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Sean O'Neill

Sean O’Neill is Skift's Senior Hospitality Editor. Sean's forte is reporting, and he's broken multiple industry scoops. Sean has also received praise as an event moderator, having interviewed the CEOs of major hotel groups such as Marriott, Hilton, and IHG on stage. He writes analysis pieces that pinpoint industry trends, and he profiles rising industry leaders. In his personal life, someone should stop him before he starts another home improvement project.

Online Travel

Expedia Still Bullish on Orbitz Despite Missteps

In the long-run, Expedia will have gained by acquiring Orbitz because of its brand recognition, effective loyalty program, and list of corporate deals. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is especially optimistic about taking Orbitz's private label functionality and bringing it to the flagship Expedia brand later this year.
Sean O'Neill |
Online Travel

Flight Metasearch Analysis: Why Are Sites Slow to Add Instant Booking?

We have the technology, as they used to say on TV's "The Six Million Dollar Man." We have the capability to make booking flights on mobile better than it was before. Better... stronger... faster. But short-sighted airline business strategies seem to be holding back the hot price-comparison companies of the hour -- Momondo, Kayak, and Skyscanner -- from offering direct, or instant, bookings of flights.
Sean O'Neill |
sabre
Airlines

Sabre's New CEO Wants to Instill an Accountability Culture

In January there was a changing of the guard at Sabre. New CEO Sean Menke thinks his background as a former airline CEO gives him insight into what airlines want from Sabre in new products. But he'll need to up his company's product execution and delivery if he wants to maintain market share, according to employee complaints.
Sean O'Neill |
skyscanner ceo gareth williams
Online Travel

Skift Forum Europe: Skyscanner's CEO Is Looking Beyond Scale

Skyscanner CEO Gareth Williams is the rare Western executive to have played his cards right in China, in light of the successful recent sale to Chinese giant Ctrip of the price-comparison company he co-founded. Williams' next bets for growth are on voice-activated Internet search, instant booking for airlines, and mobile-first transactions in Asia.
Sean O'Neill |
mercator Accelya warburg pincus airline services
Airlines

Airline Services Leaders Accelya and Mercator Announce Merger

Piece by piece, private equity firm Warburg Pincus is building Mercator into a rival to Sabre and Amadeus -- two travel technology providers that provide overlapping software and operational services to commercial airlines (and that recently went public after restructurings by buyout experts). Expect the Mercator merger with Accelya to spur an acquisition spree.
Sean O'Neill |
Online Travel

5 New Travel Startups From India That Have Momentum

India's public company stars MakeMyTrip and Yatra get all the attention in travel. But several startups have the execution chops and the support of experts like Sequoia Capital and Amadeus to thrive in providing services to the country's online population, now numbering more than 400 million.
Sean O'Neill |