The travel industry has made enormous progress in its rebound from the pandemic this year, but it still faces several hurdles in its quest to make a full recovery — such as Chinese outbound travel not yet hitting pre-Covid levels.
14.12.2023 - 15:59 / skift.com / Edward Russell / Rashaad Jorden / Sean Oneill
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, December 13. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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Choice Hotels believes it’s taken another key step toward its planned takeover of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. Choice Hotels said on Tuesday it had bought enough Wyndham stock to nominate candidates to Wyndham’s board, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.
Choice Hotels said it purchased more than $110 million of Wyndham stock. In addition, it is putting forth an exchange offer to present to Wyndham shareholders for a vote next year. Wyndham said its board is reviewing the offer and would give a recommendation to its shareholders within 10 days.
But Wyndham stated Choice’s offer seems to be unchanged from one it previously rejected.
Next, Canada won’t surpass its pre-Covid visitor numbers until 2025. One reason why is China’s ongoing ban on group travel into Canada, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.
Meaghan Ferrigno, Destination Canada’s chief data and analytics officer, said Canada’s tourism industry would get a major boost from Beijing ending the ban. Ferrigno added that Destination Canada wasn’t currently marketing group travel in China, instead focusing on individual Chinese travelers. Tourists from China spent the most in Canada of any other group in 2019.
Finally, flight attendants at Southwest Airlines recently overwhelmingly rejected a new contract. That’s a major sign of the widespread discontent many flight attendants are feeling, reports Edward Russell, editor of Skift publication Airline Weekly.
Nearly two-thirds of Southwest flight attendants who voted rejected a contract that would have included pay increases of 36% over five years. Russell writes one issue was a lack of pay during the boarding and deplaning processes, with almost all U.S. flight attendants only being paid when an aircraft door is closed.
American Airlines flight attendants have authorized a potential strike. Russell notes that if American flight attendants were to go through with one, it would have a significant impact on the U.S. airline industry. American flies nearly a fourth of all U.S. domestic flights.
The travel industry has made enormous progress in its rebound from the pandemic this year, but it still faces several hurdles in its quest to make a full recovery — such as Chinese outbound travel not yet hitting pre-Covid levels.
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Choice Hotels International’s hostile buyout offer of rival Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has entered a new phase: recriminations.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced that its Board of Directors unanimously determined the unsolicited exchange offer from Choice Hotels International to acquire all outstanding shares of the hospitality company is not in the best interests of its shareholders.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts‘ board of directors said in a filing on Monday it had unanimously rejected Choice Hotels International’s unsolicited exchange offer last week to acquire it.
A survey of hotel owners found many of them raising concerns about Choice Hotels‘ proposed hostile takeover of its rival Wyndham. Issues include the effect on their revenue and a potential increase in fees they pay.
The budget hotel brouhaha boiled over Tuesday morning as Choice Hotels launched a hostile bid for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
Choice Hotels International announced the completed integration of the Radisson Hotels Americas business, just 16 months after Choice acquired the brand in August 2022.
Choice Hotels said on Tuesday it had bought enough Wyndham stock to nominate candidates to the board of Wyndham, its takeover target.
Never mind that its $7.8 billion hostile takeover bid for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts was publicly spurned in October or that three other proposals have also been rejected. Suitor Choice Hotels now wants to take a new offer directly to Wyndham shareholders.
The U.S. hotel industry again managed to add jobs in November. But just like in October, the sector saw hiring numbers fall from the previous month.