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20 Nov
Travel

IHG Direct Bookings Tech Play and 11 Other Top Hospitality Stories This Week

IHG

A guest room at the Intercontinental Hong Kong. IHG is implementing a new tech strategy to boost online revenue. IHG

Skift Take: This week in hospitality, IHG is taking a tougher approach with online agencies by using new technologies to gain traction for its mobile app and website. Meanwhile, more traditional hotel brands are introducing communal lodging for its guests.

— Jasmine Ganaishlal

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20 Nov
Travel

Host Travel Agencies Step Up to Train Wave of Newcomers

Travelport

Travelport’s Claire Osborne (left) with Meon Valley Travel’s Kelly Doherty making the first New Distribution Capability booking at the agency’s offices in Leicester, UK, in October 2018. Training is key for new travel agents, as well as veterans. Travelport

Skift Take: A surge of newcomers are setting up shop as travel advisors — with some of them unprepared for the realities of the job. Host agencies and consortiums are ramping up efforts to give them the education they need.

— Maria Lenhart

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20 Nov
Travel

Hyatt Joins Other Big Hotel Chains by Pledging to Eliminate Small Plastic Bottles

Hyatt Hotels

Hyatt Hotels plans to remove single-use plastic bottles with these larger containers in an effort to reduce waste. The larger containers are more easily recycled. Hyatt Hotels

Skift Take: Hyatt joins Marriott and IHG by promising to get rid of single-use plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and lotion with large-format bathroom amenities. Hotels are wisely promising to do what they can to mitigate waste. Let’s see if they can make their deadlines.

— Nancy Trejos

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20 Nov
Travel

Expedia Tells Hotels Adding Resort Fees Will Lower Your Listings on Its Pages

Expedia Group

Expedia Group’s Cyril Ranque spoke about the company’s new action against hotel resort fees at the Expedia Explore ’19 partner conference in Las Vegas November 14, 2019. Expedia Group

Skift Take: Expedia Group’s stance on resort fees could have been drafted by a United Nations diplomat. Expedia doesn’t want to alienate hotels and seeks to pick up market share based on Booking Holdings’ more forceful position. But it’s hitting resort-fee-charging hotels right where it hurts — in the prominence of their listings.

— Dennis Schaal

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20 Nov
Travel

MGM on Hunt for Investor to Join Las Vegas Property Venture

Bloomberg

The Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. MGM is looking for joint venture investors. Bloomberg

Skift Take: Like other hospitality companies, MGM is pivoting towards an asset-light model and has spent the last year or so preparing for an economic downturn. It should be in good shape if the worst happens.

— Patrick Whyte

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20 Nov
Travel

Global Regulators Aren’t Aligned in Boeing 737 Max Recertification

Stephen Brashear / Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX airplanes are stored in an area adjacent to Boeing Field. Stephen Brashear / Getty Images

Skift Take: Getting the Boeing 737 Max back to the skies is one thing, but restoring flyers’ faith in regulators is another. Global cohesion would certainly help, but that seems a long way off.

— Rosie Spinks

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20 Nov
Travel

EasyJet Seizes on Thomas Cook’s Demise With New Packaged Vacation Offerings

Henry Burrows / Flickr

An EasyJet aircraft. The airline group is relaunching its package holiday product. Henry Burrows / Flickr

Skift Take: With Thomas Cook out of the way, there’s certainly more space in the package holiday market. People still want to buy these types of holidays and EasyJet is a well-known brand. Can it be successful where other low-cost carriers have failed?

— Patrick Whyte

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20 Nov
Travel

Airbus Targets Early 2030s for First Emission-Free Regional Aircraft

Krisztian Bocsi / Bloomberg

An aircraft being made. Airbus is looking at ways to make more environmentally friendly jets. Krisztian Bocsi / Bloomberg

Skift Take: The pressure is building on manufactures to speed up the development of aircraft capable of using alternatives to jet fuel. The problem is change isn’t coming fast enough.

— Patrick Whyte

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