Future of Lodging

Holiday Inn Express is still the bread and butter at IHG, but newer brands like Avid and Voco are vaulting up the charts to account more for future expansion at the company.

Skift has long pointed out that the lines are blurring among formerly separate categories in hospitality. The move to hybrid, or blended hospitality, has only sped up lately, as this latest merger highlights.

As part of its "connected trip" and loyalty strategy, Booking Holdings argued it can convince hotels and other partners to offer up substantial discounts and perks, and this would spur incremental bookings. But do hotels really want to be a cog in building the Booking.com brand?

Good morning from Skift. It's Wednesday, February 23, in New York City. Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Last year was a rebuilding one for IHG, as the company trimmed off underperforming Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels from its portfolio.

Marriott, Hilton, Choice Hotels, and Wyndham all swung to profitability last year, per earnings reports this week. Even if Hyatt didn't, the other reports mostly amounted to a strong sign of recovery well under way for hotel companies with a significant presence in the U.S.

Hyatt might have improved performance from a year ago, but having to still report losses while others are touting a return to profits has to sting. Waning Omicron cases in 2022 are pointing to better days. Investors are hoping that's the case.

Nothing underscores how mainstream vacation rentals have become as seeing institutional investors get in on the action.

These aren’t going to be transformative deals for Choice Hotels like Starwood was for Marriott, but an upscale, extended stay brand would provides another option for business travelers. Meanwhile, a higher-end, full service brand would just help round out the overall portfolio.

Global hotel companies like Hilton are quick to say China’s stretched-out lockdown measures aren’t deterring them from developing new projects there. Too much money is riding on these potentially lucrative deals to happen.