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
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
2
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
3
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
4
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
5
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
6
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
7
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
8
$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
9
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
10
Travel’s AI Problem Is Bigger Than Most Compani...
30 min
11
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
12
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
13
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
14
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
15
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
16
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
17
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
18
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
19
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
20
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
21
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
22
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
23
War, Airspace, and Oil: The Risks Facing Travel...
Conflict in the Middle East is once again raising questions about the resilience of global travel. In this episode of the Skift Travel Podcast, Seth Borko is joined by Skift Airlines Editor Gordon Smith to examine how escalating geopolitical tensions could ripple through the aviation industry.
43 min
24
The Hidden Risks Hotel Owners Never Planned For
Hotels are facing political pressures they were never built to handle. In this episode, Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko examine how immigration enforcement, protests, and franchise agreements are forcing hotel owners into impossible decisions.
41 min
25
Marriott Is Worried About AI. Should They Be?
Marriott expects 35% growth in co-branded credit card fees next year. At the same time, it’s warning investors that AI could disrupt its entire loyalty ecosystem. In this episode of the Skift Travel Podcast, Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down what’s happening at the intersection of loyalty, artificial intelligence, and geopolitics.
32 min