This week’s news is mainly about Airbnb’s push both into hotels and onto your dinner plates. But I do want to lead with the conversation that happened at last night’s Skift Megatrends event in London. Google’s Travel Industry Head Jay Chauhan explained how user queries in AI-powered search are longer than traditional searches, and why that forces brands to lean on AI to understand intent and surface the right results instead of just bidding on a few obvious keywords.
You can read the highlights from his session, below, or watch the short clip near the bottom of this email.
– Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor
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EDITOR’S PICKS
Dennis Schaal Executive Editor
Consider Airbnb's partnership with CookUnity an experiment to see if there is a market for such services.
Google says AI is reshaping how travelers discover trip options, from keywords to photos and reviews. Traditional search, it says, still plays a role closer to booking.
For years people have wondered whether Airbnb's business is doomed as it faces increased regulation around the world. Airbnb has an answer to getting shut out in that manner — hotels, hotels, hotels.
When online travel agencies can't get permission to access a major airline's flights, particularly its lowest fares, they often engage in a cat-and-mouse game to get them. The outcome can have dire consequences for smaller OTAs, and adversely impact the larger ones, as well.
Watch: Multimodal Content and AI Search
EVENT | JANUARY 22
Between sold-out events in London and New York City this year, Megatrends events will convene 400+ leaders from across travel, hospitality, and tech for an afternoon of data-driven insights, storytelling from executives, and futurecasting.
Both London and New York events sold out, but you can register to watch the livestream – and Skift Pro subscribers can watch for free.
Market Performance
How are public travel tech companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to know to understand the market. Paid subscribers get full access here.
