New year, new trends. In this case, Megatrends. Join us at events on three continents in December and January to learn about the forces shaping the business of travel in 2020.

For airlines to deliver a seamless passenger experience, technology, people, and systems must connect on the back end.

W Hotels were once the hottest hangouts in town but two decades after its creation, it has been overshadowed by its younger competitors. Marriott inherited the W Hotel brand when it bought Starwood in 2016. Now it's up to Marriott to make the W brand shine again.

It's all about its anticipated public offering at Airbnb these days. Shore up the plethora of safety issues, make peace with regulators, and bring in seasoned operational executives that the Wall Street crowd will look favorably upon. Was Belinda Johnson a casualty in that push?

So is chatting with Chatbot Charlie an improved experience over Human Charlie? With more airlines undergoing digital transformations, sadly so, especially for call center workers.

At Skift Short-Term Rental Summit, you'll hear from the top industry executives as they discuss the short-term rental ecosystem. Don't miss our session with Vacasa Chief Legal Officer Lisa Jurinka as she shares her thoughts on regulators and the fast-evolving sector. Tickets are sold out, but you can still tune in via our live stream. Register today!

Indians are keen to travel to Los Angeles — that much is clear. But the city's destination marketer is looking for ways to ensure that Indian visitors don't just show up but know how to get the most out of the sprawling city.

Airbnb has intensified its testing of Google's vacation rentals business. Does this mean Airbnb will fall down a rabbit hole of Google dependence? Not necessarily. Romances can be so fleeting.

In the post-experiences world, one sector that will keep thriving is niche adventure tour operators that really know what they are talking about. They take clients backstage to explore exotic places and leave little footprint — but deposit lots of dollars in local communities.

In this week's edition of the Skift Airline Weekly Lounge podcast, the Indian government now says it wants to sell 100 percent of the state-owned carrier, but who will buy it? The beleaguered airline is notoriously saddled with debt and has a restive labor force. Airline Weekly Senior Analyst Jay Shabat noted that Air India actually has some strengths and assets that a would-be buyer could find attractive.

The latest perk hotels are offering guests: flexible check-in and checkout. Some charge a fee. But some are granting it for free. It's an interesting play to attract more loyal customers who will book directly with the hotels and not with online travel agencies.

From the wishful thinking and hype of years ago, the connected trip is beginning to draw real investment and become a thing. It will take a very extended period of time to make it a more meaningful development. In that faraway horizon, will there indeed be any differentiation among the leading providers?

Self check-in by facial recognition at hotels is unlikely to be an industrywide reality anytime soon in Singapore — and that's not exactly bad news.