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
Travel Prices Are Surging. Can Demand Keep Up?
U.S. airfares are up nearly 19%, but passenger volumes are essentially flat. Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko examine what the latest travel data reveals about pricing power, consumer spending, and the industry's outlook for 2027.
40 min
2
Travel's $100 Billion Opportunity Is Being Over...
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down new Skift Research on older travelers, premium spending, and the next decade of retirement travel. They also discuss shifting transatlantic travel demand, why Canadians are choosing Europe over the U.S., and the challenges destinations face in attracting visitors beyond traditional tourism hotspots. Plus, rising airfare costs and the latest airline and hotel trends.
45 min
3
AI Agents Are Here. Travel Isn't Ready.
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko test whether AI agents can actually complete everyday purchases, and discover why the next battle in travel distribution may be over who can accept an agent's booking.
35 min
4
Andrew Zimmern on Why Travel Needs Trust in the...
Andrew Zimmern joins Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko to discuss how AI, social media and the creator economy are changing the way travelers discover the world.
59 min
5
Growth Under Pressure: The Decisions Hotel Bran...
Recorded live at Skift Global Forum 2026, Jeremy Kressman talks with Heather Balsley, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at IHG Hotels & Resorts, and Peter Manoogian, Partner at ZS, about hotel owner profitability, conversions and the changing economics of hotel growth.
15 min
6
AI Is Here. Now Travel Has to Figure Out Who to...
Recorded live at Skift Global Forum, Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko recap the biggest conversations from three days in New York, including AI agents, autonomous vehicles, Airbnb’s push into hotels, hotel owner economics and Prince Harry’s focus on destination sustainability.
29 min
7
The $100 Billion Travel Market Everyone Underes...
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko discuss Skift Research’s new Silver Tsunami report and the nearly $100 billion U.S. retirees are expected to spend on travel in 2026.
36 min
8
Premium Is Becoming Table Stakes for Travel. No...
In this special episode of the Skift Travel Podcast, brought to you by ZS Associates, Jeremy Kressmann, Vice President, Skift Studio, sits down with Alex Trusca, Associate Principal, ZS Associates, to unpack why premiumization is emerging as a broader commercial strategy across travel.
15 min
9
Travel’s New Access Divide
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko reflect on 25 years since 9/11 and how the attacks reshaped modern travel, from TSA and airport security to PreCheck, Clear, and the airport gate experience.
39 min
10
Fake AI Hotel Videos Are Coming for Travel
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down two travel distribution stories that are really about trust.
50 min
11
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
12
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
13
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
14
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
15
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
16
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
17
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
18
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
19
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
20
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
21
$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
22
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
23
Travel’s AI Problem Is Bigger Than Most Compani...
30 min
24
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
25
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