Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, September 8. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
01.09.2023 - 11:19 / skift.com / Rashaad Jorden / Sean Oneill
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, September 1. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Overcast | Google Podcasts | Amazon Podcasts
Washington, D.C. will spend roughly $20 million in an upcoming campaign to help boost the city’s lagging tourism recovery, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.
The global campaign — called “There’s Only One DC” — will launch November 1. Habtemariam reports the campaign will support influencer collaborations, as well as advertising on social media and television. Destination DC, the city’s destination marketing organization, hopes the funding injection will help it in its efforts to attract international travelers.
Washington, D.C. welcomed 1.2 million foreign tourists last year, which was just 60% of its pre-Covid figure. Habtemariam cited the absence of Chinese tourists, the city’s largest visitor market pre-pandemic, as one reason for Washington, D.C.’s international slump.
Next, U.S. hotel group Sonesta is facing a lawsuit about how it displays resort fees on its website and app, reports Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.
The suit alleges that Soneta made tens of millions annually since at least 2017 by not disclosing upfront its mandatory resort and destination fees at some of its properties. O’Neill writes Sonesta isn’t alone in not disclosing those fees upfront. He adds all of the major hotel groups and many smaller hotels brands have engaged in the practice of junk fees in recent decades.
Lauren Wolfe, a counsel from consumer advocacy group Travelers United, said lawsuits against more companies regarding so-called junk fees are coming. Travelers United filed the class-action suit against Sonesta.
Finally, Airbnb and New York City have often had a rocky relationship, once marked by lawsuits and numerous disputes. Associate Editor Rashaad Jorden provides a timeline documenting the tension between the city and the short-term rental giant over the past 10 years.
Jorden lists the major twists and turns in New York City’s and Airbnb’s relationship using Ask Skift, our artificial intelligence chatbot, and additional reporting. Airbnb has sued the city twice — including this June over measures the company called a “de facto ban” against short-term rentals. That recent lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.
In addition, Airbnb is staring at the prospect of a steep reduction in New York City listings starting September 5. That’s when city authorities said they would start enforcing its host registration law for short-term rentals.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, September 8. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Skift has looked into the hurdles that several major U.S. cities face in trying to boost tourism — San Francisco and Portland are just two examples.
Yet another U.S. hotel company faces a lawsuit about disclosing mandatory resort fees. Sonesta, which runs more than 1,200 hotels under various brand flags, faces a class-action suit in Washington, D.C., over how it displays its resort fees on its website and app.
In addition to booming tourism numbers worldwide, travelers this summer have experienced scorching temperatures. That blistering heat has made travel difficult and could potentially create chronic health problems.
Travelers United’s choice to sue Hyatt over its “junk fee” practices fits into a broader storyline about travel junk fees being in the limelight ever since President Joe Biden referred to travel fees in his 2023 State of the Union address.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, November 16. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Hyatt Hotel Corp. said on Tuesday it would acquire Dream Hotel Group’s lifestyle hotel brands, including Dream Hotels, The Chatwal Hotels, and Unscripted Hotels.
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.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, January 10, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
While 2022 was a post-pandemic boom year for hotel demand in much of the world, total global hotel investment volume decelerated slightly to $71.9 billion, a decline of 2 percent relative to 2021. The relative lack of outbound Chinese hotel investment, the Russian war in Ukraine, and recessionary pressures in several markets tamped down the pace of growth.
India is projected to surpass a rapidly aging China as the world’s most populous country this year, a development that Skift founder and CEO Rafat Ali and Senior Research Analyst Seth Borko said would have enormous implications for the travel industry during the Skift Megatrends event in New York City on January 10.
Here are some excerpts from Daily Lodging Report from 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.