Hospitality

While the travel industry was on its knees, travel loyalty programs continued to grow. But the pandemic has changed the travel industry, and loyalty programs need to follow suit.

Except for the down year of Covid, the U.S. accommodation sector has been performing robustly with the short-term rental segment gaining market share. However, it is yet to be seen how the composition of the industry evolves.

The STR industry in APAC is at a nascent stage with promising growth prospects. It is to be seen how the STR market matures to find its demand-supply equilibrium and market leaders.

With 2022 on the horizon, the travel recovery has begun in earnest. Brands are competing to win returning consumers but may find that old habits and preferences have evolved.

Most hoteliers would rather not think about their payment tech, as long as it works. But payment habits are changing, and so is payment tech. Hoteliers - and hotel tech vendors and investors - will want to be on top of these changes, especially now that revenues are suppressed.

With travelers hitting the road again, it’s more important than ever for hotel owners to be agile with their businesses to ensure success. Ironically for many hoteliers that survived the pandemic, it might be the recovery that does them in.

Digital nomadism is breaking out into the mainstream after years of being available only to a few career paths. This trend is poised to generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the travel industry, in some cases transforming rent into hospitality stays and other travel spend.

Short-term or vacation rentals are being touted as the winners of the pandemic, and in many ways the sector is taking big steps to becoming mainstream. But losers are emerging, too, and the impact of the pandemic will reverberate for years to come.

Despite years of pushing direct booking campaigns, third parties remain a crucial part of hotel distribution strategy. Learn how many bookings each distribution channel delivers, at what cost, and the outlook for direct bookings in this report.

Carbon reduction is gaining importance for stakeholder groups, and reporting is getting better amongst the largest hotel companies. Our analysis finds that Accor is the current leader in emissions reduction, but all companies have areas to improve.

The dark winter for the U.S. travel industry continued in December. Travel rate dipped to 28%, only three percentage points higher than March. However, the promise of wider-spread vaccinations and a new President seems to give the Americans confidence to travel again in 2021.

Glad this year is finally over? Us too! In its annual outlook, Skift Research looks forward to the big themes and challenges that it believes are in store for the travel industry as it begins the long uphill climb to recovery next year.