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.
1
United’s New Routes Reveal Travel’s Next Bet
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko discuss what the expansion says about premium leisure demand, how new long-range narrowbody aircraft are changing route economics, and why Generator’s premium-hostel strategy points to a new opportunity in the squeezed mid-market hotel space.
46 min
2
Travel’s AI Reckoning Has Arrived
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down travel’s AI reckoning: what is paying off, what is still experimental, and why data, trust, and ROI now matter more than AI hype.
42 min
3
The State of Travel Is Getting Harder to Control
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko unpack two forces reshaping travel: the creator economy’s impact on hotel brands and Skift Research’s State of Travel 2026 report.
48 min
4
Why Every Major Hotel Brand Is Giving Money Bac...
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko explore what these stories reveal about the future of hotel ownership, climate adaptation, and heritage tourism.
41 min
5
What Earnings Season Reveals About Travel Right...
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko discuss how AI is changing travel distribution and what the latest results from Hilton, JetBlue, and Royal Caribbean say about the second half of the year.
40 min
6
We Graded Our Biggest 2026 Travel Megatrends
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko discuss what shifting passport rankings reveal about global influence, which travel megatrends have held up through the first half of the year, and why movie tourism continues to be a powerful force for destinations.
49 min
7
The New Economics of Travel: Fewer Tourists, Mo...
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko explore why the travel industry is shifting toward higher-value travelers, premium experiences, and a new definition of growth.
33 min
8
AI, Visa, and the New Battle for Travel Customers
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko explore how new competitors, artificial intelligence, and changing traveler behavior are rewriting the rules for travel companies—and why these seemingly separate stories all point to the same shift happening across the industry.
35 min
9
Are Hotel Brands Worth It Anymore?
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko explore why independent hotels are becoming a more realistic option, how technology is changing the franchise equation, and why new Skift Research suggests consumers—and AI—may no longer see meaningful differences between many hotel brands.
43 min
10
The World Cup's Most Unexpected Winner: America
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko discuss the Knicks' championship, sports tourism, viral European road trips across America, and why the World Cup may be reshaping global perceptions of the United States in real time.
38 min
11
$3.4 Billion Is Pouring Into Travel Startups. H...
Seth Borko and venture capitalist Gilad Berenstein discuss travel startup funding, hotel robotics, the future of travel distribution, and the race to own the AI agent that could eventually plan and book your trips.
50 min
12
Hotels Tried to Cut Out Expedia. Here's What Ha...
Seth Borko and Sean O'Neill discuss the biggest lessons from Skift's Data + AI Summit and revisit a decade of hotel direct-booking strategy.
47 min
13
Travel’s AI Problem Is Bigger Than Most Compani...
30 min
14
Airbnb Is Becoming a Real OTA
Sarah and Seth Borko break down why Airbnb increasingly looks like a full-service OTA, what Expedia’s latest acquisition says about the future of travel commerce, and how AI, creators, and social shopping are reshaping travel discovery.
34 min
15
America’s Travel Problem Is Getting Worse
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down the growing perception problem facing the U.S., the pressure hotel owners are feeling from major brands, and why TikTok may become a major player in travel booking and discovery.
42 min
16
Trump's Tourism Envoy: Inside Nick Adams' Plan ...
America has never had the equivalent of a tourism minister — until now. In March, President Trump created the role of Special Presidential Envoy for American Tourism, Exceptionalism, and Values, and handed it to Nick Adams: conservative commentator, self-styled "alpha male," and the loudest pitchman U.S. travel has ever had.
12 min
17
Spirit Airlines Collapsed. What Happens to Budg...
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down what killed Spirit, what it means for budget travel in the U.S., and why Skift Research found that travelers don’t necessarily return to destinations simply because they loved them.
33 min
18
The Fight for Control of Online Travel Has Started
Seth Borko and Dennis Schaal break down Booking’s earnings, the Capital One–Hopper deal, and what it all means for the future of online travel.
46 min
19
How TV and AI Are Reshaping Travel Demand
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down how culture and technology are changing who controls visibility, demand, and bookings in travel.
34 min
20
The Crisis Crushing America’s Hotel Owners
Hotel brands are winning while owners face rising costs and softer demand. Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down the growing pressure on hotel owners and what it means for the future of the franchise model.
35 min
21
Why Flights Stay Cheap While Travel Costs Rise
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down the economic forces driving up travel costs — and what it means for travelers, hotel owners, and the future of the industry.
42 min
22
What’s Really Changing Inside the Airline Industry
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down what these changes mean for how the industry operates — and how travelers choose where to go.
38 min
23
3-Hour Airport Lines and a System Under Pressure
Sarah Kopit and Lex Haris break down a week where multiple pressures hit U.S. travel at once — and what it reveals about the system’s ability to handle stress.
30 min
24
The Iran War Broke More Than the Middle East
In this episode of the Skift Travel Podcast, Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down the latest travel fallout and explain why Latin America may be the most important market to watch next.
36 min
25
Oil Hit $100. What Happens to Travel Now?
In this episode of the Skift Travel Podcast, Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko unpack what higher fuel prices mean for airline economics, how this week’s travel chaos felt in real life, and why new Skift Research suggests Gen Z may force the industry to rethink some big assumptions.
43 min