The World Cup Travel Matrix
Who lifted the trophy for the travel industry's World Cup? Behold Skift's winners, losers, floppers, and the freeloaders.
Sarah Kopit is the Editor-in-Chief of Skift, where she oversees editorial content and also co-hosts the Skift Travel Podcast. Sarah is a Bloomberg alum, where she ran breaking news operations in the Americas, a recovering attorney and a University of Michigan graduate.
Skift Newsletters
Happy Birthday, America
If my algorithm is to be believed, the U.S. is going into the long weekend on a high, perhaps despite the Trump Effect.
GMH Hotels: Hotel Owners Are Dropping the Big Brands
On this week's Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast: Hotels Edition, Sarah Dandashy and Steve Turk are joined by Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit to break down a question that is…
Going it Alone: Why Hotel Owners Are Dropping The Big Brands
Franchise agreements, like casinos, tend to favor the house. Now, as a generation of hotel contracts begin to expire, some owners are deciding to walk away from the table.
The World Cup’s Most Unexpected Winner: America
The 2026 World Cup was supposed to be a story about soccer. Instead, it became a story about America.
Saudi Tourism Chief Hamidaddin to Leave Role as Kingdom Rewrites Its Tourism Ambitions
Saudi Arabia's tourism chief is out and the giga-projects are being scaled back. The Kingdom’s tourism mission may be "unchanged," but is being unmistakably revised.
Travel’s AI Problem Is Bigger Than Most Companies Realize
Sarah Kopit and Adriana Lee break down why the travel industry may not actually be ready for AI despite the rush to adopt it.
Travel’s Top AI Operators
The travel industry has spent three years talking about artificial intelligence. In the summer of 2026, we’re finally building with it.
Airbnb Is Recruiting Creators to Build Out Its Experiences Business
Content creators solve a problem Airbnb has been chasing for years — getting locals to book experiences in their own cities.
Airbnb Is Becoming a Real OTA
Airbnb's summer release made one thing unmistakable: the company is no longer content selling just stays and quirky local experiences, and its expansion into rental cars, grocery delivery, mainstream landmark tours, and a bigger hotels push puts it on a direct collision course with