9 Stories to Start Your Monday
We took a call from Ctrip's new CEO on Friday to discuss her company buying Skyscanner. Our interview with her told us so much more, though. Read it to understand the current state of online travel booking (if that kind of thing is important to you).
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Skift Take: In its short history, Skift has talked about the balance of power in travel heading East, whether it is the influence of Chinese travelers, the rise of Ctrip and Alibaba, or the emergence of the Gulf carriers with their luxury long-haul flights. Ctrip's acquisition of Skyscanner is one of those moments that mattered in 2016 and Ctrip's global ambitions are a manifestation of what we have been talking about.
Skift Take: Frits van Paasschen brings great perspective to the biggest hotel story of the year and offers a smart take on the puzzles that the travel industry still needs to solve.
Skift Take: What can Airbnb learn from hotels and what can hotels learn from Airbnb? Watch this video to find out.
Skift Take: While many of the challengers to legacy brands and systems have gained legitimacy and formed partnerships this year, we're still in the early stages of the eruptions along the fault lines of travel. Here are a few startups placing their bets in the midst of this.
Skift Take: For a relatively small outlay, Easyjet will effectively have an interest in 35 companies. Many of these will likely come to nothing but even if only a couple succeed the initial investment will seem like a bargain.
Skift Take: As a rule we shy away from holiday travel, but Tokyo in winter is something we can get behind.
Skift Take: For now, Airbnb Trips is mostly a threat to the tours and activities sector. But it's not much of a stretch to imagine the service evolving into a full-blown online travel agency in the near future.
Cheat Sheet: Ctrip's Skyscanner Buy
On Wednesday afternoon, Ctrip announced its bid to buy Skyscanner. Here's what you need to know to understand what's happened since then.