Travel in Marriott

In the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the James Stewart character George Bailey sees how life would change had he never been born. That’s a fantasy, of course, but like George Bailey, I began imagining recently while watching the Walt Disney Company’s latest leadership drama unfold how a company’s timeline could be altered under a different scenario.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, November 11. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Marriott International forecast that its fourth quarter would surpass 2019 in revenue per available room, a a closely watched number, underscoring the resilience of travel spending despite economic worries.

Mexican hotel operator FibraHotel said on Wednesday it is looking to buy resorts and all-inclusive hotels in the coming years while shedding some under-performing properties, aiming to seize on what it described as a boom in beach travel by U.S. tourists.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, December 1. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

How Latin America Is the Future of the Airline Industry: No part of the world is seeing as many big changes to the airline business as Latin America. The final shape is still opaque, but one thing is clear for the region’s aviation industry: All eyes are watching closely for how this transformation unfolds.

Marriott International is debuting an extended-stay brand offering serviced apartment stays in the U.S. and Canada. The Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy product will play in the premium and luxury segments, syncing with Marriott’s overall portfolio — which is in the upper half of lodging categories.

Here are some excerpts from Daily Lodging Report in the past week. If you’re not a subscriber, you should be. Get news on hotel deals, development, stocks, and career moves. Sign up here, now.

Marriott International’s Edition brand, co-created with hotel impresario Ian Schrager, may finally be clicking with developers after a decade-long slow burn. The Tampa Edition that opened in September marked the 15th property in the series. Top executives expect to double that footprint within five years.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Monday, November 28. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Skift unveiled the 2023 edition of its annual Megatrends this week and in the mix, as you’d expect, is the phenomenon of the blended traveler.

Doing local in a more memorable way is becoming increasingly important for hotels. Marriott International VP of Design Aliya Khan and Curator Hotel & Resort Collection President Jennifer Barnwell discuss the rising demand for more lifestyle, capturing experiences through design and balancing renovations with changing consumer expectations.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, January 13, and there’s no reason to be superstitious. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Hotel companies have been launching new brands again. Hilton Worldwide said on Wednesday it had created its first hotel brand in the economy segment, Spark by Hilton. Accor, the owner of the world’s most hotel brands, said last week it had reorganized itself around its brands. Marriott International, Wyndham Worldwide, Hyatt, Kerzner, and Best Western have created or bought hotel brands in the past several months.

Remote workers don’t always want to disclose their location to employers, with growing numbers taking so-called “hush trips.”

The top boss of Marriott International used an on-stage interview on Thursday as a platform to call on the U.S. federal government to do more to cut the wait times for interviews for first-time visitor visa applicants, which he said was leading to lost revenue because of reduced U.S. inbound tourism.

Top executives at Marriott International said they believe the pandemic surge in travelers having blended trip purposes of both business and leisure will have a long-term impact on the hotel sector. The growing trend will affect everything from data collection to the types of properties developers want to fund.

Vacasa Slashes 17 Percent of Workforce in Second Recent Round of Layoffs: It’s clear that Vacasa’s ranks were bloated, and that the company was not very well-run in recent years. Like several other now-struggling, newly public companies, Vacasa faces a challenging road ahead.

Vianel Filpo, general manager at Turks and Caicos Collection, a group of luxury resorts, will never forget the day he found an employee suffering from depression so badly that she was considering taking her own life. 

Marriott International revealed on Monday its full-year totals for hotel development in 2022. The most notable figures highlighted a further push by the world’s largest hotelier into the luxury and extended-stay segments.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, January 25. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.