GOOD DAY, READERS.
Skift CEO Rafat Ali argues the travel industry faces a unique double-sided AI squeeze. On the demand side, AI agents are flooding search systems with queries that never convert, inflating costs that were manageable when humans eventually stopped browsing. On the supply side, executives from Hilton, Priceline, TUI, and Amadeus are openly questioning whether their AI deployments are worth the spiraling token costs. Paradoxically, per-token prices are falling sharply while total AI spend keeps climbing.
Ali's bottom line: the squeeze is happening now, and only companies that figure out the economics first will have AI programs that survive the quarterly conversation where the CFO reads the invoice.
Skift Global Forum
The executives navigating this in real time are all in one room this September. The CEOs of Hilton, Booking Holdings, Wyndham, Expedia, and Virgin Atlantic - plus 590 companies deciding which AI programs survive the CFO's invoice.
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The Two-Sided AI Squeeze That Only Travel Faces
by Rafat Ali
Travel is the only major industry getting hit from both directions at once: AI search volumes are exploding without converting while total AI token bills internally are rising.
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While it's not clear the World Cup's tourism impact will live up to the hype, federal data shows the hospitality sector is staffing up ahead of the tournament.
Accor CEO Bazin’s Final Stretch: An AI Warning and What’s Next for Ennismore
by Sean O'Neill
CEO Sébastien Bazin said an Ennismore IPO is "one of four or five" possible fates for the lifestyle joint venture. In M&A-speak, that means Accor's board hasn't decided yet.
HOLAFLY + SKIFT
As more of travel moves into apps, live updates, mobile keys, and digital payments, connectivity is becoming a trust test for the entire experience.
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MORNING HEADLINES
SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK
Building AI is one thing. Getting people to actually use it is another.
In this clip from Good Morning Hospitality, Brandreth Canaley, Michael Goldin and Jamie Lane discuss reports that only a small percentage of users actively engage with Microsoft Copilot despite it being built directly into their workflow.
The conversation explores a bigger challenge facing hospitality and travel companies: if one of the world's largest technology companies is still struggling with AI adoption, how difficult will it be for hotels, airlines, and travel brands to successfully deploy these tools?
Technology alone is not enough. User behavior may be the hardest problem to solve.
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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