Coronavirus Travel News

Under Ed Bastian, Delta Air Lines has taken a prudent approach to managing through this pandemic. The airline is not expecting a recovery for about two years.

Las Vegas casino resorts are seeking creative alternative revenue streams while convention travel is bottomed out, but it's highly unlikely anything will match the dollars associated with a mammoth, multi-day event.

The lifestyle hotel sector is increasingly crowded with bigger brands, but Dream Hotel Group is one of the few genuinely boutique players left on the field. Independence may be its trump card for brand identity moving forward."

This week in travel, Skift covered how the vacation rentals' advantage over hotels during the pandemic has all but disappeared, that climate change will be travel's challenge now and after the pandemic is history, and how Delta is leveraging its SkyMiles program.

Many U.S. airlines will change after the pandemic. But JetBlue may alter its strategy even more than most. Expect JetBlue to continue to use this crisis to gain more of a nationwide footprint.

Even if recent occupancy gains are tied to a blip in the holiday calendar, Chinese hotels continue to see a coronavirus economic recovery pattern that is the envy of the world.

Independent hoteliers with smaller back offices could find a third-party company like Blue Canary useful in mapping out heightened health and safety protocols. But it isn't clear if bigger brands with compliance departments will ever find need for outside help on cleaning.

The CEO of Spirit Airlines is hopeful the carrier can get back to 2019 capacity levels by the end of next year. His airline focuses more on leisure customers than most, so maybe it is possible. But it still seems to be a far-fetched goal.

The substantial decline in new Covid cases didn't seem to give travel a much-needed boost. In August, 36 percent of Americans traveled, only one percentage point higher than in July.

Voco is yet another branded opportunity for independent hoteliers looking for increased distribution, but IHG has to find ways to make the brand stand out in the crowded upscale, lifestyle hotel space.