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PODCAST

Skift Daily Travel Briefing

Everything you need to know about the business of travel today. Each episode covers new travel stories from Skift"s editorial team. Listen to the latest developments at hotels, airlines, destinations, online booking sites, and more. Published Tuesday through Friday by 5am ET. For ongoing coverage, please visit Skift.com/news.

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All Episodes

3:59

India Splits, Marriott Scales Up, Airlines Slim Down

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/11/06

India’s travel industry shows two sides of the same boom, Marriott doubles down on luxury and loyalty ahead of 2026, and American Airlines joins the wave of corporate layoffs reshaping aviation. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy unpacks what’s driving confidence in India, how Marriott is positioning itself for the next travel cycle, and why airlines are getting leaner — and more premium — by design. Articles Referenced: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IndiGo Takes a Hit, IHCL Shines: What

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4:19

Driverless Rides, Debit Rewards, and Tripadvisor’s...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/11/05

From driverless rides at airports to a surprising debit-card comeback and a major consolidation at Tripadvisor, today’s travel headlines cover innovation, reinvention, and strategy shifts shaping the industry. Sarah Dandashy breaks down Waymo’s growing footprint in mobility, United’s push to reach younger travelers, and Tripadvisor’s move to merge with Viator amid investor pressure.Articles Referenced: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Self-Driving Cars’ Hazy Travel Proposition Gets Clearer United Airlines

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3:55

Airlines Sound the Alarm, Vegas Stumbles, Luxury Ascends

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/11/04

Airline CEOs head to the White House as the government shutdown grounds more than just planes, Las Vegas faces an ongoing slump despite big events on the horizon, and the ultra-luxury segment continues rewriting hospitality’s rulebook. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy unpacks the growing pressure on Washington, the stakes in Sin City, and the world where five-star isn’t enough anymore. Articles Referenced: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Airline CEOs Went to the White House. Here’s What They

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3:57

Google Costs Kayak, Hotels Go Data-Driven, Navan Hits...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/31

Hotel pricing turns from instinct to algorithm, Kayak blames Google for a $457 million hit, and Navan makes its Wall Street debut. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy recaps the biggest travel business stories of the week — from AI reshaping hotel revenue strategy to Google’s growing grip on discovery and the next big test for corporate travel tech. Articles Referenced: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Navan Priced IPO at $25 Per Share and Is Slated to Go Public Today The New Science of Hotel

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3:56

Shutdown Strains Skies, JetBlue Ups Its Game, Booking...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/30

Air traffic controllers feel the strain as the U.S. government shutdown delays paychecks, JetBlue makes a bold move into first class, and Booking’s CEO isn’t sweating ChatGPT’s travel ambitions. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy covers the mounting stress in America’s control towers, the premium play shaking up the skies, and why Booking believes AI won’t replace its booking engine anytime soon. Articles Referenced: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Stress Among Air Traffic Controllers Mounts as They Miss

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4:18

U.S. Expands Facial Scans, Travel Lobby Pushes Fixes,...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/29

From border security to brand strategy, today’s Skift Daily Briefing with Sarah Dandashy covers the shifting face of travel. The U.S. moves to expand facial recognition for nearly all international travelers, a new coalition pushes to fix visa delays and airports before the World Cup, and Marriott reveals what travelers really want in their next stay. Articles Referenced: ⁠U.S. to Expand Facial Recognition For International Travelers U.S. Travel’s New Policy Arm Pushes Airport, Visa Fixes

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4:48

Hotels Get Smarter, Cars Win Digital and Alaska Air...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/28

Hotels are ditching instinct for data, car rental giants are quietly winning the digital war, and Alaska Airlines faces turbulence after an IT meltdown. On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, our new host, Sarah Dandashy, breaks down the latest shifts in hotel pricing strategy, the surprising power dynamics in online car rentals, and how tech failures are redefining airline reliability. Articles Referenced: The New Science of Hotel Pricing Car Rental Companies Are Winning the Digital War with

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3:49

Southwest Billion-Dollar Boost, Tripadvisor’s Turmoil...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/24

Southwest Airlines expects up to $1 billion in new earnings when it launches extra legroom seats next January, marking a major shift from its signature open seating model, and is also exploring airport lounges by 2026. Activist investor Starboard Value is urging Tripadvisor to sell TheFork, improve Viator’s performance, and boost profitability, even hinting the company could be an attractive acquisition target. Meanwhile, G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip warned that the travel industry is in

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3:29

Hilton’s Optimism, Navan’s AI Clients and Airbnb’s...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/22

Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta predicts a new growth phase for the U.S. hotel sector, citing easing inflation, stable tax policy, and upcoming events like the World Cup, though corporate travel remains below pre-pandemic levels. Navan, a corporate travel and expense company, counts major AI firms OpenAI, Perplexity, and Anthropic among its clients as it prepares for a $960 million IPO and a $6.45 billion valuation. Meanwhile, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky believes AI tools like ChatGPT won’t replace online

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3:42

Wyndham’s New Perks, Hotel Cost Cuts and...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/22

Wyndham rolled out a $95/year Wyndham Rewards Insider subscription for U.S. customers, offering at least 10% off rates at 8,000+ properties (excluding Echo Suites), automatic Gold status, and flight discounts up to 15% international and 5% domestic to keep the brand relevant between stays. Major hotel chains head into a tough earnings season after two straight quarters of RevPAR declines through September, with economy hotels down 3% year-over-year and analysts watching for further corporate

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3:43

AWS’s Travel Turbulence, Brand USA’s New Push and...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/21

Alphabet’s Waymo has launched Waymo for Business, a corporate travel program that helps companies manage mobility programs and budgets through a centralized portal, competing with Uber for Business and Lyft Business. Meanwhile, Brand USA unveiled its new “America the Beautiful” campaign aimed at reviving inbound tourism after funding cuts and a decline in international visitors. Finally, an Amazon Web Services outage revealed how deeply AWS infrastructure underpins the global travel industry,

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3:39

World Cup Tax Hikes, Southwest Tries AI and United...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/17

The 2026 World Cup could deliver record hotel occupancy and big economic gains across host cities, but several (Toronto, Vancouver, and Kansas City, KS) are raising visitor taxes to help cover staging costs. Southwest is moving cautiously on AI—prioritizing safety, compliance, and reliability—yet sees promise in conversational tools that deliver “just-in-time” information and more intuitive service. United is signaling loyalty program changes that it says could double profits by decade’s end as it

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3:42

Kayak’s AI, Spain vs. USA and the OTA Agentic Crunch

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/16

Kayak launched AI Mode, a ChatGPT-powered trip planner that taps Kayak’s data to return contextual results across hundreds of providers—arriving just as holiday flight searches rise 10%. Global tourism demand is diverging, with Spain booming and U.S. inbound softening, yet both are leaning into live tourism for 2026: Brand USA is promoting ahead of the FIFA World Cup, while Spain touts draws like Bad Bunny’s residency and upcoming solar eclipses. Meanwhile, travel companies are racing to

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4:03

AI’s Permission Test, America’s Passport Drop and...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/15

Skift CEO Rafat Ali argues OTAs face a “permission to remain relevant” test as travel shifts into its third transformation—from search-and-book to AI agents that can bypass intermediaries entirely. The U.S. passport has fallen to 12th on the Henley Passport Index, with visa-free access to 180 destinations and recent reciprocity moves (like Brazil ending visa-free entry) contributing to the slide, while Singapore, South Korea, and Japan lead. India’s Leela Palaces Hotels & Resorts will make its first

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3:42

AI vs. OTAs, Delta’s Loyalty Windfall and Navan’s IPO...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/14

An analyst argues Booking.com and other OTAs are well-equipped to withstand AI challengers like ChatGPT and Gemini thanks to deep behavioral data and robust payments networks, even as Booking acknowledges real disruption risks. Delta posted record Q3 revenue powered by its loyalty engine and a 12% YoY jump in American Express proceeds—$2B in the quarter and $7.4B year-to-date—with leadership leaning into high-income travelers who drive ~95% of revenue. Corporate travel platform Navan filed to IPO at

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3:42

Delta’s Record Quarter, Hotels.com’s New Rewards and...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/10

Delta posted record Q3 revenue on strong premium demand and loyalty growth, with profit up 11% and American Express co-brand proceeds up 12%, a sharp turnaround after tariff uncertainty earlier in the year led it to pull 2025 guidance. Hotels.com launched “Save Your Way,” letting Expedia Group OneKey members take instant discounts or bank rewards for later across Hotels.com, Expedia, or Vrbo—a simple, flexible perk proving especially popular with business travelers. The Michelin Guide expanded its

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3:46

Magic Kingdom Math, Messi Meets Meliá and Offsetting...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/09

Disney is raising select ticket prices—e.g., Disneyland’s top one-day tier to $224 and Disney World’s peak one-day to $209 for Nov–Dec 2026—while simultaneously rolling out discounts like a new three-day park hopper deal for California residents. Meliá Hotels International will manage Lionel Messi’s MiM Hotels from November 1, aligning with its “vacation axis” growth strategy and echoing its athlete-led Zel brand with Rafael Nadal. Intrepid Travel is scrapping carbon offsets in favor of a $2 million

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3:36

Airbnb’s Hotel Push, AirPods’ Travel Test and Airport...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/08

Airbnb’s latest job postings—spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa—show an aggressive push into hotels, with roles focused on supply acquisition and senior market management in cities like Berlin, Barcelona, and Sydney. Testing Apple’s AirPods Live Translation on real-world tours and events revealed natural, eye-contact-friendly conversations but also delays and occasional glitches—useful today, likely better tomorrow. A week into the U.S. government shutdown, staffing

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3:44

ChatGPT’s Travel Apps, Hilton’s New Brand and Kyoto’s...

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/07

OpenAI is turning ChatGPT into an app platform, with travel brands like Expedia and Booking.com embedding apps directly into chat so users can start trip planning in natural language and receive bookable options without extra downloads. Hilton unveiled its 25th brand, the Outset Collection, aimed at upscale independent hotels, with more than 60 owner conversations underway and the first property slated to open in November. Meanwhile, Kyoto will impose Japan’s highest hotel tax starting next

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3:49

Testing AI, Riding F1 and Restarting India-China Flights

Skift Daily Travel Briefing ·

2025/10/03

Hotel leaders say AI is showing promise in low-risk, measurable areas like contact centers, and IHG’s 400 hotels in China even use service robots, but many brands still aren’t ready for AI-driven search marketing or distribution—and executives doubt robots would survive U.S. guests. Asia’s “live tourism” surge continues, with events like the Singapore Grand Prix boosting branding and hotel performance—Hilton finds 40% of APAC travelers would plan trips around events (60% already have), and STR shows

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1,093 results

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