Testing ChatGPT Vs. Google Bard Using Travel Industry Buzzwords

In our weekend roundup, we delve into the pros and cons of Google’s latest foray into the tours and activities industry, providing insights into how online travel agencies might stand to benefit. We also catch up with IHG’s new CEO Elie Maalouf and his ambitious plans for the brand’s future. From AI’s influence on the travel sector to the latest controversies in short-term rentals, keep reading for a comprehensive look at the most pressing issues in today’s travel landscape.

Google is one of the undisputed heavyweights in online travel. So when one of the key masterminds behind all of its travel platforms and products talks about where the search giant is heading, it’s worth paying attention to.

The vice chairman and CEO of Expedia Group, Peter Kern, covered a lot of ground during his session at Skift Global Forum in New York City in September. Kern gave his perspective on mergers and acquisitions, technology, and micro-services.

At at time when the travel industry is still grappling with a labor shortage, you have to think some companies in the sector are “labor hoarding,” hanging on to workers that might have otherwise been downsized for costs savings or seasonality reasons, simply because of the fear of not being able to fill roles later.

Something shifted in the last two weeks on the zeitgeist about the use of artificial intelligence in our daily personal and professional lives.

Good morning from Skift. Somehow it’s already Friday, January 20. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

As other sectors deal with post-epidemic corrections, travel brands continue to grow as they make up for lost ground over the last three years. Earnings season continued this week and both Meta’s and Google’s results showed the strength of travel brands during the last quarter. Read on.

Earlier this week we did our first event on LinkedIn live, and we think it went pretty well. You can watch a recap of the discussion about what travel marketers should expect in 2023 on LI or back on Skift, too.

While the tech sector faces the blues, the travel sector is still moving in a positive direction. You can see this in the last month of earnings reports, as well as from exclusive Skift Research surveys. Although not fully recovered completely, the travel industry gained substantial momentum at the start of the year. All regions have almost recovered from the pandemic blues, Asia Pacific being the only exception. But with loosening travel restrictions and China reopening, we expect a stronger travel industry to be less uneven this year.

Hotel leaders from around the world gathered in London this week for the Skift Future of Lodging Forum. Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill wrote an excellent summary of the event earlier this week where he shared slides from speakers, quotes from attendees, and a Paris Hilton TikTok.

On Wednesday, we published a deep dive into Chinese outbound tourism by Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia. The spark of the story came from a discussion she had in December with Trip.com Chief Operating Officer Schubert Lou at Skift Global Forum East. “The article is an attempt to cut the clutter and talk about how the Chinese tourist has changed and how destinations should approach this change,” Bhutia told me this week. “Also, call it perfect timing, the deep dive came out the day China removed its final Covid-induced hurdle for travel and resumed issuing tourist visas.”

Google released limited access to Bard, essentially its own version of ChatGPT, earlier this week. If today were six months ago, it would be more exciting. But compared to what is available today, the chatbot’s abilities are not particularly impressive.