Sector Deep Dives

January 2020

Legacy PMS vendors have for too long reaped the rewards without truly pushing the boundaries of what they could offer hoteliers. Now technology has passed them by, and they are playing catch-up. Cloud computing, open APIs, marketplaces, and middleware layers are shaking up this stale corner of hotel tech, and it’s crazy exciting.

January 2020

Recent filings give us a better understanding of Oyo’s profitability, valuation, and the performance of its all-important China business.

October 2019

Oyo promises a new type of hotel company. It’s an asset-light brand that seeks to connect the global long tail of mom-and-pop hotels through its tech and distribution platform. But can it live up to the hype? Skift Research dives deep into Oyo’s business strategy and financial performance.

August 2019

The short-term rental sector is rapidly expanding, and it is not just Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com that benefit from this. A growing ecosystem of property managers and B2B vendors are professionalizing the sector, while making a decent penny.

June 2019

Let’s place loyalty programs into a larger realm of technology which can improve and increase guest engagement and personalization, with all these tools working in parallel to achieve a truly loyal guest.

April 2019

Revenue management is unquestionably becoming more important for hotels in an ever-more competitive market. Revenue Management Systems play an important role in automating pricing, but hotels should not see these as a one-stop solution to all their problems. There are bigger strategic questions that need answering.

March 2019

While other hotel brand companies are focused on merger integrations and becoming asset-light, InterContinental Hotels (IHG) is emerging as a leader in hospitality tech innovation and developing itself into a nimbler, more diversified company. The company's key areas of focus are making it a smarter, better hotel company that is well-positioned no matter what the future looks like.

March 2019

There's a reason we love earnings season: lot's of interesting new company data points.

February 2019

Analyzing startups helps us understand what the future of travel holds. The latest generation of startups promises innovation across many facets of travel: hospitality, tours, airlines, business travel, and more.

February 2019

Hyatt may have previously been considered a sleepy hotel company, but we don’t think the company is going to be quiet anymore. Hyatt is making waves in positioning itself for the future by selling properties and shifting asset-light, by creating stronger partnerships with hotel owners, managers, and employees, and by driving stronger customer loyalty via enhanced wellness offerings.

January 2019

The role of marketing technology in the travel industry has passed the threshold of adoption, but significant attention is still required to bring the technology at work into its true and central role, industry-wide.

December 2018

Amazon's influence over travelers is likely to grow. Perhaps it will be a direct competitor, or maybe an advertising partner. In either case, travel companies need to pay careful attention. Our limited edition e-book evaluates lessons, threats, and opportunities that Amazon presents for the travel industry.