living pods, research facilities and underwater observatories. 

According to DEEP, the modular system is ‘endlessly configurable, completely customisable, and flexes seamlessly to accommodate short-term through to semi-permanent deployments, anywhere on the Continental Shelf’.

The new underwater habitat will allow scientists to live underwater at depths of up to 200 meters for up to 28 days at a time, and is proposed to begin construction as soon as 2027. The company has also launched its own diving institute, which aims to  to increase the number of competent, qualified divers capable of undertaking such an ambitious underwater construction project.

The initial base for the project has been set up in the UK’s South West and Wales, thanks to its unique cluster of relevant industry expertise.

TUI-owned FirstChoice.co.uk has relaunched as a new travel and experiences booking platform as the brand looks to strengthen its position with the flexible, independent traveler.

First Choice, originally well-known for its package holidays, now offers an array of travel options tailored around the needs and unique points of interest of today’s travelers, according to TUI UK and Ireland managing director Andrew Flintham.

Offering close to 200 destinations in over 60 countries, travelers can choose from various accommodation types and price points, from guesthouses and hostels to 5* luxury hotels and resorts. 

Additionally, travelers can enhance their trips with extras like cooking classes in Crete or paddleboarding in Majorca. There is also a weather guarantee for specific destinations through a partnership with Sensible Weather.

“New destinations and hotels will be picked based on what’s trending, the latest industry insider knowledge, and where budgets stretch furthest,” said Flintham, “First Choice has been helping holidaymakers choose their perfect trips for nearly 30 years, first on the high street and later as part of the TUI Group. But in 2023, travelers’ needs are changing, and so is First Choice.”

First Choice managing director Bart Quinton Smith added, “People will be able to plan their holidays around their interests or our destinations. Go via plane, or thanks to our partnership with Byway, by train. Dine in or dine out. Add an experience, upgrade, or save some cash. It’s up to our travelers to decide what makes a choice perfect.”

In the United States, 1 in 6 people have sensory needs or sensitivities, and 1 in 36 children are diagnosed with autism, so the importance of accessible spaces has never been so important. With this in mind, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has become a Certified Autism Center™, thanks to a new partnership with the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES).

The new partnership aims to ensure that sensory-sensitive visitors can enjoy the complex with confidence, with the center now able to provide on-site sensory guidance, designated low sensory areas, a sensory guide, and newly trained team members to ensure an inclusive experience for all guests.

“This certification is just one way we are working to ensure that Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is accessible to each of our guests,” said Therrin Protze, COO, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. 

“The extensive autism sensitivity and awareness training our staff has undergone has already impacted the way we interact with all families and children of all abilities, but specifically those with autism and other sensory sensitivities.”

Over 10 million Americans traveled abroad in June, a 20% rise from the same period last year, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office’s latest data. June’s volume was 99% of its 2019 pre-pandemic level.

The second largest overseas market — Mexico was number one — for Americans traveling abroad in June was Europe at 2.7 million, up 19.3% from last year. Europe accounted for 26% of American trips abroad in June.

The number of International travelers to the U.S. rose 24% to 2.6 million from June last year. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, June international volume was at 79% of its 2019 level. The largest overseas tourist markets for the U.S. were the UK (276,000), India (172,400) and Germany (132,000).

The next generation of Saudi Arabian hotels is coming, marked by the opening of the Kingdom’s multi-billion-dollar giga-projects. Marriott is showing what is possible at these spare-no-expense properties: Asking for the highest room rates in the country.

Skift’s Josh Corder reports:

Just two hotel operators are entrusted to introduce Saudi Arabia’s “untouched” Maldives-rivaling Red Sea to international guests: Marriott and IHG. Three of the planned 50 hotels at the $50 billion giga-project open this year, a St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton Reserve from Marriott and a Six Senses from IHG.

For Marriott, it’s familiar territory. The group operates the ultra-exclusive and somewhat secretive Bulgari Resort in Dubai, a vast St. Regis Resort on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, and another St. Regis on Qatar’s Marsa Arabia island.

Much like these fellow five-star island properties, Marriott’s St. Regis Red Sea Resort appears to be positioning itself a cut above other hotels in the country. Currently, the property is bookable for stays from February 1, 2024 (the official word is that it will open before the end of 2023). Priced at about $1,600 a night (6,037 Saudi Arabian riyals) a night, it is comfortably one of the country’s most expensive hotels — comparable only to IHG’s Six Senses nearby.

Six Senses The Southern Dunes, The Red Sea takes bookings from November 1, and, with an imposed two-night minimum stay, rates start from about $1,700 a night (6,618 riyals) a night.

Bookings for the ‘Nujuma’ Ritz-Carlton Reserve resort have not yet opened.

The St. Regis will have just 90 keys, all of which will be villas.

While the hotels are said to open this year, they won’t see international guests until 2024. The project’s Red Sea International Airport — also developed by the same company, Red Sea Global — will operate domestic flights this year and international next year. Dubai will be the first overseas destination connected to the new airport.

Made For Mocktails

For this domestic crowd, which will fly in from Jeddah and Riyadh, pricing remains a barrier. In Knight Frank’s Saudi Report 2023, cost was a reason why respondent Saudi travelers would not stay in a hotel in their own country. The survey found that 28% of 25–35-year-olds put it as their biggest barrier, 41% of those up to 45 years old said the same, and 54% of those over 45.

For young Saudis, the thing that put them off most from staying at domestic hotels was restrictions. Alcohol, for example, remains prohibited.

Speaking with the FII Institute earlier this year, Red Sea Global group CEO John Pagano assured that his post-card tourism project “doesn’t need alcohol.”

“Alcohol is not on the agenda,” Pagano said. “I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary. There’s a new industry evolving. The no/low alcohol industry, it’s booming.”

The St. Regis Red Sea Resort will have its own St. Regis Bar, complete with oysters and caviar, live music, and mocktails.

More broadly, Pagano said visitors will discover a changing Saudi Arabia.

“I’ve seen so much change in the five years I’ve been here — it’s incredible,” Pagano said. “Western attire will be perfectly acceptable within the destination. Obviously, if you wander into some of the local towns, we expect people to respect the customs and cultures. Within the resorts, you can wear bikinis without any issue.”

—Story by Josh Corder

South Africa’s ministry of tourism and Airbnb have announced a partnership to regulate the country’s short-term rental industry.

This agreement will include the introduction of a voluntary national registration system to help the South African government understand the rental business better. The country’s tourism minister Patrcia de Lille said, “Insufficient information is available about the unregulated Short Term Rental subsector, and this hampers informed policy decision making. Access to the Airbnb data can only assist in informing better decisions.”

The registry would also look to “protect hosts and clamp down on property speculators who damage communities,” added Velma Corcoran, Airbnb Regional Lead Middle East Africa.

Airbnb has long been calling for rules to distinguish between professional and non-professional activity and a framework for public-private cooperation to help promote inclusivity in the country’s sector, added Corcoran. Airbnb said it will further give South Africa’s tourism ministry access to its City Portal—a tool it says has been “rolled out to over 300 jurisdictions to date and helps governments develop and manage fair short-term rental policies and regulations.”

This call for regulation is in contrast to the crackdown underway in New York, in which Airbnb hosts must register and comply with STR rules specific to the city. In New York’s new registration requirements, hosts with shared rooms need to obtain registrations from the city to accommodate a maximum of two guests legally, and the hosts need to be present during the stay.

Corcoran added that international best practices regarding the short-term rentals sector will be a focal point for the Airbnb Africa Travel Summit, slated for 23rd to 24th October in Johannesburg.

Skift reached out to SA’s Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille to confirm when the registry would take effect, what information would be required, and how the data would be regulated and protected but has yet to receive a response. 

Hawaii will reopen most of West Maui to tourists starting on October 8, Governor Josh Green announced on Friday. Only Lahaina will remain closed to the public. Tourists will be able to visit Kā‘anapali, Nāpili, Honokōwai, and Kapalua.

“Beginning October 8, all travel restrictions will end and West Maui will be open to visitors again, so people from Hawaii and around the world can resume travel to this special place and help it begin to recover economically,” said Governor Green. “This difficult decision is meant to bring hope for recovery to the families and businesses on Maui that have been so deeply affected in every way by the disaster.”

In early August, a series of wildfires swept through portions of West Maui, killing over 100 people, displacing thousands of people and causing billions in property damage.

In Lahaina, county, state and federal emergency responders are continuing efforts to identify victims and the missing and cleaning up debris and hazardous materials left by the fire.