Sean O'Neill

Sean O’Neill is Skift’s Senior Hospitality Editor. Sean’s forte is reporting, and he’s broken multiple hotel industry scoops. He has also conducted 1:1 interviews on stage with the CEOs of Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, and Wyndham.

Hotels

Video: Why AccorHotels CEO Wants Even More Brands

"Anybody telling me you should be limiting the number of brands, I think it's bullshit," said AccorHotels CEO Sebastien Bazin at Skift Forum Europe. We wouldn't be surprised to see him expand the hotel giant's portfolio of brands to at least 40, up from today's 32.

Sean O'Neill | 8 years ago

Online Travel

Airwallex Receives $80 Million for Payments Tech: Travel Startup Funding This Week

The past week has seen remarkable fundings of a cross-border payments company, Airwallex, a luggage maker, Away, and a social travel recommendation service, Fever. Of all of these, "fever" has the name that best captures the frothy valuations.

Sean O'Neill | 8 years ago

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Online Travel

Online Travel Players Boost Accessibility for Travelers With Disabilities

People who want to select a non-smoking room are shown options at most booking sites. The industry needs to be just as helpful for travelers with specific needs for mobility, hearing, or visual challenges. Thankfully several online booking sites are trying to help.

Sean O'Neill | 8 years ago

Online Travel

TourRadar Receives $50 Million for Multi-Day Tour Sales: Travel Startup Funding This Week

TourRadar stands apart from other online sellers of activities with its rare, leading focus on multiday tours. Meanwhile, Triptease, the hotel direct booking specialist, and Chowbotics, a maker of food service robots, also announced funding.

Sean O'Neill | 8 years ago

Online Travel

Video: Booking CMO Says Brand Marketing Has Limits

TV ads can be the hippest type of marketing. But the personal brand of Booking.com's chief marketing officer Pepijn Rijvers is tied up in a data-first approach that instead emphasizes paid ads in search engines.

Sean O'Neill | 8 years ago

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Online Travel

Interview: Oracle Hospitality’s New Boss Looks to the Cloud for Growth

Oracle Hospitality is the market leader in selling hotel tech software. But the company has made some missteps. It is adjusting course, and two weeks ago it appointed a new top boss, Greg Webb. The industry will watch his moves closely.

Sean O'Neill | 8 years ago

Online Travel

Ad Tech Firm Urban Airship Raises $25 Million: Travel Startup Funding This Week

If you think you've been getting a lot of push notifications from travel companies, you ain't seen nothing yet. Companies like Urban Airship are aiming to make the most of this path for reaching travelers.

Sean O'Neill | 8 years ago

Business Travel

Indian Online Travel Agency Cleartrip Acquires Flyin

Cleartrip is the second-place competitor against MakeMyTrip in India's online travel war. Its acquisition of Flyin signals a shift in its focus to the Middle Eastern market, where the price wars are less fierce.

Sean O'Neill | 8 years ago

Online Travel

Activities Tech Provider Peek Raises $23 Million

The latest investment comes just in time for Peek, a maker of enterprise software. Its rivals FareHarbor and Bokun have recently been snapped up by larger acquirers Booking Holdings and TripAdvisor. Clocks are ticking.

Sean O'Neill | 8 years ago

Online Travel

Hotel Tech Consolidation Ramps Up With This Software Merger

Industry pressure in the hotel technology sector is leading to more technology roll-ups. Expect this to be one of many announcements in the next 18 months.

Sean O'Neill | 8 years ago