05 Aug
Travel

MGM Resorts Plans to Offload Bulk of Its Real Estate Trust for $4.4 Billion

Håkan Dahlström / Flickr

MGM Resorts plans to sell a majority stake in its lodging trust, MGM Growth Properties. Håkan Dahlström / Flickr

Skift Take: The sale to VICI Properties is the latest example of MGM Resorts following the hotel industry’s “asset-light” business model and stepping back from real estate ownership. Some of the company’s biggest landmark resorts, like the Bellagio, have already been sold off to Blackstone.

— Cameron Sperance

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05 Aug
Travel

Marriott Rides China and U.S. Travel Strength to $422 Million Profit

Tyler Vigen / Wikimedia

Marriott vaulted into profitability thanks to strong domestic travel demand in China and the U.S. Tyler Vigen / Wikimedia

Skift Take: Hotels are not out of the woods yet. Marriott notched the best financial showing of hotel earnings season so far, but the Delta variant threatens the recovery everywhere — even in China, the company’s best-performing major market last quarter.

— Cameron Sperance

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05 Aug
Travel

EasyJet’s Rail Deal Highlights New Airline Sector Way of Selling Trains and Flights

Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn recently launched the Flughafen-Express, an airport express service run by DB Regio Nordost between downtown Berlin stops and Berlin’s new airport (BER) Terminal 1-2 on behalf of the VBB (Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg). EasyJet and Deutsche Bahn have begun selling combination tickets that include flights and rail using a new airline method, virtual interlining. Deutsche Bahn

Skift Take: Airlines need to work more closely with railway operators to fend off climate change activists. But they also need to test new technological ways of selling content from other suppliers. Let’s think beyond joint ventures, codeshares, and interlining.

— Sean O’Neill

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05 Aug
Travel

Indian Billionaire Plans to Launch Low-Cost Carrier in an Already Tough Market

Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg

An aircraft operated by IndiGo, a unit of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., prepares to land at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, India, on Monday, July 10, 2017. Indian billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala wants to launch a new low-cost carrier to compete with Indigo in India. Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg

Skift Take: With the pandemic gutting India’s low-cost carrier market, which already includes IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoFirst and AirAsia India, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala thinks a fresh start, a capital infusion, and new planes could be a competitive advantage. Hope springs eternal, as they say.

— Dennis Schaal

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05 Aug
Travel

England Opens U.S. Travel and 11 Other Top Travel Stories This Week

Jeff Hitchcock / Flickr

England will allow fully vaccinated tourists from U.S. and European Union to enter without quarantine. Heathrow airport pictured. Jeff Hitchcock / Flickr

Skift Take: In Skift’s top stories this week, England welcomes fully vaccinated tourists, hotels are focusing on conversions rather than mergers, and Brazil is setting itself up to become a travel tech hub in Latin America.

— Angel Adegbesan

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05 Aug
Travel

UAE to Lift Ban on Transit Flights Including From India and Pakistan From August 5

Charles / Flickr

Airports in the UAE will soon be able to welcome transit flights Charles / Flickr

Skift Take: Major carriers in the UAE are thrilled with the decision to lift the ban on transit flights. Not only will they welcome large numbers of passengers from important markets, but they’ll also be in a better position for a quicker recovery.

— Rashaad Jorden

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