331 episodes
- Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down two travel distribution stories that are really about trust.
First, Skift found AI-generated TikTok Go videos promoting a Sedona luxury resort with fake amenities, fake-looking creators, and commission tags that did not match the booking reality. Then, they unpack Dennis Schaal’s reporting on a bombshell estimate that Booking may be larger than Expedia in B2B room nights — a finding that could reshape how the industry thinks about OTA competition.
This episode is brought to you by ZS
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Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
00:00 AI TikTok Resort Scam
02:33 Breaking Down TikTok Go
03:23 Fake Amenities and Synth Creators
04:58 Cylon Detour
06:11 Affiliate Incentives Explained
07:30 Broken Links and Bad Actors
08:36 Owners and Brand Protection
13:06 Economics of TikTok Go
18:51 Trust Crisis for Travel Brands
23:19 Real World Guest Fallout
24:22 OTAs Meet TikTok
25:40 B2B White Label Basics
27:06 Real World Examples
29:43 Expedia B2B Dominance
32:07 Booking Consolidates B2B
33:35 Jaw Dropping Analyst Note
35:51 Scale Explains Surprise
43:27 Product Quality vs Volume
46:32 Winners and Losers
48:24 Global Forum Wrap Up - United is adding 10 new international routes, from Ibiza and Slovenia to Okinawa and Sardinia.
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko discuss what the expansion says about premium leisure demand, how new long-range narrowbody aircraft are changing route economics, and why Generator’s premium-hostel strategy points to a new opportunity in the squeezed mid-market hotel space.
00:00 United Adds 10 Routes
00:54 Which Flights To Book
02:29 Leisure Travel Targeting
04:39 Premium Status Signaling
05:34 A321XLR Explained
07:19 Long And Skinny Economics
08:43 Charting Narrowbody Growth
10:25 Big Plane Nerding
12:43 More Oddball Nonstops
15:49 Hostel News And Freehand
18:46 Generator Goes Premium
21:55 Luxury Ladder Strategy
22:34 Generator Hostel Growth
23:24 Hostel Stigma and Selina
24:33 Pod Hotels vs Lifestyle
26:18 Airbnb and Segmentation
26:49 AI Op Ed Debate
30:40 Bad Writing and Care
35:10 AI Detectors and False Positives
40:17 Winners and Losers
43:31 NYC BQE Winner
45:49 Listener Questions and Wrap - Google paid $10 million for Spirit Airlines’ data. Airbnb is showing real AI-driven savings. Booking says AI still accounts for less than 1% of room nights.
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down travel’s AI reckoning: what is paying off, what is still experimental, and why data, trust, and ROI now matter more than AI hype.
Connect with Skift
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/
WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/
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Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
00:00 Google Buys Spirit Data
01:35 AI’s Hunger for Training Data
03:13 LLM Language Quirks
05:39 From Jokes to Business Impact
05:45 Bankruptcy Data as New Brand
08:03 Why Travel Data Is Special
10:25 Seat Politics and Spotify Age
13:18 Google’s ITA Playbook
18:13 AI Usefulness in Travel Tech
20:09 Airbnb AI ROI Proof
22:17 Beyond Chatbots Debate
25:43 Revenue Upside Signals
29:23 Bookings Still Tiny
31:34 AI Trip Planning Stories
34:45 Trust Gap Chart
36:46 Who Owns Booking
38:37 GDS Plumbing Goes AI
39:43 Winners Listener Shoutouts
41:36 Closing Thanks - Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko unpack two forces reshaping travel: the creator economy’s impact on hotel brands and Skift Research’s State of Travel 2026 report.
They discuss the Aman creator controversy, why hotels need a new playbook for independent reviewers, and the new Travel Stack framework showing how consumers, commerce, operations, and experiences are changing across the industry.
Connect with Skift
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/
WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social
X: https://twitter.com/skift
Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
00:00 State of Travel Teaser
01:04 Inside the Report
02:22 Chart Nerd Talk
03:03 Ironing Board Hack
06:44 Aman Drama Goes Viral
08:48 Creator vs Media Explained
10:49 What Happened at Aman
14:08 Aman Responds to WSJ
16:53 Crisis Comms Lessons
21:05 Creators and Headlines
24:43 Back to State of Travel
25:05 Whimsy Meets Data
25:54 New Travel Stack Framework
28:18 Breaking Down Consumers
31:11 Favorite Charts and Trends
33:08 Booking Channels Trust Gap
35:25 Green Talkers Sustainability Gap
36:34 Psychographics Explained
43:40 Finding the Report Link
44:29 Black Toilet Seat Update
45:18 Winners Losers Eclipse Tourism
47:43 Final Goodbye and Feedback - Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt are all offering new relief to hotel owners. Climate is creating new operational challenges for hotels around the world. And Japan has transformed a former prison into one of its most unique luxury hotels.
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko explore what these stories reveal about the future of hotel ownership, climate adaptation, and heritage tourism.
Connect with Skift
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/
WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews
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Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social
X: https://twitter.com/skift
Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
00:00 Franchise Relief Moment
03:31 Marriott Rebate Program
06:11 Performance Linked Bonuses
09:16 Never Cut Core Fees
11:37 Unbundling Franchise Services
14:33 Europe Air Conditioning Crunch
20:24 Sargassum Seaweed Crisis
24:13 Travel Squeeze Reality
25:35 Heritage Hotels Explained
26:56 Ghosts And Horror Debate
28:07 Prison Hotel Luxury
31:04 Raffles OWO Spy Bar
34:14 Preserving Stories For Profit
38:20 Winners And Losers
39:15 Space Conferences Boom
41:18 Conference Season Wrap
41:41 Episode Farewell
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About The Skift Travel Podcast
Get the latest from the most-trusted travel industry news source.
Skift sits down with creatives, executives, and entrepreneurs from across travel to discuss their insights and perspectives on the hows and whys of travelers’ habits, industry patterns, and the seismic changes happening across the industry.
Listen for exclusive conversations with travel leaders and Skift's own in-house editors and analysts.
Read the latest news every day at skift.com/news.
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