Coronavirus and Travel

Senior leaders turned back the clock at a roundtable to describe how the crisis unfolded — sharing how unofficial back channels helped them get a headstart, keeping employees safe.

Airlines promised that more payroll assistance would allow them to avoid dramatic staffing reductions. That relief is now here to the tune of $15 billion but it looks like the furloughs, while temporarily rolled back, are still coming.

The hotel industry qualifies for larger small business loans under the new coronavirus relief measure. That's reason for it to celebrate, but the industry will still need what it considers a real stimulus bill with incentives to revive travel demand in the long-term.

Families traveling by air have often been seen as a nuisance by fellow travelers and airlines alike. How can air travel be more appealing for families with small children after the pandemic?

The $900 billion coronavirus relief deal delivers the airline and hotel industries some of the top requests on their respective holiday wish list. Just as before, airlines get the biggest prize.

Although the hotel industry claimed federal liability protections were a vital need in the next round of coronavirus relief, leaving the measure out of an emerging deal in Washington doesn't leave hoteliers completely vulnerable to lawsuits.

The CommonTrust Network signed Aruba this week as its first member country, a win in the race to develop a digital health passport. But competition remains fierce as airlines await a single standard that can safely restart travel.

Optional coronavirus tests are another layer to Marriott's approach to combatting the threat of the virus. But testing is not a standalone solution to getting back to pre-pandemic performance levels.

Developing an effective vaccine in such a relatively short time is nothing less than a miracle. Delivering those vaccines to the world is the next enormous challenge. The airlines took on that task earlier this week. So far, they are giving a thumbs up.