We're one week past this year's
Skift Global Forum and still processing all the insight we heard from some of the top hotel, airline, booking site, and other travel executives who took the stage.
From Delta CEO Ed Bastian
discussing the introduction of free texting on most flights to the CEOs of
Priceline and
Expedia musing about blockchain, the conversations covered a lot of ground.
Executives spoke of the
promise of artificial intelligence — as well as its current shortfalls — and the struggle to
best use all the data that companies are able to connect.
In addition to
revealing a plan for a "hostel on steroids" (fascinating!), Hilton Worldwide CEO Christopher Nassetta said the company is testing "the connected room," which would know travelers' preferences. And IHG CEO Keith Barr, a few months into his new job, discussed
the importance of improving the guest experience through technology. One example: mobile check-out, which the company has started to allow.
"It's removed a friction point," he said.
That was an underlying idea for so many of the conversations — making travel smoother, removing the pain points, and finding ways to get smarter about giving travelers what they want. Those are lofty goals, but all travelers (and especially frequent business travelers) will appreciate any progress in achieving them.
