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Hitting its 2030 target years ahead of schedule is a clear sign that India’s branded hotel market is moving faster than expected. The bigger question now is whether quality can keep pace when a brand like Ginger doubles its footprint so quickly.
A smaller IPO is being sold as a sign of strength, but Prism may simply be playing it safe. After two abandoned IPO attempts, a smaller raise could mean it doubts demand at its old valuation, or just wants a smoother sale.
Houthi strikes are measurably cutting Saudi demand, but the UAE’s damage so far shows up in operator sentiment and forward bookings more than in the data. The winter season will test whether travelers view the Gulf as a single risk.
IHG’s conversion machine is firing in the Americas, but its growth story ultimately depends on a pipeline to the east of Europe that had a difficult Q3.
The travel industry is racing to embrace AI, but still struggling with fundamental questions of trust, coordination, and commercial returns. We surveyed executives at Skift Global Forum 2026 to understand where the industry sees opportunity and where its biggest concerns lie.
Yotel is stretching both ways at once as it looks to build a posher Yotel on top, and city-center pods at the bottom. That would let it pitch to almost every budget, all under Hilton’s roof.
International hotel brands have struggled to gain scale in the Nordic market. This deal shows one way to do it: letting someone who already knows the market carry most of the risk.
Independent hotel brands don’t have to choose between scale and identity. Shared loyalty, distribution, and technology can help them compete with the major global groups while preserving the local character and direct customer relationships that set them apart.
Backlash against content creators includes restricted hours for filming and even outright bans Stand in any vaguely photogenic spot these days on holiday and the chances are you will come across people posing with raised phones and even ring lights. Some may be influencers with huge audiences on social media, others just overkeen Instagram users. With hotels and beauty spots now so overrun, however, bans on photography are coming into place. The five-star Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, known for its glamorous clientele, views of the Côte d’Azur and a stunning infinity pool, has brought in r
Service Properties Trust hired Sonesta to operate 68 of the hotels it owns. But an unsolicited offer for those hotels has created uncertainty. Meanwhile, Sonesta has cut corporate staff.
In this Skift Take Sessions episode, recorded at the Skift Creator Summit during Skift Global Forum, Sarah Dandashy sits down with Adam Lovick, founder of First Class Jerk, to discuss how he built a travel brand around irreverent storytelling, video, and photography. Lovick shares how his family’s history in the travel industry shaped his path and why he sees content and audience attention as a competitive advantage for travel brands.
Summer heat and drought brought hospitality’s use of water into sharp focus. The industry is betting on simple fixes like aerated showerheads and less laundry — the question is whether more structural but costly measures can scale.
Ixigo has the product and a steady stream of customers. What remains is the hard part of convincing budget travelers that the room they book online is the room they’ll get.
Kempinski’s leadership upheaval raises questions about who will carry out its luxury turnaround and how it will be funded.
Vacation ownership companies have an advantage in experiential loyalty: They already know their customers over years, not days. At Skift Global Forum, ARDA and Hilton Grand Vacations explained why access, relevance, and owner feedback matter more than simply adding more things to do.
The idea is that paying travelers when rain passes a certain threshold can help increase conversions among those worried about weather spoiling their plans. The question is whether guarantees will spread to other types of weather — like the extreme heat seen in Europe this summer.
Centara wants to double in size without doubling its balance sheet, betting on multi-property deals with large investors. The question is whether a mid-sized Thai operator can win those portfolios against global brands, and whether the Gulf distress the COO identifies as an opportunity can translate into deals.
The Maldives has always been an easy sell for Indian honeymooners. The opportunity for hotels now is to get these travelers to come back for short family breaks, birthdays, or long weekends.
Ten percent back has become a common hotel reward, and what a company can afford to pay depends on what the customer is worth to it after checkout.
Phu Quoc’s peak-season hotel occupancy has surged above 90%, but a massive supply boom will test whether the momentum can last. CBRE says room-night demand must grow about 10% a year through 2030 just to maintain current occupancy — a tougher task after APEC 2027.
