GOOD DAY, READERS.
Airbnb is pushing further beyond short-term rentals. CEO Brian Chesky unveiled a sweeping expansion at its annual Summer Release, including rental cars, grocery delivery, airport pickups, and experiences focused on landmarks such as the Tower of London and the Taj Mahal. Most services are powered by third-party partners, with Airbnb acting as the interface.
Airbnb’s moves take direct aim at Booking Holdings and Expedia, which have long used rental cars, hotels, and experiences to bundle trips and lock in repeat customers.
How many of your AI pilots are actually in production?
Carnival's ratio is 100 to 6. MIT says 95% of organizations report zero ROI. On June 3, Expedia, Hilton, Booking Holdings, Marriott, and IHG share what it took to be the exception.
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Airbnb Adds Rental Cars, Stepping Onto Expedia and Booking’s Turf
by Sarah Kopit
Airbnb’s annual Summer Release announced a scatter shot of updates and additions, instead of one big bet. Many of them – including the company’s first foray into rental cars – cross squarely into legacy OTA territory.
Booking Holdings to Sell Ads Across All Three OTA Brands for the First Time: Exclusive
by Dennis Schaal
Booking Holdings' brands are giving up a little of their independence when a single team handles ads across all three OTAs.
Choice Hotels’ Patrick Pacious Is Out as CEO
by Sean O'Neill
Choice Hotels' announcement of a leadership transition without a confirmed successor points to an abrupt decision to part with the CEO.
RARE INDIA + SKIFT
As experiential travel grows, RARE India is building commercial scale around boutique hotels while keeping each property distinct.
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SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK
Loyalty programs, Google Ads, legacy booking flows... are they all on borrowed time? Michael Goldin, Brandreth Canaley, and Jamie Lane get into why betting on old consumer habits to hold with Gen Z is one of the riskiest plays in travel right now.
High discovery on TikTok and LLMs sounds great until conversion stays near zero. And if companies are doubling down on social media distribution before fixing the actual product, they might be solving the wrong problem entirely.
Plus, the Google Ads to booking pipeline has long been the gold standard of travel marketing spend, but with LLM ads on the horizon, even that might not be safe.
SKIFT TRAVEL 200
How are public travel companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to understand global market movements. Paid subscribers get full access here.
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