Latest news with #SkiftResearch
Skift
2 days ago
- Business
- Skift
April 2025 Highlights
While Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa showed growth and Europe remained stable, North America witnessed a 5% slowdown, mainly due to the 'Trump Effect' bringing policy changes, travel bans, and tariffs, leading to shifts in travel sentiment. Report Overview This report highlights the latest insights from the Skift Travel Health Index. The index covers travel's performance since January 2020, up to and including April 2025. The Skift Travel Health Index is a real-time measure of the performance of the travel industry at large, and the core verticals within it. The Index provides the travel industry with a powerful tool for strategic planning, which is of utmost importance as times remain uncertain. Skift Research launched the Index in May 2020 as the Skift Recovery Index. At the start of 2022 we rebranded the Index as the Skift Travel Health Index, to reflect some far-ranging changes: the addition of many more indicators, additional data partners, and most importantly, our continued effort to track the industry health beyond the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. 2024 brings new data partners into the fold. Cloudbeds has started to provide us with ADR and Occupancy data for hotel stays, and The Data Appeal Company is providing us with data on travel sentiment, flight searches and flight bookings, strengthening the index. We are thankful for the continued support of our other data partners: Amadeus, Aviasales, Beyond, CarTrawler, Cendyn, Cloudbeds, Collinson, Criteo, Duetto, Hotelbeds, Key Data Dashboard, Lighthouse, Nium, OAG, Onyx CenterSource, Shiji Group, Skyscanner, Sojern, The Data Appeal Company, TravelgateX, and TrustYou. Their data allows us to provide you with a monthly assessment of travel's performance.
Skift
22-05-2025
- Skift
International Travel to the U.S. Remains Soft – Can Domestic Demand Fill the Gap?
The softening in inbound travel demand – especially from Canada – is being partially offset by domestic travel, which continues to show resilience. U.S. tourism is navigating the ripple effects of the Trump administration's new policies and tariffs, but Skift Research's report – The Trump Effect: Skift Travel Health Index Market Analysis – tells a nuanced story. The Skift Travel Health Index reveals that there was a 2% year-on-year dip in U.S. travel demand in March 2025. That's down, of course, but not a collapse. And while there are several red flags – declines from Canada, volatile flows from Europe – domestic travel could pick up the slack. Canada Is Pulling Back Is Canada boycotting the U.S.? The data suggest so: There has been a marked drop in Canadian travel to the U.S. this year, with a sharp 22% decline in flight bookings in February, immediately after President Trump talked about making Canada a U.S. state. By March 2025, hotel searches from Canada dropped 43%, while new bookings declined 34% year-on-year. Instead, Canadian travelers are now shifting southward, with flight booki
Travel Daily News
21-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Daily News
Three emerging booking trends you can't ignore in 2025
Hotels must prioritize direct bookings, flexible policies, and modern revenue strategies to meet evolving guest expectations and boost 2025 profitability. If you've been working in the hospitality industry for any time, I'm sure you've experienced the huge shifts and changes in the way that hotels operate, in how consumers select where to travel and stay, and how they prefer to book their hotel. Staying on top of these changes can feel exhausting but, never fear, I'm here to update you on three key booking trends that hotels need to know today to make the operational (and technology) updates necessary to attract more guests, increase bookings and revenue and improve guests' overall booking experience in 2025. So, let's get started… TREND #1: The hard work that hotels have done to drive more direct traffic is starting to pay off (but the work is not done yet!) For years, hotels have been working to direct more traffic and bookings via the direct channels but, due to the huge marketing budgets, innovative features and cost-saving loyalty programs offered by the OTAs, travelers have been slow to make the shift. While the OTAs are still coming out on top, the tide is beginning to shift, signaling good news for hotels' bottom lines in the future… According to Skift Research's Hotel Distribution Outlook 2024, 'by 2030, direct digital channels will surpass OTAs as the primary booking source for hotels, generating $409 billion in gross bookings, compared to $333 billion from OTAs.' While this is a development that is just starting to take shape, it demonstrates a shifting preference among travelers for booking direct, likely because of the hard work that hotels have done in improving their direct rates, offering more personalized experiences, providing additional value and the development of loyalty programs that add even more value for repeat guests. Hoteliers that don't prioritize improving their direct booking channels will lose valuable business to savvy hoteliers who have already updated their revenue and reservation management strategies accordingly. What can you do today to boost your direct bookings? First, hotels must use a CRS with a built-in booking engine to offer the best booking experience to guests, while optimizing their reservation management and front-office operations. To encourage guests to book directly, hotels should offer value-added services, such as free breakfast, discounts on on-site amenities, free airport transfers or room upgrades. Obviously, your website and booking engine needs to offer a frictionless booking experience, both on desktop and mobile, but that's no longer enough. Integrated AI chatbots on your website can enable better customer service by automating the process of answering repetitive questions, making it possible for your staff to do more, with less. Create a loyalty program that will provide exclusive incentives to members to encourage repeat customers and consider upselling pre-stay options, room upgrades, etc., thereby creating a new revenue stream. Finally, retargeting previous guests (or those who visited your website previously) with social media ads and emails can also dramatically increase conversion rates and maximize the revenue earned via your direct channel. TREND #2: Guests are looking for more flexibility in booking and payment terms Immediately after the pandemic, last-minute bookings were at an all-time high but, today, hotels are experiencing a guest preference towards a longer booking window, averaging guests booking 32 days in advance. With that increase in advance booking, guests now expect more flexibility in hotels' cancelation policies to minimize their risk. While offering flexible cancellation terms may feel risky to hoteliers, recent statistics show that it's a worthwhile risk as 'cancellations are now falling below 20%' and, based on an industry report, 'more than half of [guests] are willing to pay extra for a hotel that offers free cancellation… [with] nearly 1 in 5 [saying] they'd pay $50 or more.' In addition to flexibility in cancellation, guests are also looking for flexible payment options that enable booking without paying upfront or which offer price alerts (and the ability to change the reservation) if the price of the hotel room decreases during the cancellation window. If your property isn't already offering flexible booking and payment options, you should update your policies across all channels to maximize conversions. Finally, making it easy for guests to modify or cancel their reservation online (if necessary) will go a long way towards encouraging guests to book early, as it will minimize their stress levels. TREND #3: Modern revenue management strategies for modern guests Revenue management is becoming more sophisticated every year, especially at the group level where cluster revenue management is being deployed with a few clicks across an entire portfolio of properties, enabling the implementation of brand-wide (rather than property specific) revenue management strategies. Today's guests are willing to be brand loyal, if they are offered valuable incentives to do so innovative cluster revenue managers should implement strategies to ensure that brand-specific strategies cultivate loyalty over the long term. In the luxury and all-inclusive market, we've seen a growing trend of membership- or subscription-based travel, in which a guest earns stays at any of a group's properties by paying a subscription or membership fee, either to get free stays at different locations or to receive a discount on all hotel bookings. For example, Accor implemented a subscription program in 2023, called Accor Plus, which gives members discounts of up to 50% on dining and hotel stays (with one free stay per year) at more than 1,000 participating Accor properties (under their various brand names) in 20 countries around the world. If properly marketed and promoted, the subscription- or membership-based revenue model could prove very valuable for hotels because it incentivizes repeat guests (the guests who spend the most during their stay) and frequent travelers to fill rooms, especially valuable if implemented during slower travel periods. Also, groups can leverage a brand-level revenue management strategy by offering portfolio-wide packages to loyalty members to book within a hotel group rather than switching to competitors' properties when they visit a new destination. Today, the guest booking journey is constantly evolving and hotels must evolve along with the trends to stay competitive. Hotels that don't prioritize innovating to match guests' changing needs, risk losing bookings and revenue to more savvy competitors. So, is your property's direct booking channel ready to welcome today's modern guests?
Skift
21-05-2025
- Business
- Skift
India vs. China vs. Japan: What Drives Travel in Asia's Top Markets
Asia's top travel markets are rebounding on their own terms — favoring regional trips, redefining luxury, and reshaping global travel demand. Asia's outbound travel is back, but it looks very different across the region's three most important markets: India, China, and Japan. Skift Research's latest report, Asia Rising: Inside the Minds of 2025's Most Valuable Travelers, unpacks what's driving these markets, where they're headed, and how travel brands must adapt. Domestic and regional travel are the clear winners in Asia's recovery story. India and China have bounced back with force, showing a surge in domestic movement and short-haul international trips. Japan, by contrast, remains more hesitant — a market still cautious, still restrained. When we compare current travel activity to 2019, the picture is unmistakable: Long-haul isn't leading Asia's return. Instead, the region is rewriting its travel script with a stronger focus on proximity, frequency, and familiarity. China's Long-Haul Travel Hesitation Despite outbound travel spending climbing back to $250.6 billion in 2024, China hasn't regained its pre-pandemic long-haul momentum. There's a deeper shift underway. Today's Chinese traveler is increasingly inclined to stay closer to home, driven by a mix of geopolitical caution, rising safety consciousness, and a reevaluation of travel's purpose. The appetite for exploring distant markets has dimmed — not disappeared, but no longer automatic. This is no temporary pause; it's a structural recalibration. What's Holding Travelers Back Barriers to outbound travel remain, but they're evolving. In China, the shadow of geopolitics looms large, coupled with lingering safety anxieties and the psychological weight of the pandemic. India and Japan are confronting a different set of obstacles: surging travel costs that are reshaping decision-making across income segments. Visa issues, limited air connectivity, and health concerns cut across all three markets, creating friction at every stage of the traveler journey. These hurdles don't just delay trips — they reshape destination choices and dampen long-haul demand. Splurges Show Regional Personality When Asian travelers do choose to spend, their preferences reveal striking cultural nuance. Everyone wants luxury accommodations, but beyond that, each market indulges differently. India gravitates toward premium flights, designer shopping, and wellness-focused escapes. Chinese travelers are drawn to rich, immersive experiences — safaris, private tours, and refined dining that signal depth and personalization. Japanese travelers, meanwhile, embrace gourmet cuisine and upgraded flights but remain reserved when it comes to high-touch, over-the-top extras. Beneath the shared desire for comfort lies a layered, regional story of what luxury really means. Asia isn't returning to old habits. It's moving forward with a new set of expectations, values, and priorities. For travel brands hoping to engage with the region's most valuable travelers in 2025, understanding these shifts is non-negotiable. Read the full report → Asia Rising: Inside the Minds of 2025's Most Valuable Travelers
Skift
19-05-2025
- Business
- Skift
Rising Costs, Supply Strains, Weakening Demand: Airlines Face New Challenges
At the end of 2024, we released our forecasts for the year ahead and the key themes we thought would drive change in the travel industry in our Global Travel Outlook 2025. Nearly five months into 2025, we revisit those trends in Skift Research's latest report, Turbulence and Tailwinds: Shifting Trends in the Airline Industry, given the current economic instability and global uncertainties, including tariffs imposed by the U.S. government. Key Themes for 2025Updated CommentarySupply chains remain a major concern for the industryWill likely worsen as the global airline industry navigates the economics of tariffsRecord passenger revenues for the industry, along with record profitabilityRevenue growth will be lower than projected but profitability will stickPremium demand to stay strongPremium has shown remarkable resilience and it will likely stay strongMore airline consolidationEconomic uncertainties and weak financial he
