Entire homes have replaced apartments as the top pick of guests on Airbnb, according to a new report the short-term rental platform released today. While not at all surprising during the Covid-19 pandemic, the results provided some insights as to what the brand’s hosts and travelers can expect next year. Domestic travel continues to be…
Left with a patchwork of testing options and domestic quarantines in the face of a public health crisis, travelers have had to ask themselves an odd question: Would they really get a Covid test at the airport salon that also does pedicures? XpresSpa, which calls itself the world’s largest airport spa company with more than…
In the middle of a public health crisis, wedding season has effectively been put on hold. Children aren’t rushing to hug their grandparents, and family vacations have downsized dramatically. The emotional milestones of the travel experience have nearly disappeared. Hilton is trying to rekindle that spark. In the brand’s new global campaign titled “To New…
Carnival might return to the U.S. by the end of the year, said Arnold Donald, the company’s CEO and President. In a call with investors, Donald–whose brand oversees Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America and Princess Cruises–admitted that even though the industry had been under a No Sail Order from the Centers for Disease Control and…
No matter your particular affinity for either political party, supporters of both sides of the aisle would probably be willing to unplug and hide during the lead-up to the 2020 U.S. election–that is, after you’ve cast your absentee ballot. Now, in a bit of experiential marketing that accurately gauges the nation’s mood after a tumultuous…
Virgin Group’s chief brand officer Lisa Thomas is leaving the company, the brand announced today, as the leadership team undergoes a restructuring that will bring its Virgin Red rewards program closer to the main brand. The conglomerate won’t be replacing Thomas when she leaves at the end of the month–instead, Virgin Red CEO Andrew Swaffield…
When traveling on the packed commuter trains and buses of the pre-pandemic times (remember those?), it felt incredibly annoying when a fellow commuter took up a whole extra seat with their bag, selfishly leaving you to attempt to balance for the entire journey. But today, with Covid-19 still circulating and sadly claiming the lives of…
Even though it carries fewer passengers per day than the stadium that bears its name actually holds, Allegiant Air is a known brand nationwide. A leisure airline that predominately serves smaller markets, Allegiant made a big marketing bet before the pandemic, securing the naming rights to the Las Vegas Raider’s stadium. A year later, it’s…
First it was the cleaning partnerships. Then it was eliminating change fees. Now airlines, always jockeying to be first out of the gate with fresh innovation, are rolling out rapid Covid-19 tests to get travelers back in the air. United, JetBlue and American Airlines have each announced new testing programs within the last week, aiming…
As if 2020 weren’t rough enough, Airbnb wants to bring travelers to hell. Well, the Michigan version at least. The home rental site is hosting a Halloween-themed stay in the morbidly named township of Hell, an unincorporated community roughly 15 miles from Ann Arbor, Michigan. The stay is hosted by John Colone, the self-proclaimed mayor…
Christmas is coming early at JetBlue, as the airline has announced a fire sale in a bid to drum up business as it heads into the fall. Announced earlier today, the Be an Early Holiday-er promotion will discount flights and hotel packages booked starting Sept. 30 for trips taken during the holiday season. While it…
Frequently, flyers know Scott Keyes on a first-name basis. The founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights, a newsletter that fulfills the very promise of its name, Keyes considers himself a “friend who happens to be a flight expert” to an audience of nearly 2 million, helping users save on international flights. But, in the midst of…
The most popular tourist destinations in Colombia are often bustling year round with couples, families and business partners. But circumstances have been atypical this year, and Colombia has been largely closed to travelers. According to database Statista, the hotel occupancy rate in Colombia in March 2019 was 64.9%, compared to 14.9% in March 2020 after…
United Airlines has launched a pilot program that gives its customers access to a rapid Covid-19 test before boarding a flight. Starting on Oct. 15, United passengers flying from San Francisco International Airport to Hawaii will have the option of taking a rapid test at the airport. The test, made by Abbott and supplied by…
With travel demand still well below prepandemic levels, the airline industry has requested a second round of federal bailout funds. Should legislative aid fail to materialize, American, United and Alaska airlines are planning massive layoffs beginning Oct. 1–but their marketing and advertising departments won’t be affected. After being given nearly $25 billion in April as…
The procedures necessary for Norwegian and Royal Caribbean to get back in the water amid a global health crisis are fairly straightforward: test, test, test. That’s what the cruise lines have told the Centers for Disease Control and prevention in a joint 66-page report, which came out of a conference back in July, that features…
A living-room coffee table becomes a convertible car with unlimited miles, and a household broom turns into a diving board for a crystalline swimming pool. That’s what can happen if you let your imagination run wild and daydream about a vacation while sheltering at home. Expedia knows that many people in the country are going…
Key Insight: During the pandemic, travelers have opted for drive-to leisure destinations, such as beaches and parks. For travelers who want to pair visits to Yellowstone, Yosemite and Rocky Mountain national parks with indoor plumbing, Marriott announced this morning it’s teaming up with the National Park Foundation, the charitable arm of the National Park Service….
Southwest Airlines is rolling out its second campaign of the pandemic, another sign that the Dallas-based airline is going against the grain of an industry that’s faced pandemic-induced decimation. The “Wanna Get Away” campaign, released today, features two 30-second spots created with agency GSD&M. It’s familiar ground for the brand, which first rolled out “Wanna…
This time last year, if someone told you that in 2020 you’d live through a global pandemic, borders would close and grocery shoppers would physically fight over basic essentials like toilet paper, you’d think they were mad. But 2020 has, by all measures, been an unpredictable year. Hotels.com makes light of the absurdity that is…
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