8 Stories to Start Your Week
This morning we roll out a ton of short videos with insights from the industry's top leaders — frank, quick, insights into where they see travel going now and into the future. They are some of the best ways to see the kind of ideas and the excellent people that we're lucky to have at Skift Global Forum.
P.S. If you're in London for WTM, don't miss us on Wednesday. — Jason Clampet, Editor-in-Chief
Skift Take: What were the travel industry’s top leaders saying backstage at Skift Global Forum? These 11 videos will show you what leaders from Expedia, Carnival Corp., Airbnb, TripAdvisor, and more think about the future of travel in less than two minutes.
Skift Take: When the U.S. election (presumably) concludes on Tuesday, companies might be able to invest in travel with a little more certainty about their return on investment. Vacationers will likely be looking to take a break from the tense political climate in the U.S., as well.
Skift Take: Smart travel companies already know that the Chinese travel market will be absolutely crucial to their future growth and success. But the way they approach that market is what counts, and to do so, they need to be well-informed and tech savvy.
Skift Take: Booking.com, which does more than 1,000 A/B tests daily, is testing a rewards program for business travelers, but CEO Gillian Tans still believes that true loyalty is more about delivering its core product for customers than points and rewards schemes.
Skift Take: By segmenting the personalities of their individual neighborhoods, cities like San Francisco have more options to align their visitor experiences with different visitor profiles. That customization helps cities expand their destination image, build destination loyalty, and boost repeat visitation.
Skift Take: One might be surprised to find Phoenix Sky Harbor at the top of any analyst's airport ranking, but based on accessibility, amenities and on time performance it appears to deliver the best package in the country.
Skift Take: Ryanair has made clear that it is not attacking OTAs as a whole but simply wants to see greater pricing transparency. The airline hasn’t always been the best friend of the consumer but in this case it is right to push for a change.
Skift Take: Whether we're discussing Instagram or conversational "chat bots," more travel brands seem to be experimenting with ways to make online commerce more social. The question is, do consumers want that too?
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