Navan and Hilton established an innovative direct-connect that bypasses the global distribution systems, Skift’s Sean O’Neill reported. The tie-up should provide Hilton with some distribution cost savings, and flexibility. You can read the details in the story below.
But beyond the cost savings, there is an important marketing component. Hotels, airlines and other suppliers have long complained about the marketing limitations and rigidity that come with GDS distribution. Hilton wants more than the standard 80-character allotment when marketing to TMCs, and the Navan partnership should provide more.
MINDTRIP + SKIFT
Hotels and airlines have spent years collecting loyalty data. At the Skift Data + AI Summit, industry leaders argued AI assistants may already know travelers better than the brands courting them.
EDITOR’S PICKS
Hilton Opens Direct Line to Navan, Cutting Out Corporate Travel Middlemen
July 7, 2026
Hilton and Navan have launched a direct booking connection that skips distribution middlemen, giving the hotel group more control over retailing. It's an early step in a broader corporate travel push to overhaul how road warriors book hotels.
Booking.com Built Its India Business on Leisure — Now It’s Going Corporate
July 2, 2026
India's business travel boom gives Booking.com a rare chance to grow two businesses at once — corporate bookings today and leisure loyalty tomorrow.
U.S. Paves Way for Supersonic Flight Over Land, Looks to Lift 1973 Ban
June 30, 2026
The U.S. is looking to repeal a 1973 ban on supersonic flight, which would clear the way for such technology to be operated in the U.S.
U.S. Hotel Demand Is Rebounding — and It’s No Longer Just a Luxury Story
June 25, 2026
Ten weeks of data show remarkably strong demand from business and leisure travelers. It's not just a World Cup bump.
Those Higher Airfares May Stick Even if Fuel Prices Drop
June 22, 2026
Airlines are betting that they can hold onto their pricing power even as the price of fuel decreases due to strong demand and fewer competitors in the industry.
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SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK
Visa does not issue credit cards. Banks do. And those banks, Chase, Capital One, and Citi, have spent years and billions building their own travel portals. Chase Travel did $12.6 billion in sales in 2025. American Express did $11.1 billion. Now Visa has launched Visa Destinations, a consumer-facing travel platform sitting above all of them at the network level.
In this clip from Good Morning Hospitality Hotels Edition, Sarah Dandashy and Steve Turk break down the structural conflict, what it means for the banks that built their travel businesses on top of Visa's rails, and why the pushback could be coming.
SKIFT TRAVEL 200
How are public travel 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.
