This website uses cookies

Read our Privacy policy and Terms of use for more information.

GOOD DAY, READERS.

At the Skift Data + AI Summit in New York on Wednesday, the message from AI leaders across travel was consistent: the pilot era is over. Across sessions — from Hilton, Marriott, Expedia, Booking.com, Priceline, Amex GBT, and more — the debates have moved from whether to deploy to who owns it, what it costs, and whether the infrastructure can scale. Hilton's CIO is tracking token consumption. Booking.com’s engineering bottleneck has moved from writing code to coordinating teams. Expedia's tech lead has a rule: anything that touches customer data, you build yourself.

Skift IDEA Awards Flash Sale Ends Today

Save $100 on your Skift IDEA Awards entry. For 72 hours only, enter for $499 with code IDEAS26FLASH. Offer ends tonight, June 4 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Purchase now at the lowest rate but have until July 1 to submit your entry.

DON’T MISS THESE STORIES

Hilton’s CIO: Building the AI Trip Planner and Grappling With ‘Tokenomics’

Hilton’s CIO: Building the AI Trip Planner and Grappling With ‘Tokenomics’

by Luke Martin

A live AI tool with early conversion gains is one Hilton story. The cost of running AI across the wider company is another.

Booking.com CTO: The New Bottleneck Is Teamwork

Booking.com CTO: The New Bottleneck Is Teamwork

by Dennis Schaal

Many of the pressing issues in AI implementation are organizational, not technological.

Who Really Holds Your Travel Money Before You Travel and What Are They Doing With It

Who Really Holds Your Travel Money Before You Travel and What Are They Doing With It

by Rafat Ali

Travel companies have built a banking-like float system around consumer prepayments, without banking-like protections, and the scale is now too large to ignore.

VISIT JAMAICA + SKIFT

Caribbean destinations are navigating an exciting yet uncertain future. Travel leaders need a framework to gain a competitive advantage in this dynamic and growing region. Look no further than this new report.

For $7 a week, Skift gives you something the industry is missing – the full picture. Subscribe today for 25% off.

MORNING HEADLINES

Expedia Tech Exec on Build Versus Buy: Keep Customer Data Close

Marriott’s AI Rollout: From Pilots to ‘Points on the Board’

Why Air Canada’s Digital Officer Is Done With AI ‘Use Cases’

Kuwait Airport Reopening Unravels After 48 Hours Amid Fresh Iranian Strikes

Priceline Gives Penny a Multi-Agent Makeover 

CHART OF THE DAY

Skift CEO Rafat Ali spent several weeks digging through SEC filings so you don't have to — and what he found should make every traveler think twice about who's really holding their money.

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.

See more essential travel news in your search results.