Recent reports have warned that corporate travel might be in for a difficult couple of years. In particular, Cvent predicted that the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2021 would see a drop in group bookings as corporate demand weakens.
According to some of the world's biggest hotel companies, though, the hard times are already here. We reviewed the 2019 second-quarter earnings for Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and Marriott and found that all but Marriott had experienced a slowdown in group demand. Each company, moreover, saw corporate travel weaken in the China market.
So what's going on? Some hotels weren't sure what to attribute it to, but Hilton was very upfront. Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta pointed to the trade war between the U.S. and China, along with the buildup to the upcoming U.S. elections, as reasons why companies were being more cautious when it comes to travel spend.
Meanwhile, Travelport joined forces with IBM and BCD Travel to make managing hotel commissions easier using blockchain.
Check out these stories, and many more, below.
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