The Summer Olympics rely on this French hotel company to maintain the Olympic Village

I’m cheering from the banks of the Seine in a plastic rain poncho, my dress soaked and loafers sloshing. The rain has not let up once during the four-hour Opening Ceremony, but as we watch boatloads of beaming athletes float past us one by one waving their national flags, my smile could not be wider. By the time the evening comes to an end, Celine Dion is belting Hymne a l'amour from a glittering Eiffel Tower—some in the crowd cry, others dance, or FaceTime family—and a contagious sense of universal joy ripples across Paris.

Paris est une fête! Especially during the Olympics. The French title of Hemingway’s legendary memoir A Moveable Feast is an apt encapsulation of what can only be called a dramatic vibe shift in the French capital in the last few weeks. Indeed, Paris is a party. The opening ceremony elated even the most hardened of local skeptics of the Olympic Games—locally: les Jeux Olympiques, the JO. Since then, the city has been suspended in a Disney-esque euphoria; the JO is now a multi-week carnival of good cheer.

Paris is hosting this year's Summer Olympics — but that's not where we kicked off the Games.

The Paris Summer Olympic Games are coming to an end this weekend, but there are still plenty of disciplines to go, including a new sport at the Games this year: breaking.

Fireworks, but make it totally silent and all-natural. That’s my kind of light show, and the Perseid Meteor Shower—the most popular meteor shower of the year—peaks this weekend, August 11-13. While you can probably see the natural display from your backyard, heading to darker skies pays off. I’ll never forget my first time watching the Perseids during a summer I spent at a dude ranch in a remote Colorado canyon. There were so many meteors, my fellow spectators and I eventually stopped counting, observing the myriad meteors flying through the sky in total awe.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Charissa Enget, a content creator and cybersecurity architect who gained her graduate degree in Thailand. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of the airline Beond.

Picking a seat on a plane can often feel like a Goldilocks dilemma to me. That aisle seat that's way up front, so I can get off quickly and not miss my connection, but will likely mean my shoulder gets knocked against each time someone passes by. A window seat that's too far back but is also on the right—and I know I sleep better when I lean in that direction. From the minute I book a flight until the final seconds before boarding, I find myself pulling up the airplane seat map to reassess my options for finding a seat that is “just right.”

The Skift Travel Podcast is wrapping up its series on the Paris Olympics. Greg Klassen, senior director at Skift Advisory and former president and CEO of Destination Canada, joins Head of Research Seth Borko and Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of hosting large sporting events such as the Olympic Games.

In 2014, Booking Holdings — then called the Priceline Group — warned analysts that the 29% room night growth it achieved in the second quarter that year would decelerate over time.

Aug 1, 2024 • 5 min read

At long last, August’s buzzed-above and powerful interstellar marvel is here. The Perseids, considered one of the brightest meteor showers of the year, could bring dozens upon dozens of shooting stars, and even vibrant fireballs, to our skies mid-month.