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Hotels
While most still don't think it's necessarily for them, there are a few who are starting to be open to giving it a try.
Deanna Ting, Skift | 5 years ago
Is this the beginning of a new cycle of global hotel chains buying independent hotel groups? As competition intensifies for soft brands, more of such consolidations should not surprise anyone.
Raini Hamdi, Skift | 5 years ago
Business Travel
Leading Hotels of the World's $175 annual fee to join its loyalty program may be off-putting to some frugal frequent travelers. But the Leaders Club, ostensibly, is not for the frugal frequent traveler.
Grant Martin, Skift | 6 years ago
There's been a sea change in terms of how new boutique hotel brands are named: Instead of recycling other brand names (ahem, Clarion Pointe) and looking to active adjectives (hello, Avid and Tru), we've now entered the era of brands on a first-name basis.
Deanna Ting, Skift | 6 years ago
Airlines
We're having a moment. In the wake of the Florida school shooting, travel companies are abandoning the National Rifle Association and its assault rifle advocacy. History would tell us that no substantial reforms will come out of this. But perhaps student and corporate pressure will make things different this time.
Dennis Schaal, Skift | 6 years ago
As we've noted before, as much as hotels and online travel agencies may not necessarily love one another, they certainly need each other. Their current love-hate relationship will certainly change, however, if and when other players like Airbnb or Google become bigger players in the hotel booking space.
The answers vary but there's at least one overriding shared sentiment. Even if times are good, there's always room for improvement in any industry.
More conservative folks might talk about being "cautiously optimistic," but positivity is the prevailing sentiment this year in the hospitality industry.
Another day, another hotel soft brand collection. So, who's next? Hilton or IHG?
Deanna Ting, Skift | 7 years ago
While it's fairly straightforward to quantify the value of a loyalty program in terms of "payback," that doesn't account for all the other special perks and experiences that travelers may value.
