Travel's Reopening and Coronavirus Recovery

Don’t discount the need for travel agents in the future of travel. Two recent surveys show Americans increasingly want to utilize a travel advisor’s services for post-pandemic vacationing.

The media may be spinning a tale of increased nationalism, but that's not what's actually happening. The travel industry's focus must stay on the world's shifting human mobility patterns where it can play a huge role and reap the benefits.

Will the industry seize this historic moment to go beyond discourse, and rebuild in a way that puts communities first?

As Covid continues to show, timing is everything when reopening for tourism. Will the elected party get behind Canada's travel industry until the uncertainty fades, or will more businesses collapse?

A cooled-off construction market for hotels in the U.S. gives owners an opportunity to charge even higher rates during the recovery thanks to less supply in the market. But Marriott needs to show shareholders signs of growth. Hello, Asia and Europe.

David Kong took Best Western into a new era of multiple brands across a variety of price points. The next CEO has to take the reins and throttle the company out of an uncertain pandemic recovery.

No, the Trump International Hotel in Washington isn’t worth $400 million. But there are a lot of investors waiting on the sidelines to park capital in just about any available asset — a classic example of the laws of supply and demand.

In Skift’s top stories this week, numerous travel CEOs express pessimism about a full recovery of corporate travel, a Bill Gates-owned firm becomes the majority stakeholder in Four Seasons Hotels, and Las Vegas emerges as the U.S.' most popular business travel destination.

It is hard to be optimistic about fall hotel performance for companies like Marriott and Hilton — unless the absence of business travel is somehow offset by higher-than-expected leisure travel.

Major hotel companies like Marriott and Hilton want franchisees to think bigger is better in terms of signing a branding deal. Standard International wants to show you can stay independent and punch above your weight — but having cool factor and financial backup still helps.