The Skift Travel Podcast

Get the latest from the most-trusted travel industry news source.

Skift sits down with creatives, executives, and entrepreneurs from across travel to discuss their insights and perspectives on the hows and whys of travelers’ habits, industry patterns, and the seismic changes happening across the industry.

Listen for exclusive conversations with travel leaders and Skift's own in-house editors and analysts.

Read the latest news every day at skift.com/news

News
Business News
Society & Culture
126
Why Accor Had No Choice But To Change
On today's episode of the Skift Podcast, we're hearing from AccorHotels CEO Sébastien Bazin. You may recognize his name from dozens of stories about acquisitions the company has made in recent years. At Skift Forum Europe in Berlin, Bazin spoke to Skift ...
28 min
127
Travel Brands Want to Be Experience Platforms
On this sponsored episode of the Skift podcast, we're diving into the Skift Megatrend: Travel Brands Want To Become Experience Platforms. We’re taking a look at how travel brands are expanding beyond what they’re known for doing in travel into new segmen...
33 min
128
Bonus Analyst Sessions: Exploring the Vacation ...
There is a tech arms race underway in the vacation rental market. As this space enters a new phase of growth and scale, the need for tech solutions is real, but not every company will succeed. Understand the vacation rental tech stack, its major players,...
21 min
129
The Airbnb Threat
This episode of the Skift podcast goes all in on Airbnb and the competitive threat it poses to traditional hotel companies and booking sites. Leading the discussion is Skift Hospitality Editor Deanna Ting, joined by Executive Editor Dennis Schaal and Ski...
40 min
130
Bonus Analyst Sessions: Hotel Owner Operating a...
Hotel owners have their hands full with choosing the appropriate operating model, ensuring their properties are being run efficiently and effectively, and remaining innovative and thoughtful. Doing all of this in an increasingly complex environment can b...
19 min
131
Bonus Analyst Sessions: Venture Investment Tren...
This was a record year of funding for travel startups. It's exciting for travel to be in the spotlight, but it also means that founders and their VC backers see a field full of market openings, oftentimes at the expense of established incumbents. Travel ...
26 min
132
Megatrends Defining Travel in 2018
On this episode of the Skift podcast, we explore the biggest trends that will define travel in 2018, with audio from one of our annual Megatrends events. Skift experts discuss topics including the way travel brands are turning into experience platforms, ...
45 min
133
Bonus Analyst Sessions: 2018 Global Travel Mark...
There is room for optimism heading into 2018 for the global travel industry with numerous indicators pointing to a solid year of macroeconomic growth. In this Analyst Session we discuss our expectations for the global travel market, as a supplement to ou...
14 min
134
Finding Solutions for the Overtourism Dilemma
On this episode of the Skift podcast, we're tackling the issue of overtourism with some ideas for addressing the problem. Our guest is Megan Epler Wood, director of the International Sustainable Tourism Initiative at the Harvard School of Public Health. ...
31 min
135
Bonus Analyst Sessions: Outlook On Hotel Direct...
With more hotel booking options becoming available to travelers, hotel brands must consider their distribution approach and direct booking strategies. This Analyst Session discusses hotel distribution, with a particular focus on direct booking. As a supp...
36 min
136
Bonus Analyst Sessions: Ctrip and the China Onl...
As China's travel market continues to grow and Chinese travelers are increasingly booking online, Ctrip and the country's travel industry are poised for high growth. This Analyst Session offers a recap of Skift Research's report, A Deep Dive Into Ctrip a...
58 min
137
How London is Powering a Travel Startup Cluster
On this sponsored episode of the Skift podcast, we’re talking about what destinations can do to better forge alliances between tourism and tech. Our guests come from both worlds: London and Partners innovation relationship manager Danielle Sheerin joins ...
53 min
138
What to Expect From the New Expedia
Anyone who follows travel knows that Expedia has been making a lot of news lately. Now-former CEO Dara Khosrowshahi left to take the top job at Uber, and Expedia promptly promoted its CFO Mark Okerstrom to the chief executive position. At Skift, we've be...
37 min
139
What Next-Level Hotels Have in Common
On today's episode of the Skift Podcast, we're hearing from hotel experts who make a living helping travelers find standout properties. Our guests are Claus Sendlinger, CEO and founder of Design Hotels, and James Lohan and Tamara Heber-Percy, the founder...
30 min
140
Bonus Analyst Sessions: The State of Destinatio...
This analyst call discusses the current state of destination marketing, with a particular focus on current and developing content marketing, digital advertising and data analytics strategies. Destination marketing is a changing landscape. Technological i...
45 min
141
InterContinental Hotels Group CEO on Customers ...
Our guest on today's mini-episode of the Skift Podcast is Richard Solomons, the soon-to-retire CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group. He spoke at Skift Forum Europe this year and joined us backstage in the Skift Take Studio to discuss how IHG is trying to...
17 min
142
Travel Search, Bargain Hunting and the Future o...
On today's episode of the Skift Podcast, we're talking about the way consumers comparison shop for travel. Our guests are executives from some of the top metasearch companies in the world: Trivago managing director Johannes Thomas, Kayak CEO Steve Hafner...
47 min
143
Norwegian Air CEO on Flying Cheap and Long-Haul
On today's mini-episode of the Skift Podcast, we're talking about disruption in the airline industry. Our guest is Bjorn Kjos, the CEO of Norwegian Air. He spoke about low-cost transatlantic flights, competition from legacy carriers, the airline’s growth...
11 min
144
Global Tourism in a Time of Volatility
On today's episode of the Skift Podcast, we're talking about volatility in the world, and how the travel industry deals with it. Our guests are Olivier Jager, CEO and co-founder of ForwardKeys, which compiles tourism data based on reservations transactio...
35 min
145
What Hotels Are Doing to Win Your Loyalty
On today’s episode of the Skift podcast, we’re talking hotel loyalty: who’s doing it right, who’s still trying, and how it is continuing to evolve. Our guest is Gary Leff, founder of the View from the Wing blog. We also have insights from Best Western Ho...
38 min
146
Why Flights Are So Cheap (And You Might Hate Yo...
On this episode of the Skift podcast, we’re talking about why bargain-priced airfare is all over the news, the true cost of cheap flights, the reason airlines are fighting to capture price-sensitive travelers, and what they’re charging for instead. Our g...
29 min
147
What Cruise Lines Are Doing to Win a New Genera...
On this episode of the Skift podcast, we're hearing from leaders of the world’s two largest cruise lines on attracting newcomers to cruising, appealing to millennials, and considering the needs of Generation Z. The episode features portions of separate c...
23 min
148
How New York City Tourism Changes the City
On this episode of the Skift Podcast, we're talking about tourism growth in New York City, the role of gentrification, the new ways that visitors are experiencing the city, and what kind of growth is sustainable. Our guest is Skift reporter Andrew Sheiva...
32 min
149
Bonus Analyst Sessions: Consolidation and Tech ...
While the vacation rental industry is becoming more popular among consumers, particularly in urban areas, behind the scenes three waves of consolidation are hitting the sector. In this Skift Research Analyst Session we discuss the global vacation rentals...
49 min
150
The Evolution of Accessible Travel
On this episode of the Skift podcast, we're talking about the legal and technological changes that have made travel more accessible to people with disabilities, the opportunities that the travel industry has been missing, and what lies ahead for the disa...
40 min