The Skift Podcast

Fresh off the heels of the release of annual financial reports, Seth and Sarah discuss everyone's favorite topic: executive compensation.  They examine how those reported compensation numbers relate to the performance of the companies in question, including Airbnb CEO and Co-founder Brian Chesky's potential $1 billion plus pay package, which leads them to the question: should billionaires exist?

Our new co-hosts, Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit and Head of Research Seth Borko, introduce themselves and talk about what Skift is, how it's quite literally defining the business of travel, and preview some of the exciting stories and research on deck for Skift and the podcast.

As we look forward to the return of the Skift Short-Term Rental Summit on June 5 in New York, today we feature a conversation with Homes and Villas by Marriott International Vice President, Jennifer Hsieh, and Skift Senior Hospitality Editor, Sean O'Neill, that took place onstage at last year's summit. To join her and many other vacation rental executives and investors at this year's Short-Term Rental Summit, visit live.skift.com for tickets and details. 

Vikram Oberoi, The Oberoi Group CEO and Managing Director, speaks with Skift Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O'Neill. This discussion took place on stage at the inaugural Skift India Summit this month in New Delhi, India. on stage at Skift India Summit in New Delhi, India on March 20, 2024. To join the travel industry's best events in person, visit https://live.skift.com

Today we feature a discussion that took place on stage at the inaugural Skift India Summit this month in New Delhi, India. In this conversation Eric Garcetti, United States Ambassador to the Republic of India, speaks with Rafat Ali, Founder & CEO of Skift, about "Bridging the U.S. and India in the Decade Ahead". For more like this, visit live.skift.com to learn how you can attend our next industry defining live event. 

Today we feature a discussion that took place on stage at the inaugural Skift India Summit this week in New Delhi, India. In this conversation Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson speaks with Skift Asia editor Peden Bhutia about "Connecting India to the World". For more like this, visit live.skift.com to learn how you can attend our next industry defining live event. 

Last week, as the world came together to celebrate International Women's Day, news that a Brazilian tourist had accused seven men of gang rape in a remote region of India, prompted Skift Asia Editor Peden Bhutia to ask in her headline reporting on the story: “Is India Safe for Female Travelers?” In this episode, Peden and Skift Research Analyst Saniya Zanpure, both based in India, join Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit to discuss the case, its effects, their experiences as women in India, and why, ultimately, the answer to Peden's question is: yes, everyone should visit India. Visit skift.com for continuing coverage of this story and all the latest travel news and research.

In our fifth and final episode covering Skift's Megatrends for 2024, Editor-in-chief Sarah Kopit is joined by Skift Founder and CEO Rafat Ali to discuss two megatrends centered around technology, demographics, and the future of the human condition. You can see all of Skift's Megatrends for 2024 right now at Skift.com/megatrends.

Andy Washington, Trip.com Group's General Manager for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), joins Pranavi Agarwal, Senior Research Analyst for Skift Research, in a session titled “Reaching the Emerging Traveler”. This is a previously unreleased discussion from our Skift Megatrends event in London last month.  You can read Skift's Megatrends for 2024 right now at Skift.com/megatrends.

Our Megatrends series continues today as Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit is joined by Skift Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes, and Colin Nagy, a Skift contributor and host of The Skift Ideas Podcast, to tackle three of Skift's Megatrends for 2024 that deal with: artificial intelligence, the Ozempic era and "extreme wellness".  They discuss how the travel business is being transformed by these advancements. You can see all of Skift's Megatrends for 2024 right now at Skift.com/megatrends.

Continuing our series on Skift's Megatrends for 2024, today we feature a conversation focused on developments reshaping India, the Middle East, and by extension, the whole of the global travel business. To explore these topics Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit is joined by two members of Skift's editorial team well versed in these regions: India-based Asia Editor Peden Domo Bhutia, and Dubai-based Middle East Reporter Josh Corder. Bhutia and Corder wrote about the rising Indian middle class, a potential short-term rental boom in the Middle East, and the emergence of "Made in Dubai" as a global brand. The discussion highlights the significant influence of the growing Indian middle class on outbound travel, fueled by increased disposable income and a desire for travel experiences post-COVID. India's outbound tourism is seen as highly aspirational, with the government facilitating easier passport procurement to boost travel. The conversation shifts to the Middle East, where Dubai is positioned as a brand akin to New York or Paris, with its companies expected to expand internationally. The short-term rental market is identified as a key growth area in the Middle East, driven by ambitious tourism targets and a need for budget-friendly accommodation options. The panel discusses the role of celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan and Ranveer Singh in marketing destinations and the importance of value for money to Indian travelers, including the rise of "travel now, pay later" schemes. Dubai's strategy to become a cosmopolitan hub is underscored by its use of short-term rentals to attract long-term residents, alongside the introduction of the golden visa to encourage residency among tourists. The podcast also touches on the broader trend of luxury travel in the Middle East, the need for budget accommodations to meet the demands of the middle class, and the strategic use of luxury hotels as marketing tools to attract tourists, with short-term rentals providing practical accommodation solutions. You can see all of Skift's Megatrends for 2024 right now at Skift.com/megatrends.

On our second episode exploring Skift's Megatrends for 2024, Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit is joined by Managing Editor Lex Harris, Airlines Editor and Reporter Gordon Smith, and Airline Weekly Senior Analyst Jay Shabat, to discuss our three most "problematic" Megatrends. They cover: the current uproar over Junk Fees, the continuing supply chain issues faced by the aviation sector, and the impacts of the burgeoning climate crisis on the business of travel.  You can see all of Skift's Megatrends for 2024 right now at Skift.com/megatrends.

Skift's Megatrends for 2024 were released at the beginning of the year, our 12th annual reporting on the trends defining the travel industry. Today, we're proud to present the first episode in a series highlighting these Megatrends featuring Skift's editor-in-chief Sarah Kopit and Skift Hotel Editor Sean O'Neil. They discuss the Megatrend that Sean himself penned, entitled “How Hotels will Seduce the Middle Class Traveler”, where Sean explains how a growing global middle class and ample opportunity in mid-market hospitality should result in continued and increasing investment in so-called select service hotels. Sean spoke with Wyndham Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Checchio at the Megatrends release event in New York last week and he relates how Wyndham and other major hotel players, such as Hyatt and Hilton, are approaching this focus on Midscale. Sarah and Sean also discuss other Megatrends related to: the growing Indian middle class, the impact of artificial intelligence, and the controversy surrounding hotel junk fees. You can read the Skift Megatrends for 2024 right now at skift.com/megatrends

One year ago, on January 8 2023, China began reopening to tourism. In our first dispatch of 2024, Skift founder and CEO, Rafat Ali, talks with Check-In Asia director, Gary Bowerman, to discuss the state of Chinese tourism. It is a wide-ranging conversation covering the evolution of the Chinese reopening, how China is addressing the "3 pillars" of travel and tourism, visas, the importance of travel influencers in China, and much more. If you enjoy this conversation visit skift.com for breaking travel news, the latest research, and industry-defining events.

Today we feature Hany Abdelkawi, Head of Travel Sales for Google, in conversation with Skift CEO and Founder, Rafat Ali, on stage in Dubai at Skift Global Forum East this December. They spoke on the topic of "Connections in the Age of AI". Visit live.skift.com to learn more about how you can attend or view our next industry defining event.

Today we feature Kerzner Internaltional CEO, Philippe Zuber, in conversation with Skift Editor-in-Chief, Sarah Kopit, on stage in Dubai at Skift Global Forum last week. They spoke on the topic of "Inspiring Innovation in the Age of AI". Visit live.skift.com to learn more about how you can attend or view our next industry defining event.

As we prepare to return to Dubai on December 12-14, we're revisiting a few of the most popular sessions. This episode of the Skift Travel Podcast is a rebroadcast of a session that took place at Skift Global Forum East in December of last year: His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai Department of Economy & Tourism, speaks with Rafat Ali, Founder & CEO of Skift, on the topic of "Bringing Travel into the Future". Visit live.skift.com for info on how to attend or view Skift Global Forum East 2023.

This episode of the Skift Travel Podcast is a rebroadcast of a session that took place at Skift Global Forum East in December of last year. As we prepare to return to Dubai on December 12-14, we're revisiting a few of the most popular sessions. Visit live.skift.com for info on how to attend or view Skift Global Forum East 2023.

In anticipation of Skift Global Forum East, happening in Dubai December 12-14, I wanted to sit down with both our Middle East Report, Josh Corder, and Twenty31 Consulting (now Skift Advisory) Managing Director, Joe Naaman, to discuss a big picture view on growth and dynamics in the Middle East. In 45 minutes, we were able to just scratch the surface of our 25+ full speaker lineup and topic discussions slated for our Forum in December. If you haven't secured your pass, get yours today as you don't want to miss it. In this podcast, we discuss:  How is the conflict in Israel being felt on the ground in the region? What is the anticipated impact for COP28 and did the World Cup deliver?  How are countries planning ahead for Indian outbound travelers? What important changes have happened for China as a source market?  The status of a GCC unified visa and what this means for tourism in the gulf. Supply and oversupply: how has the hospitality mix shifted and is it working? How has Dubai captured the market and what are other countries doing to compete? Listen in to this exciting discussion and join us at Skift Global Forum East this December as we gather representatives from the world's leading brands who are eager to delve into the transformative global, economic, and technological trends shaping the travel industry.  From aviation and hospitality to technology and online booking (and everything in between), this event is a unique opportunity to expand your industry knowledge and be inspired by the region and influential decision-makers in this space.

Today on the podcast we feature Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in conversation with Skift Founder and CEO Rafat Ali onstage at Skift Global Forum in New York City last month.  Among a litany of subjects, Khosrowshahi discusses Uber's high burn rate, its use of artificial intelligence, upcoming product releases like Uber Teens, Uber becoming a super app, and how essential the delivery service (Uber Eats) is to the business today.  Visit live.skift.com to learn how you can attend our next industry defining live event. Up next is the Skift Aviation Forum, coming to Ft Worth, Texas on November 1.

This week Choice Hotels publicly offered to acquire Wyndham Hotels & Resorts following months of private discussions between the two companies. This was pretty exciting in itself, with the last major M&A deal in the hotel industry being the Starwood-Marriott merger in 2015. However, later that day, more news broke that Wyndham had rejected Choice's offer and saw its stock being halted on the NYSE. All of this drama had Skift's team asking: Are we covering Twitter here or the relatively stable hotel industry? In this episode Pranavi Agarwal, senior analyst at Skift Research, Skift senior hospitality editor, Sean O'Neill, and Alan Woinski, editor of the Daily Lodging Report, talk us through the details of the deal, what might be motivating each side's actions, and what the story tells us about the current state of the hospitality landscape.

Today, we're happy to share the latest episode of The Skift Ideas Podcast, which recently returned with its fifth episode. In it, host Colin Nagy is joined by Harsha L'Acqua, Founder and CEO of Saira Hospitality.  Together, they delve into the past and future of hospitality, and the undeniable importance of unlocking opportunities within communities. If you like what you hear, be sure to sure follow The Skift Ideas podcast for more candid conversations on the innovations and ideas powering the future of travel.  

Today on the show, we play a rousing session from the recent 10th Annual Skift Global Forum that was held in New York City late last month.  The session, titled "Travel's Future as AI Reshapes The World," features tech entrepreneur, investor, and podcast host, Jason Calacanis, along with Brad Gerstner, founder and CEO of Silicon Valley investment firm Altimeter, in discussion with Skift Founder and CEO Rafat Ali about the coming days when generative AI will become reliable and have a real effect on how the world operates. And they believe that could be the case in some areas in as soon as a year. If you enjoy this insightful and, at times, provocative conversation, learn about how to attend our next next Skift Live event by visiting Live.Skift.com. You can also find full video recordings of this session and many others at skift.com and on the official Skift News YouTube channel.

Skift Editorial Director of Events, Brian Quinn, and Research Director, Seth Borko, preview the topics and speakers of next week's Skift Global Forum. Happening September 26-28 in New York City, the momentous 10th annual Skift Global will explore the theme of "Connection in The age of AI" and feature leaders from throughout travel, deciphering the big trends facing the industry.  Visit https://live.skift.com for information on speakers, schedules, and how to attend. 

We're back from our late summer break with a special live streamed panel discussion conducted by Skift's editorial team last week on September 5, the very day that New York City's short-term rental crackdown went into effect. Skift Hospitality editor Sean O'Neill was joined on the panel by Executive editor Dennis Schaal, Travel Tech Reporter Justin Dawes, and Short-term rental reporter Srividya Kalyanaraman to discuss the details of the new regulations and how they effect hosts, travelers, hotels, the city, and the industry at large.  Since this panel, Skift has reported that Airbnb—the brand synonymous with short-terms rentals—has lost 77% of its New York City listings over a three-month period. For this reporting and all of the latest news in the business of travel, visit Skift.com. And if you haven't already, check out live.skift.com for information on how to attend the 10th annual Skift Global Forum in New York City this September 26–28, where we'll feature leaders from throughout the travel industry on stage, including Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, who will no doubt have some comment to offer on the challenges posed by these regulations to Airbnb and other short-term rental players. Enjoy the conversation.

Today on the program, Skift Lead Producer Jose Marmolejos speaks with Miguel Neves, Editor-in-Chief of Skift Meetings and host of the Skift Meetings Podcast. This week, Miguel has been covering the sale of the core business of virtual event company Hopin—the pandemic era unicorn founded in 2019 that rose to a valuation of nearly $8 billion by August of 2021, but that by the following February had started laying off employees, culminating in its sale last week to cloud-based communications company RingCentral for a mere $15 million. As Miguel points out in his reporting: “That is billion with a b and million with an m.” In this conversation Miguel details the raise and decline of Hopin, how the established players in events never really had incentive to pursue virtual events outside of pandemic era lock downs, and the implications of the Hopin fire sale for the broader events industry.  Check out Skift Meetings to find Miguel's reporting, along with the latest guidance and inspiration for business event professionals, at meetings.skift.com.

Today we feature audio from a livestream presentation done this week by Skift research analysts Seth Borko, Pranavi Agarwal and Varsha Arora, where they discuss some key takeaways and stories from The State of Travel 2023, the comprehensive report that was just released by Skift research. Download the report at https://skift.com/insight/state-of-travel/ You can also head to research.skift.com to find this report as well as all of Skift Research's in depth analysis of the global travel industry.

As we look ahead to the landmark 10th Skift Global Forum happening this September in New York City, today we take a look back at a panel session from Skift Global Forum 2016 correctly billed as "Legends of Online Travel". On the panel were: Brad Gerstner, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Altimeter Capital; Rich Barton, co founder and, at the time, Executive chairman of Zillow Group (he is currently CEO); Dara Khosrowshahi, then the President and CEO of Expedia (he is currently the CEO of Uber); Jay Walker, Founder of Priceline and CEO of Upside; and moderator Dennis Schaal, Skift's Founding and Executive editor, who earlier that year had released the "Definitive Oral History of Online Travel", the authoritative account of the rise of the online travel agency.  We revisit this session from nearly 7 years ago to assess just how prescient these esteemed speakers were as they discussed the future of online travel as seen from that far away time, still 3+ years before the onset of the global covid pandemic, and 6+ years from the broad release of ChatGPT, the widely-used generative AI tool that has sparked imaginations throughout the world and travel industry. As the panelists in this session point out, many of their predictions have been around since the 1990s ".com" boom and before, so what makes now the moment? The prognostications you'll hear in this session give us some insight into the answer, and we can be certain that this question will loom large at the coming Skift Global Forum as our sessions look to tackle the theme of “Connection in the Age of AI”.

On Wednesday of last week, Skift broke the bombshell news that Expedia Group—the world's leading Online Travel Agent—had decided to end its longstanding partnership with Hopper, a rival OTA that Expedia had nonetheless been providing hotel and vacation rental inventory for many years. What's more, Expedia used their announcement to voice concerns about several practices employed by Hopper that they perceived to be detrimental to consumers. On this episode of the podcast Skift's Lead Producer Jose Marmolejos speaks with Skift's Founding Editor and Executive Editor Dennis Schaal (the journalist who broke that story), as well as Skift Research Analyst Pranavi Agarwal (who recently published the definitive deep dive report on Hopper's business model and performance), about why this business relationship fell apart so suddenly and dramatically. They listen back to some clips from Dennis' interview with Hopper CEO Frederic Lalonde at the Skift Global Forum this past September, get some unique insights from Pranavi's unprecedented access to Hopper's business while she authored her report, and dig into what this rupture could mean for Hopper, Expedia, and the entire online travel industry.

Skift Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia interviews Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam about the series of articles he's written recently for Skift.com that detail the plight of U.S. cities, how they are coping, and what they are doing to encourage both domestic and international tourists to return in the wake of the pandemic. You can find all of the articles referenced in this episode, as well as Dawit's continued reporting on the subject at Skift's tourism hub.

Senior hospitality editor Sean O'Neill interviews travel tech reporter Justin Dawes about his experience on the floor of the Hospitality Industry Technology Expo and Conference, better known as HITEC. The conference bills itself as "the world's largest hospitality technology show," and Justin was there in Toronto last week covering it for Skift. In this interview, Justin talks about what he saw and heard at the conference from presenters and industry leaders, the current state of tech in the industry, and why—even amidst all the talk of AI, holograms and even robots—many hoteliers are talking about focusing on what matters: bringing their operations squarely into the 21st century, versus investing in tech for tech's sake. You can find all of Justin's reporting from HITEC at Skift.com, including comments from industry executives and videos of the cutting edge technology that was on display.

In late May, the Skift team returned from our annual retreat, which was held this year in Iceland. Still buzzing with the energy and lessons from that experience, we decided to share our insights in a special edition of the Skift podcast. CFO Michael Cunniff, Senior Director of Events Regina Yuen, and Human Resources head Mariana Ruiz joined CEO Rafat Ali to discuss their learnings about company retreats and the business of travel. As the conversation unfolded, they delved into the logistics and budgeting challenges of organizing company retreats. Cunniff and Yuen shared how coordinating flights, accommodations, and venues required careful planning and attention to detail, especially in a destination like Iceland with its unique logistical challenges. These Skift leaders reflected on the company's growth and the increasing number of employees attending the retreats. They discussed how the retreats fostered a sense of connection and collaboration, both within teams and across the entire company. Ruiz emphasized how the retreats deepened personal connections and ultimately enhanced work synergy among staffers.

The short-term rental industry has experienced a major boom coming out of the pandemic, driven in large part by the surge in remote work. But what does the future hold, especially since the sector's enormous recent growth may not be sustainable? Executives speaking at Skift's Short-Term Rental Summit offered their thoughts about what comes next. To go deeper into short-term rentals, you can watch highlights from our June event or subscribe to the Skift Short-Term Rental Report.

In this special episode of the Skift Travel Podcast we introduce listeners to our newest show, the Skift Ideas podcast. Join travel industry thought leaders Rafat Ali and Colin Nagy on the new Skift Ideas podcast. On the Skift Ideas podcast we will immerse listeners in discussions regarding the latest innovations within the industry, focussing on the key topics of design, marketing, sustainability, experience and so much more.  This first episode looks at the current state of creativity and innovation within the travel industry, and what ideas are already transforming the way we look at travel.

In this episode of the Skift Travel Podcast, Ankur Randev, Chief Commercial Officer of Highgate, discusses the current hospitality investment climate with Skift senior research analyst Pranavi Agarwal.  The conversation covers topics such as the uncertain lending and investing activity, the luxury segment, advanced revenue management capabilities, and Highgate's European expansion and investment in complex investments. They also discuss the blending of the hotel and short-term rental space, and the new type of demand that is arising from it. Randev discusses Highgate's interest in the luxury and lifestyle segment and how the company plans to acquire more properties in this space. He explains Highgate's advanced revenue management capabilities and how it has helped increase ADRs and ROI in luxury hotels. Randev talks about the blending of hotel and short-term rental spaces and the new type of demand that is arising from it, which Highgate is also exploring.

I have known Brian Harniman, the Head of Strategy at digital transformation agency From since the early days of Skift — he was amongst the first online travel veterans to latch on to the potential of what we were building. Harniman is a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years experience leading innovation in travel companies. He was on the founding team of Priceline.com and held executive positions at Kayak, Hickory Global Partners, Open List, Where I've Been, and more. He and I have talked about travel startups informally on and off for years. This current episode's context was sparked by a LinkedIn post I did a few weeks ago about travel startups in an age of artificial intelligence: “We are in the travel planning/inspiration/recommendations startups circa 2015 phase of AI boom now… dozens & dozens of them launched in the social media boom phase, all fizzled out because… no way to get enough usage frequency, and then drive to actual transaction which is where you make all money in travel…. I also won't dump on any specific startups/single-feature companies that have launched, too early to write off all the innovation to come, but as with every wave 8/10 will fizzle out, one will get bought by a larger player & maybe one becomes next the next Airbnb. But even then…it will have to be all around transaction, that is where it is at in travel, nowhere else.” And Brian responded to any post with this: “Planning startups don't connect well with booking sites – the outdated content and pricing kills demand or worse, creates anger with failed bookers. Content/recommendation startups don't scale without spidering or autogenerating content, and that ruins their cred with users who are looking for “real” reviews and ratings. And yet, every travel startup competition has a company that is going to solve this problem for us.” Which was enticing enough to invite him on to The Skift Travel Podcast and discuss this more in depth. And so it was, amongst the most fascinating conversations I have had on travel startups in a long time and definitely worth your time to listen in.  Some of the points we discussed: How a travel startup's position in the transaction funnel corresponds directly to its survival.  How generative AI like ChatGPT is currently being deployed in travel booking. In this age of AI, if planning does come into the booking process, what happens next? Can the travel planning phase be shortened? The travel search box is broken. ChatGPT could be really instrumental in streamlining that down, what are the possibilities? Travel booking filters and why they are evidence of travel search being broken. Most travel companies don't have a unique enough corpus of content for training data for AI.

Episode Summary It started with a Linkedin post.  When Michael J. O' Regan, a Lecturer of Tourism at Glasgow Caledonian University posted an academic article he wrote about why we should stop using the word “Overtourism” and the issues he sees with its usage since the time we at Skift coined the term in 2016 (the backstory on that here), it came across my feeds. And in a surprise twist, considering we were responsible for this term spreading, first across the travel industry and then as a widespread media term, I agreed with him.  Here's what I wrote: “This is a fascinating new academic paper arguing why the travel industry should stop using “overtourism” as a construct/phrase and as the person who coined that term in 2016 (he cites it in this paper), I agree with him!  “Surprise twist, I know, but not for the reasons he outlines (read the paper) but because I agree that now post-covid, with so many layers of complexity involved particularly as tourism intersects with climate change, it is reductive and doesn't bring out the nuanced solutions that are required.  “The reductiveness was necessary when we first coined it, alarmism and inducing fear wasn't a side effect, it was the intent, as I explained it here in detail two years after, and it was never meant as a phrase to demonize the travelers, as the paper says what happened after, but for destinations to wake up and take destination stewardship seriously.  “It did its job, now time to move on.” To discuss the paper, his reasonings and more, I invited him to The Skift Travel Podcast, and we had a fascinating discussion. Here's the summary of the discussion, the best way to get the full flavor of it is to listen to our podcast episode, below or in your fave podcast app. Michael discusses his research on the concept of overtourism, which he believes is outdated as term in the post-COVID era. O'Regan explains that the term has been successful in highlighting the challenges of managing tourism in destinations, but it also demonizes tourists, whereas the focus should be on sustainable tourism management. He also discusses his ongoing research on how newspapers cover the phrase and the metaphors they use to link overtourism. The interview also touches on the role of academia in engaging the public with research and ideas. There is an increasing number of professionals pointing out “overtourism” is not a useful analytical concept for measuring mismanagement and directing attention only towards tourists, rather than facilitators of tourism, such as policymakers and license providers. Destinations are trying to move beyond overtourism and look for other ways to talk about complex tourism issues beyond blaming tourists for all the ills. Post-Covid, the conversation is about recovery, and there is a need for a nuanced approach to tourism that considers the impact on climate change and how companies are responding by reducing their carbon footprint. O'Regan also questions the definition of quality tourists and its relevance in different destinations. He believes that backpackers are the quality tourists as they stay longer and use local services. The conversation also includes other phrases such as “regenerative tourism,” “sustainable tourism,” and “transformative travel,” and the need for managing tourism to reduce its unintended impacts on destinations. They discussed different tools that can be used to manage tourism, such as tourist taxes, regulating short-term rentals, and improving education on tourism and hospitality at the local level. Finally, they talked about Amsterdam's efforts to improve the quality of life of people living around the airport.

Adam Harris, the CEO of hotel management software company Cloudbeds, has a great no-nonsense grasp of the macro – and micro – environment in the startup fundraising world. On this edition of the Skift Travel Podcast, Harris sits down with Skift CEO Rafat Ali to get a perspective on what it means for travel tech startups across the spectrum of maturity to be raising funding in this environment. This podcast was recorded before the Silicon Valley Bank and other bank meltdowns, which has added even more complexities to the already dicey tech startup fundraising world, and a new spotlight on venture capital world overall and its outsized role in the growth pathways startups take.

Parag Khanna is an author, geopolitical scientist and founder of Climate Alpha, an AI-powered analytics platform forecasting asset values and future-proof global real estate, as well as FutureMap, a data and scenario-based strategic advisory firm. Khanna, who has also spoken at Skift events, shares in this recent interview with Skift founder and CEO Rafat Ali his perspectives on travel, globalization and immigration and discusses a key theme from his latest book MOVE: Where People Are Going for a Better Future.

Hotel earnings season has just ended, with public hotel companies reporting their end of 2022 performances. In the latest Skift Podcast, our team covers the highlights, reviews the 2023 outlook, and pinpoints one of the most critical metrics to watch. The conversation will also bring up  topics and themes we'll focus on more in-depth at our all-day Skift Future of Lodging event, happening in London on March 29. "Analyst guidance for 2023 was robust, even after accounting for a likely economic slowdown in the second half of the year," said Pranavi Agarwal, the London-based Senior Research Analyst for Skift Research, in her discussion with Sean O'Neill, the Washington, D.C.-based Senior Hospitality Editor. One key theme of the brief discussion between Agarwal and O'Neill was how hotel groups may see a divergence in their performance this year as certain trends tend to favor some kinds of hotel portfolios over others. "Portfolios skewed to APAC [Asia Pacific] and lux will see the biggest uplift in 2023," Agarwal said. "Hyatt should really do well, while Choice said its domestic RevPAR [revenue per available room, a key metric] will be just 2 percent year-over-year in 2023."

Today, we're going to look at some of the future trends happening across hospitality and the big questions facing the sector as a preview for our Future of Lodging Forum happening in London on March 29th, 2023. Join Skift Head of Research Wouter Geerts and Skift Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O'Neill, in discussion with Skift Head of Programing Brian Quinn, as they preview the topics and themes on top of mind heading into this event. Learn more about the event at https://live.skift.com/skift-future-of-lodging-forum-2023/

India is projected to surpass China as the world's most populous country later this year, as China begins to decline and India's population growth shows no sign of slowing until 2064. That shift carries huge implications for travel across the globe, and has the potential to rewire the race for attracting global tourists around the world. Skift addressed this in its Megatrends 2023 package in the story India Becoming the New China in the Reordering of Asia Travel. For this episode of the Skift Travel Podcast, Skift Founder and CEO Rafat Ali is joined by Senior Research Analyst Varsha Arora and Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia, in a focused discussion on India's growth, the demographic and economic challenges before India could become as big a force as Chinese outbound travelers have become, what changes have come in the domestic tourism market during and post-covid, and what the global tourism community looking to attract Indian travelers has to keep in mind.  This podcast builds off the discussion Ali and Senior Research Analyst Seth Borko had at the Skift Megatrends event earlier this month about the seminal moment of demographic switch about to happen this year, where India will become the world's most populous nation overtaking China, estimated some time this April.

For this bonus episode of the Skift Travel Podcast, we turn to our colleagues at Airline Weekly for perspective on Southwest Airlines. As most of the traveling public knows, the airline had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad holiday season. The cancellation of 15,000-plus flights between Christmas and New Years will weigh on its fourth quarter results, but consumers' memories are short and the airline will survive. Edward Russell and Jay Shabat discuss. Plus, what European country does Eurocontrol's latest data show led the continent's air traffic recovery last year? Further Reading: European Airlines Could Face Steep Operational Challenges in 2023 by Jay Shabat Southwest's Meltdown Should Be a Technology Warning for Airlines by Justin Dawes

Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano took the stage at Skift Global Forum in September 2022 to discuss what the hotel giant had accomplished in 2022 and where it was headed in the coming year “I'm optimistic because we are a data driven company,” Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano told Skift's Sean ONeill. “Not withstanding all the very real headwinds in terms of inflationary environment, rising interest rates, sociopolitical unrest. We're just not seeing the impact yet in the data. We've had a great first two quarters of the year. When I look at the forward bookings through the end of the year, the resilience of travel is born out in that data.” It's not just bookings by guests that make Capuano optimistic, its property partners give it reason as well. “We announced during our first quarter earnings call we had signed more transactions globally than in any first quarter in our history,” he told the audience. “Then we replicated that in the second quarter. In many ways, those votes by the wallet of our partners are the most telling indication of our owner community's optimism about the pace of recovery.” Follow news about Marriott and the hotel business at https://skift.com/hotels Get daily updates about hotels deals around the world at https://dailylodgingreport.com/subscribe/

Skift founder Rafat Ali interviewed Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta via hologram Wednesday at Skift Global Forum East in Dubai. Nassetta said Hilton expects to organically develop its own new brands rather than chase costly acquisitions in part because “we don't want to have to fix other people's problems.” He said Hilton's brand portfolio more than doubled to 19 in the 15 years Nassetta has been at Hilton and they are all successful, although some are “a little bit early in gestation.” “We have designed these in a modern context around exactly what customers want and we built it out of the dust,” Nassetta said. “We built it with our own blood, sweat and tears rather than paying a big price. It's been great for our shareholders, infinite yields effectively by creating these, and creating brands that really resonate with our customer base.” Learn more about hotels at Skift.com/hotels. Read more about Hilton at Skift.com/tag/hilton.

Something shifted in the last two weeks on the zeitgeist about the use of artificial intelligence in our daily personal and professional lives.  The launch of the first large-scale, general purpose chatbot using OpenAI‘s GPT3 AI engine on November 30 has reenergized the whole tech industry all at once. Skift CEO Rafat Ali wrote a story about it, which will give you a good sense why. To get an understanding of why there is so much buzz about Generative AI — the sub-sector with larger AI world which includes creation of text, images, audio and video — and what this means for our daily lives, for the travel industry and even travelers, Ali talked to the best expert analyst and writer on it I know: David Mattin. He writes an excellent newsletter called New World Same Humans on trends, technology, and our shared future and has been doing a deep dive into Generative AI all this year with his writings. This is a fascinating conversation you would want to listen to from start to finish, to understand the implications of it for our industry and indeed our daily lived reality.

A lot of ground was covered during Peter Kern's appearance at Skift Global Forum in New York City on September 21. The vice chairman and CEO of Expedia Group gave his take on technology, micro-services, mergers and acquisitions, and outlined why the online travel agencies still only control around 20 percent of a “multi-trillion dollar” travel market. "There's huge opportunity," Kern says. "You just have to innovate the products and innovate the business model over time." And of course he (delicately) responded to comments made earlier at the forum by Barry Diller, the chairman and senior executive of both Expedia Group and IAC, that working from home was “kind of stupid” and “a crock,”while in discussion with Skift founder and CEO Rafat Ali. Listen now for the full conversation of the “Democratizing the Travel Ecosystem” session. Read more about Expedia on Skift. Get weekly updates about online travel by subscribing to our online travel newsletter.

"I'm really excited about the quality of the brand portfolio," IHG CEO Keith Barr said at Skift Global Forum. Barr goes on to describe the current realities of the hotel business: it's a real estate business at the end of the day, after all. But IHG has been hyper-focused on its brands and its franchise partners. "It's been great because there're such clearly defined brands that enable us to work with a number of opportunities," he told Skift's Sean O'Neill. Two weeks after this conversation, IHG announced its deal to market all-inclusive resort giant Iberostar. You can listen to the full conversation in this podcast. Read full coverage of IHG at https://skift.com/tag/ihg Read full coverage of the hotel industry at https://skift.com/hotels Get deeper insight into the business of hotels at https://dailylodgingreport.com

For this bonus episode of The Skift Travel Podcast, we turn to Dallas where we held our first in-person Skift Aviation Forum earlier this week. To begin the event, we invited American Airlines CEO Robert Isom to have a conversation conversation with Airline Weekly's Ned Russell about post-pandemic pattern changes and how his airline is preparing for the holiday season ahead. "One of the things that we're seeing though, is that demand is more spread out," Isom told the audience. "It's just really high, and at least from an airline perspective, we don't have the ability to actually peak and valley as much as we've had in the past." You can listen to the full conversation, below. You can also watch the interview on our YouTube channel. For more airline news, visit https://skift.com/airlines For deeper understanding of the aviation industry, subscribe to Airline Weekly.

“I'm going to bring you behind the tent, tell you what we're doing,” JetBlue Airways COO Joanna Geraghty said at Skift Global Forum earlier this fall.  In a conversation with Airline Weekly Editor Ned Russell, Geraghty laid out JetBlue's current challenges with labor, sustainable aviation fuel, integrating Spirit Airlines, and competing in major U.S. markets. She also discussed the airline's potential expansion in Europe, beyond it's current London flights.  “We just have a very challenging environment that we operate in, so we must make sure that we're providing a better level of resilience, whether that's more pilots in reserve, whether that's flying a little bit less, whether that's staffing up in some of our airports.”  Listen to Geraghty's full on-stage appearance, below.  Follow news about JetBlue on Skift. https://skift.com/tag/jetblue/ Follow all airline news at Skift. https://skift.com/airlines/

At at time when the travel industry is still grappling with a labor shortage, you have to think some companies in the sector are "labor hoarding," hanging on to workers that might have otherwise been downsized for costs savings or seasonality reasons, simply because of the fear of not being able to fill roles later. The continuing issue of delays and bottlenecks for the H1B visa program, which was a major feeder for tech talent in the U.S., must be giving some tech executives pause when contemplating layoffs, knowing that that supply of talent is not as easy to come by should demand for workers return.  On today's bonus podcast, we're joined by Skift editors and a Skift Research analyst to better understand what's happening in the tech sector and what it means for the travel industry. Some of the topics they discuss include: Tech headcount has grown during pandemic while travel has shrunk Lesson for travel is don't assume the 'boom' times of today will last forever Harder to reach sales contacts at tech firms Less business travel and meetings and conferences from tech companies VC slowdown could be possible as valuations of other firms dip Listen to the entire conversation here. For more insight into the business of travel, visit Skift Research.