Lyft's New Emission Tracking Tool For Rideshare Business Travel

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, September 12. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Hyatt sees signs that more people in big cities are returning to offices, which could eventually translate to more business transient travel at the hotel giant.

It will soon be harder to find a vacation rental in New York City. 

When it comes to planning a trip as a solo female traveler, safety is almost always number one. Of course, things like activities, museums, and sight-seeing also come into play but making sure the destination will be accommodating and comfortable is vital to ensuring a positive trip experience.

Google Flights has introduced a new feature to help travelers answer the perennial question: “Should I buy my flights now or wait and hope the price decreases?” The tech company has long offered users insight into whether the airfares they’re looking at are low, typical, or high compared with historical price averages for that particular route. Now, Google is offering users data on what time frames have traditionally been the cheapest for the route they’re searching so travelers can make more informed decisions about their booking.

The investor mania for special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, in the past two years cooled mighty quick, with most travel companies going public through this process plummeting in value since their stock market debuts.

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.

Hari Nair, Expedia Group’s global senior vice president and general manager of lodging marketplace, took the stage with Skift founder and CEO Rafat Ali this week to discuss big trends shaping travel for 2023 at Skift’s annual Megatrends event in New York City. The industry veteran gives his take on travel spending, talent acquisition, and opportunities for loyalty programs across Expedia’s house of brands.

Skift Megatrends Defining Travel in 2023: Here are 16 travel industry trends for the new year and beyond that we hope will help you navigate your businesses through increasingly uncertain and opportunistic times.

Las Vegas Sands is pursuing a multi-billion flagship casino, entertainment and hospitality development following its agreement to purchase a long-term lease over the home to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, opened in 1972 on Long Island in New York. This would be the company’s first entertainment project in the U.S. since it sold its Las Vegas properties last year.

Ace Hotel Chain Acquired for $85 Million by Hospitality Firm Sortis: Ace only has about a dozen properties, but it has punched above its weight in brand impact. Here’s our analysis of whether Sortis is a good home and if $85 million is a good price.

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.