We’re looking ahead to a very exciting Future of Lodging Forum next week on May 11 and 12 in New York City. We will explore what we are calling “The Great Merging” between hotels and short-term rentals, driven by the merging in how we live and work and the ways this has changed what consumers need from their stays. Check out this video below for a synopsis of the themes and big ideas we’ll cover during this forum as we hear from CEOs and leaders of Standard International, Marriott Homes & Villas, Airbnb, Kayak, JLL Hotels, Sonder, MCR Hotels, Life House, Autocamp, and more.

CitizenM is renowned not only for its design-forward aesthetic and affordable luxury ethos, but also tools such as in-room MoodPad tablets that control the temperature and blinds and lights that serve as TV remote controls. But digitization will never replace human connection, CEO Klaas van Lookeren Campagne said on March 24, 2022 at Skift Forum Europe in a discussion with Skift Senior Travel Tech Editor Sean O’Neill. “Digital is the salt and pepper on the table,” van Lookeren Campagne said. “It enables much better service and much more interaction with our guests.” Join us for our next event focused on hotels and short-term rentals, the Future of Lodging Forum.

Every weekday morning, New York City time, we publish the Skift Daily Briefing. Today we're sharing the latest Briefing on our Skift Podcast channel Today’s edition of Skift’s daily podcast discusses Wyndham Hotel’s new brand, Asia’s tourism rebound, and the ongoing challenge of getting corporate travelers out of Ukraine. Search for "Skift Daily Briefing" in your favorite podcast app or click here to learn more. Show Notes As Asian nations such as Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines are taking steps to treat Covid as an endemic virus, tourism to the region is expected to make a significant rebound in 2022. But what will it look like? A new report provides three different scenarios for Asia’s travel recovery, writes Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia. The Pacific Asia Travel Association’s report, which examines the trends for foreign inbound visitors across the region between 2022 and 2024, envisions mild, medium and severe scenarios in its tourism recovery. The agency’s special advisor John Koldowksi said the parameters determining the scenarios include containing Covid, keeping borders open without a quarantine-on-arrival and reopening entertainment and hospitality venues. As for what the scenarios predict, interventional visitor arrivals to Asia are expected to surpass 2019 levels under the mild scenario by 2024 while almost equaling them under the medium scenario. However, the severe scenario predicts visitor numbers to Asia will hit 69 percent of 2019 figures. We turn now to a big move by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. The U.S.-based hotel franchising giant is creating an extended-stay brand focused on the budget market, reports Senior Travel Editor Sean O’Neill. Wyndham said on Tuesday it has signed deals with two development partners to launch 50 hotels by 2027. The yet-to-be named brand is expected to open its first property next year, and a Wyndham executive said the company projects its average daily rate for those hotels to run between $50 and $55. Extended stay caters to travelers staying anywhere from a week to a few months, such as traveling nurses and construction workers. O’Neill writes developers favor the economy extended-stay segment because it generally performs well during periods of economic boom and bust. Finally, as the war in Ukraine continues, companies are looking to still evacuate workers from Ukraine, writes Corporate Travel Editor Matthew Parsons, noting that the humanitarian crisis is worsening throughout Eastern Europe as countries in the region grapple with a limited amount of corporate housing available for refugees. Parsons writes that corporate housing in countries such as Poland and Romania are buckling under pressure from the large numbers of Ukrainian refugees as well as Russians seeking shelter there. One travel executive said the crisis is the worst he’s seen during his career. But despite the urgent need to provide accommodation to those fleeing the war, the same executive said companies need to ensure their employees didn’t apply for refugee status, which he described as a time consuming process.

Earlier this week we published The Oral History of March 2020: The Month Global Travel Shut Down, a feature that looked at March 2020 from the perspective of two dozen travel leaders. These people shared their personal stories of pain, shock, and of resilience as borders closed, airplanes went empty, and hotel doors shuttered. To get a sense of what things were like from many angles we captured voices as varied as Expedia’s CEO and the manager of a Holiday Inn Express in Wuhan, China. This episode of the Skift Podcast is hosted by Skift Senior Multimedia Producer Jose Marmolejos who is joined by Skift CEO Rafat Ali, Editor-in-Chief Tom Lowry, Executive Editor Dennis Schaal, and Global Tourism Reporter Lebawit Lily Girma. Read more about how the travel industry is rebuilding at https://skift.com/tag/coronavirus-recovery

Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta spoke with Skift CEO Rafat Ali at Skift Global Forum 2021. The two discussed what’s changed about the way people travel, work, and relax. “You’re going to be living in a world of greater mobility,” Nassetta said. “We’re going to be more efficient. We’ll do hoteling, we’ll do all sorts of things. What does that mean? It means more mobility. That means our people — they’re not going to work from home. It’s going to be work from anywhere. The more people move around the world for various reasons, the more we grow our business.” Listen to the full conversation below. Read more coverage of Hilton and the travel industry at https://skift.com/hotels

Earnings season is wrapping up, which means it's time to compare and contrast the performance of competing travel brands. Since Airbnb went public in 2020, it has given close watchers the opportunity to put up against other online booking giants, in particular Booking Holdings. For this bonus episode of the weekly Skift Podcast, senior research analyst Seth Borko and executive editor Dennis Schaal look at the brands' fourth quarter margins and profits and talk about profit momentum and strategy differences. For more on Airbnb and Booking Holdings, follow news coverage at https://skift.com/online-travel

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine rages on with the potential to drag out, the ripple effects in the travel industry are unfolding fast as well. In my role as the dots-connector-in-chief for Skift, I run through the impact on the travel industry as we know it so far, chilling as it is coming out of the pandemic. I talk about the immediate impact on the airline, hotel and tour operator sectors and potential short and long-term effects on the tourism inflows and outflows from the region. Be ready for a new caution in travel sentiment for the short term, and long term a return to some variation of the Cold War, which will likely have a bigger impact on travel than immediately apparent. Follow more travel news at skift.com/news

Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel spoke with Skift Executive Editor Dennis Schaal at Skift Global Forum 2021. The two discussed Booking's connected trip strategy. "I believe [in] this connected trip," Fogel said. "I don’t think it’s just a bunch of words. I think it’s creating something that we all want and desperately need, and it will help make travel a much better experience. And that’s what I want to help achieve. Listen to the full conversation with Skift's Dennis Schaal. Read more coverage of Booking and the travel industry at https://skift.com/online-travel

There is still a long way to go to get to recovery, but even in midst of the rise of the Omicron variant, some travel leaders were looking forward to better times. "There is this huge pent-up demand for leisure travel and destinations where there was big business demand," said Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith at Skift Global Forum late last year. "This is excellent, very good news for us and a very positive signal." Smith spoke with Airline Weekly Reporter Edward Russell about new tourism habits, business travel challenges, and more. Listen now for the full interview. Read more coverage of the travel industry at skift.com/news

Earlier this week Tripadvisor revealed that the company was planning to spin off its tours and activity brand Viator. For this bonus episode of the Skift Podcast, senior research analyst Seth Borko and executive editor Dennis Schaal debate the merits of the spinoff. For more coverage of Tripadvisor and its peers, follow news at skift.com/online-booking.

Accor’s CEO is steering the brand towards more luxury and lifestyle properties. Fortunately, hotel owners are more than obliging. “I’ve been at the helm of this company for the past eight years, and I’ve been trying to wake up a sleeping giant, which Accor has been for a number of years,” said Sebastien Bazin, CEO of Accor, at Skift Global Forum, in conversation with Skift’s hospitality reporter Cameron Sperance. Listen now for the full interview. Read more coverage of the travel industry at skift.com/news

“We’re moving away from a competitive house of brands,” Kern said when speaking at Skift Global Forum on Wednesday in New York City. He said he wanted “a simplifying universe of brands” that are “working toward a common goal.” Expedia Group Vice Chairman and CEO Peter Kern spoke with Skift Executive Editor Dennis Schaal at Skift Global Forum 2021. The two discussed the theme “Powering Travel Beyond the Booking to Boost Recovery.” Listen now for the full interview. Read more coverage of the travel industry at skift.com/news

Trivago Managing Director and CEO Axel Hefer spoke with Skift Senior Travel Tech Editor Sean O’Neill at Skift Global Forum 2021. The two discussed the future of metasearch and its ability to inspire travelers. "Travel is absolutely fascinating right now," Hefer said. "So many things have actually happened the last one and a half years. And the discussions that we are having here all day — what will actually stay and what will not? And how will the competitive dynamic actually change in the future is fascinating. It offers a huge opportunity if you navigate that well." Listen to the full conversation with Skift's Sean O'Neill. Read more coverage of Trivago and the travel industry at https://skift.com/online-travel

Each year, our Megatrends event brings together industry leaders -- the people creating and defining the future of travel -- to hear Skift’s deep reporting and research around the global travel industry. Through the thousands and thousands of hours spent by our journalists and analysts talking to you, analyzing and connecting the dots, these presentations provide attendees with a vision of what’s next and the tools they need to drive the industry forward. For our 2022 event we are joined by the CEO of Kayak, as well as leaders at Marriott, Hilton, Hopper, Cape Town Tourism, and Certares, as well as Skift editors and analysts. This edition of the Skift Podcast highlights Hafner's discussion with Skift Senior Travel Tech Editor Sean O'Neill. The event was recorded at Ogilvy's headquarters in New York City on January 19, 2022. For more insight into the trends driving travel in 2022, visit https://skift.com/megatrends-2022

Google will put an eco-badge of sorts next to a listing if sustainability-minded firms like GreenKey or EarthCheck have highlighted a hotel for its positive impact with environmental practices. Potential guests can even find out property-specific sustainability practices through the new feature, which will also be on Google Travel. "There are a lot of aspects that go into a ranking,” Richard Holden, vice president of travel products at Google, said in September 2021 at Skift Global Forum, and “travel obviously has an outsized impact on the world in terms of carbon." Listen to the full conversation with Skift Research's Seth Borko. Read more coverage of Google and the travel industry at skift.com/tag/google

Uber's CEO doesn't want to offer a super app for everything, but he believes his company is in the best position to bring consumers anything they need, from rides, to food, to medicine, and more. “Anything you want to be delivered to your home with a frequent use case, that’s what we’ll offer,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, at Skift Global Forum, in conversation with Skift executive editor Dennis Schaal. Listen now for the full interview. Read more coverage of the travel industry at skift.com/news

Thanks for listening to the Skift Podcast. We have another podcast you can listen to every weekday morning. The Skift Daily Briefing podcast delivers the day's top headlines in under four minutes. Search for "Skift Daily Briefing" in your favorite podcast app to listen and subscribe. Here's the latest episode: Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, January 6, in New York City. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. The travel industry faces numerous critical issues in the new year as many destinations grapple with the damage brought forth by Covid and its variants. Yet, six underappreciated storylines will define 2022 in travel, says Skift founder and CEO Rafat Ali in a special episode of the Skift Podcast. One of those underappreciated storylines, Ali says, is destinations such as the United States, Latin America and Dubai deciding to remain open to tourism despite the emergence of Omicron, developments that will have enormous implications for their economies. Ali adds another storyline to keep on is Chinese travelers, saying that visitors from the world’s most populous country will not be the economic force they were pre-pandemic as China becomes more isolationist. Next, corporate travel — a sector devastated by the pandemic — is still expected to struggle to reach to pre-Covid travel volumes in 2022 as video conferencing continues to replace large amounts of travel. However, some businesses operating in the sector are managing to attract investors, reports Corporate Travel Editor Matthew Parsons. One such company is the world’s largest corporate travel agency, American Express Global Business Travel, which estimated it may only see corporate travel levels reach 70 percent of pre-pandemic figures. Amex GBT could see its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange in the first half of this year if a planned merger with blank check company Apollo Strategic Growth Capital goes ahead. A venture capital executive told Skift that more investment firms are focused on the travel recovery and possible investment returns, adding that despite the general belief that corporate travel won’t return to 2019 levels, a travel recovery above the 70 percent pre-pandemic figure projected by Amex GBT will be a boon for investors. We end today in Barbados. The Caribbean nation is home to a new online travel booking platform that’s working to create new revenue streams for its tourism businesses, writes Global Tourism Reporter Lebawait Lily Girma. It is unusual in that it was launched by a destination itself. BookBarbados.com — which was launched at the end of 2021 — is a privately funded and owned online travel booking platform that allows users to make reservations for hotel stays, Airbnb rentals, and local tours in one place. It also aims to solve a problem several Caribbean countries have faced during the pandemic — delayed payments from major international tour operators. Close to 70 percent of hotels in the region had reported being owed significant amounts of money by May 2020. The platform’s future goals include offering cruise booking for ships sailing out of Barbados as well as other services visitors to the country might seek, such as a personal trainer. Peter Harris, the website’s founder, said he aims to expand the BookBarbados.com model to other Caribbean locations. For more travel stories and deep dives into the latest trends, head to skift.com. To find these stories and more insight into the business of travel, subscribe to Skift daily newsletter at skift.com/daily.

Skift CEO Rafat Ali explains the underappreciated storylines from the last year that will continue to define the travel industry in 2022. The United States, Latin America, and Dubai will remain open by prioritizing keeping their economies open over everything else. Outdoor is now a permanent and premium part of the leisure and business travel industries. Basing a strategy based on Chinese travelers even post pandemic is foolhardy, as a China turns inwards and isolationist. Tour operators remain the most devastated sector in travel and will remain so in 2022. As an asset class for investors this sector will remain troubled, unless most pivot to independent, customized tours versus group fixed-date tours. Booking windows may have permanently shortened and financial products that introduce flexibility will help players stand out. Exciting as a sector and lot more innovation and investment to come. Labor turmoil will continue in 2022, with higher wages all across the board and turnover of top ranks to continue. This will be a lot more than just transitory over next couple of years. For more insights into the business of travel, visit skift.com/news.

New Southwest Airlines CEO Robert Jordan said that he sees 2022 as another “transition” year in the recovery. He is optimistic that business travelers will return — his predecessor has said this may take 5-10 years — but does not expect this to occur overnight. “I’m an optimistic guy,” said Jordan. “I’m very optimistic that we’re going to get the travel back," said Robert Jordan, incoming CEO of Southwest Airlines, at Skift Global Forum, in conversation with Airline Weekly editor Madhu Unnikrishnan. Listen now for the full interview. Read more coverage of the travel industry at skift.com/news

Skift Research’s Online Travel Agency Factbook is your one-stop shop to understand the global universe of online booking sites. We collected data on and built individual profiles for the 11 largest publicly traded online travel agencies. We analyzed the scale, revenue, growth, profitability, historical performance, and customer acquisition ability of each OTA. Join Skift founding editor Dennis Schaal and Skift Research Senior Analyst Seth Borko as they discuss the report's findings and what they mean for companies including Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, and more in 2022. For more insights into the business of travel, visit skift.com/news.