Articles tagged “skift forum”

Ian Schrager opens up about his history in hospitality, and there's more to come at Skift Global Forum in New York. Trust us — you don't want to miss this interview.

"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.

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.

Can Airbnb become a superbrand of travel, as it has stated as a goal? Probably not without launching flights. On the other hand, Booking.com has done fairly well for itself without offering flights until now.

Expedia Inc. might be quiet on the acquisition front as its new leadership settles in. But history shows the online travel giant will look to be opportunistic as its competition with the Priceline Group evolves.

It's clear that Redzepi's stints in Japan, Australia, and Mexico have been crucial in helping him develop new ideas. The new Noma will be very different from the old one, but that's a good thing.

Tourism will be crucial for the recovery of island nations devastated by recent hurricanes. The travel industry, across all sectors, needs to do its part to help in the recovery effort.

Hilton's plan for an urban micro-brand is certainly intriguing, but we'll have to wait until next year for more details.

Google revealed Tuesday that it is doing an early experiment in how to sell bundled flights and hotels via its travel search results. Package travel is huge in Europe, and Google's trial will be watched closely.

Even with the advent of the Internet and social media, some things never change when it comes to marketing hotels, and fostering true guest loyalty.