Race tips

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, September 5, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, August 29, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

The world’s largest hotel groups have made great strides in signing up guests for their loyalty programs in the past several years, and Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG have enjoyed some of the greatest gains.

Marriott and Sonder are teaming up in a 20-year licensing deal that lets members of Marriott’s loyalty program earn points at Sonder’s roughly 200 properties—about half of which are apartments. The deal is the latest in a string of similar licensing tie-ups led by Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and Hyatt.

World Ski Awards – the only global initiative programme to recognise, reward and celebrate excellence in ski tourism – has opened the race for votes for its 2024 programme. A wealth of new entries feature this year, the 12th annual edition, reflecting the momentum of the global ski industry. Voting is now open and runs for 16 weeks, ending on 11 October. Ski industry professionals, the media, and ski consumers from around the world are invited to cast their votes to decide which ski organisations are this year’s leaders in their respective fields.

The 332 miles between London and Edinburgh show a particularly narrow difference when traveling via train or plane.

Come July 1, U.S. hotels will need to comply with a California state law that requires upfront disclosure of the total cost — including all mandatory fees — of hotel rooms, among other travel services like short-term rentals and cruises.

Many of the travel booking platforms that experimented with generative AI tools early are now releasing second or third versions of that tech. 

There's certainly something unique about Monaco.

Heading into its third year, Formula 1's Miami Grand Prix has made a name for itself as a unique spectacle in the sport.

From May 3 to 5, 2024, the Formula 1 Grand Prix will return to the Miami International Autodrome, for its third year— a 19-turn, 3.36-mile track, next to the Hard Rock Stadium. Last year, 270,491 fans were in attendance, and this year, more are to be expected— especially with the launch of the F1 Academy — the series created to develop and prepare female drivers, from the ages of 16 to 25, to progress to higher levels of motorsport competition.

A bulging middle class, a mega-rich 1%, and a rapidly growing population are swirling to potentially make India a tourism superpower. But the country’s largest online travel agencies are not going to go to war; rather, they’re in a race for who can leverage the growth opportunities first and then on a long-term basis.

While many athletes are busy training for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, there is another race that is affectionately dear to Parisians—that of the annual Waiter's Race—and it is also making a comeback in 2024.

The world’s most valuable horse race will be staged this week with the Saudi Cup 2024 set to be bigger than ever.

Qatar Airways is growing its sport sponsorship portfolio as the Official Airline Partner and Title Partner of the Qatar Airways Qatar 1812 Km FIA World Endurance Championship. Hosted at the Lusail International Circuit, this exciting partnership marks a significant moment in the world of motorsport, as the award-winning airline joins forces with the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) for its 12th season in 2024.

A surge in Formula 1’s popularity means that a glimpse into the high-octane world of the sport has become increasingly appealing in recent years. Long-time race attendee Nicky Haldenby helps fans plan their Grand Prix weekends at a leading F1 travel website. Here, he gives you the inside track on planning a trip to a Formula 1 race.

As tourists have started to return to Afghanistan over the past 18 months, some have helped to arrange the country’s only ski race. Now a new ski club has launched in Bamyan Province, with a helping hand from international visitors, and there is a plea for more support from the international community.

Traveler sign-ups for hotel loyalty programs have soared in the past five years, and Hilton and Marriott have enjoyed some of the greatest gains.

Generative artificial intelligence has been the topic of 2023, and companies have taken note with bigwigs speaking openly about plans to integrate the technology.

The city of Las Vegas is so enamored with hosting a Formula 1 Grand Prix race that it is willing to make alterations as needed.

Tromsø’s natural gifts can seem almost unfair. Buried deep in the Arctic Circle in northern Norway, it’s surrounded by the soaring, skiable peaks of the Lyngen Alps and fjords that draw pods of humpback whales in the winter. And, most famously, it’s slap-bang in the middle of the so-called Auroral Oval, the band of the Earth (between latitudes 65º and 70º north) in which the northern lights hit hardest and brightest.