Skift Take
Executives speaking at this year's Skift Global Forum offered no shortage of opinions about the current state and future of the travel industry, and here are some of the most noteworthy comments.
20 CEOs. 35 sessions in all. The Skift Global Forum ran from September 17 - 19 with loads of insights into the future of travel. We heard from the biggest hotel operators, OTAs, tourism boards and other leaders of the industry.
Here are the highlights.
1. Brian Chesky wants Airbnb to be about more than travel: “Why would Airbnb just offer homes? Why couldn’t we offer significantly more things? And that’s the future of this company, Airbnb Brian Chesky said. “We’re going to take the Airbnb model, and we’re going to bring it to a lot of different categories.”Chesky has had to backtrack on initiatives before – Airbnb’s implementation of AI and experiences, to name two. But for now, he’s pledging two to three initiatives a year, with a goal of turning them into billion-dollar businesses.
2. Marriott has seen a slight pullback in spending by high-end guests
"Certainly in the U.S. and in many other markets around the world, you have this bifurcation of the consumer today. The lower-end consumer is feeling some real stress. But the high-income consumer continues to prioritize travel and experiences,” said Marriott CEO Anthony Ca