Marketing and Media

Reaching the modern day traveler requires a mix of data-driven precision and compelling storytelling. From AI-powered personalization to social commerce and influencer-driven campaigns, the rules of travel marketing are constantly shifting.

Skift Research examines how brands build awareness, drive engagement, and convert travelers across digital and traditional channels. Our reports cover the rise of short-form video, shifts in ad spending, and the growing impact of first-party data strategies.

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How do brands cut through the noise in an oversaturated digital landscape? What’s the right balance between performance marketing and brand-building? We break down the latest media trends, consumer behavior insights, and the technologies reshaping travel marketing.

Stay ahead with expert research on emerging ad platforms, changing consumer expectations, and the future of travel brand engagement.

Marketing and Media

Digital Payments in Travel 2016

The global digital payments ecosystem is undergoing a rapid and monumental shift; smart travel brands should stay on top of the shifts in how we pay for goods and services. Peer-to-peer payment platforms, digital wallets, and cryptocurrencies may have been a thing of science fiction just years ago. Yet, many of the data points now clearly suggest otherwise.
Dave Montali, James O'Brien, and Luke Bujarski |
Marketing and Media

State of Travel Media 2016

Like all media, travel media is constantly reinventing itself to adapt to new technologies and changing consumer behaviors. We talk to leaders in the field and look at external threats and opportunities as represented by Facebook, mobile, and advertising.
Todd Wasserman |
Marketing and Media

The State of Wi-Fi for Travelers in 2016

Traveler demand for, and use of, Internet connection services is soaring, creating a dilemma for travel brands that must walk a precarious tightrope between charging for access and risking customer anger over unreliable free service. How are travel brands coping with these challenges, and what future innovations in connection services might transform the industry?
Jeremy Kressman |
Airlines

The Rise of Lifestyle Branding in Travel

Why are brands like Apple, Disney and Nike are among the world’s most valuable? Because they’re able to embody a lifestyle, offering consumers access to an emotional connection that goes well beyond their product offering. As more travel companies look to redefine their offerings around the lifestyle brand concept, often with limited resources to do so, what strategies will they use to grow and thrive?
Jeremy Kressman |
Business Travel

The Future of Hotel Loyalty 2016

Hotel loyalty programs are facing a period of dramatic change, driven by recent devaluations of member points and picky travelers that are less loyal than ever. What strategies are hotel brands using to adapt and thrive in this changing loyalty landscape?
Jeremy Kressman |
Hospitality

Deep Dive Into Google's Travel Ambitions

Weighing in at three times the size of our standard reports, this expanded trends report offers exclusive insight into new Google travel products launched on November 19, 2015, as well as exclusive interviews conducted at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California this fall. In addition, it includes industry analyst notes that are otherwise only available to clients and banks.
Dennis Schaal |
Marketing and Media

Evolution of Online Reputation Management in 2016

The travel industry is looking closely at how hotels tackle the project of closing the conversion loop more often — generating higher returns — by paying attention to how reviews can augment direct-channel bookings and how online reputation management can impact marketing and operations best practices, online and onsite.