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Taj isn't afraid to do things differently, whether teaming up with a competitor on an innovative loyalty program strategy, or deciding to whittle down its number of brands to just one. It's certainly a hotel company worth keeping an eye on going forward thanks to its contrarian approaches.

TripActions' funding adds buzz to a category of startups aiming to incentivize travelers to book travel more cheaply, while Bluesmart's fresh funding validates the electronic luggage category.

As the global hospitality industry evolves in a more integrated and digitally connected world, it’s demanding that employees have more multidisciplinary skills and nuanced worldviews. However, the industry needs to redefine its value proposition for young talent seeking a rewarding lifetime career with unlimited potential for personal and professional development.

Skift recently released our Megtrends Defining Travel in 2017. One trend, Humanity Returns to Travel, notes that, “all of the data in the world is much more powerful when placed in the hands of a well-trained, empathic person who can anticipate, be flexible, and help steward a cohesive experience.” This observation is coming to life through 2016’s increase, and 2017’s predicted increase in travelers seeking the services of travel agents/consultants.

The biggest conclusion here is that hoteliers can't afford to dismiss the impact, however large or minuscule it may be, that Airbnb is having on the lodging industry, and on their bottom lines, too. Plenty of reports may tell us different things, but the universal thread is that Airbnb is here, and it can't be ignored.

Breached data such as air miles, loyalty points, and travel website accounts are being sold on the dark web and are now available for anyone to purchase, but what is the dark web? Below is a visual representation — for a full picture of cyber fraud’s impact on the travel industry, check out Skift’s new Insights Deck: Cyber Fraud in Travel.

Not many CEOs would spend Christmas evening engaging in hundreds of conversations with fans and critics alike — and on Twitter no less. But Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is not your average CEO, and what he revealed in his Noel-time tweets gives us a much clearer understanding of where Airbnb is headed in 2017.