The Skift Travel Podcast

Fora became travel's newest unicorn, Amazon is pushing deeper into AI travel booking, and earnings season is revealing where the industry is gaining momentum.

Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko discuss how AI is changing travel distribution and what the latest results from Hilton, JetBlue, and Royal Caribbean say about the second half of the year.

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00:00 Fora Hits Unicorn00:56 Beach Vacation Banter02:40 Why Fora Matters03:31 AI Revives Travel Agents05:26 Alexa Books Travel07:53 Does Voice Really Work10:40 Amazon Travel Déjà Vu12:40 Old Ideas Return14:39 2018 Report Flashback16:06 IHG Conversational Search19:26 No Single Front Door21:32 Google Still In Play22:41 AI vs Travel Giants24:06 Hilton Fee Cut27:50 Incentives and RevPAR28:42 JetBlue Turnaround Plan30:40 Low Cost Carrier Squeeze33:00 LaGuardia Marine Terminal35:25 Winners and Losers35:45 Royal Caribbean Fuel Hit36:47 Space Licensing and Tourism39:29 Long Term Outlook Farewell

The U.S. passport is no longer among the world's most powerful. Skift revisits its biggest travel megatrends of 2026, and The Odyssey is already driving tourism in Norway.

Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko discuss what shifting passport rankings reveal about global influence, which travel megatrends have held up through the first half of the year, and why movie tourism continues to be a powerful force for destinations.

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00:00 Passport Power Rankings

02:35 Dressing Up to Travel

03:32 Ironing Boards Crusade

05:03 Henley Index Deep Dive

07:52 Megatrends Midyear Game

10:34 Tourists Skip the US

13:13 Marketing for AI Search

14:44 Sustainability Reality Check

16:51 Mocktails Take Over

20:07 Luxury Boom Debate

21:58 Self Driving Trend Watch

23:37 Train Renaissance Tease

23:48 Train renaissance check-in

25:18 Flying taxis progress

25:56 Music tourism boom

27:50 K-beauty travel trends

29:46 OTA oligopoly cracks

31:30 Vibe coding tsunami

37:39 World Cup matrix reveal

44:30 Winners of the week

48:32 Wrap and sign-off

The World Cup didn't deliver the inbound tourism boost many expected. Delta still posted strong earnings despite soaring fuel costs. And new Skift Research points to Latin America as one of travel's biggest growth opportunities.

Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko explore why the travel industry is shifting toward higher-value travelers, premium experiences, and a new definition of growth.

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00:00 Tourism Drop Shock

01:48 Why World Cup Didn’t Boost

03:47 Value Over Volume Travel

08:14 Group Stage Travel Surge

10:35 Live Tourism Everywhere

11:30 Spain Eclipse And Overtourism

13:28 Delta Premium Revenue Milestone

18:40 K Shaped Travel Economy

23:55 Skift Premium Trend Report

26:31 Winners And Losers Segment

29:02 Brand USA Takes The L

30:33 Ennismore IPO Buzz Wrap

33:42 Closing Thanks And Goodbye

Visa is becoming a travel company. Mews is restructuring around AI. And Gen Z is already reshaping business travel.

Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko explore how new competitors, artificial intelligence, and changing traveler behavior are rewriting the rules for travel companies—and why these seemingly separate stories all point to the same shift happening across the industry.

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00:00 AI Layoff Banter

00:48 Delta One Unbundled

02:37 Basic Business Breakdown

03:12 Seat Selection Stories

04:27 Booking Friction Risks

06:43 Muse Cuts Explained

11:00 AI Jobs And Economy

14:55 Visa Travel Portal

17:27 Can Visa Compete

19:16 Ground Game Logistics

19:35 Lotus Hotel Points Find

21:13 Credit Card Hotel Portals

21:36 Visa Luxury Collection

22:49 Gen Z Business Travel Habits

24:17 Corporate Tools Limit Choice

25:01 Gen Z Trip Growth Stats

27:19 Business Trip Anxiety

30:02 Gen Z Workforce Shifts

31:55 World Cup Winners Losers

35:07 Signing Off Next Week

More than 1,200 hotel franchise agreements are set to expire by 2030, and some owners are deciding it's time to leave the big brands behind.

Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko explore why independent hotels are becoming a more realistic option, how technology is changing the franchise equation, and why new Skift Research suggests consumers—and AI—may no longer see meaningful differences between many hotel brands.

00:00 1200 Expiring Flags

02:16 Why Go Independent

02:34 Series Origins Minnesota

04:46 Meet Pritesh Patel

06:36 Do Brands Drive Demand

09:40 Gary Patel and Airbnb

13:32 Territories and Soft Brands

16:54 Perfect Storm Renewals

19:42 Financing Without a Flag

22:25 Bankers See It Coming

22:54 Reporting Heartland Hoteliers

24:24 Financing Surprise and Data

25:47 Franchise Model Under Strain

28:57 Fees Soft Brands and Flex

30:48 Skift Decision Brief Launch

33:00 Too Many Brands Problem

35:46 Decision Pathways for Brands

38:08 Winners and Losers Segment

40:19 Freddy Quits X Finale