Hotel brands built their franchise empires on three promises: distribution, technology, and territory. One by one, those promises are expiring. Skift’s Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit spent time with owners who read their agreements closely — and walked away. What they found: territorial protections that allow competitors next door, reservation systems off-the-shelf software can replicate, and brand channels that cost more than OTAs. More than 1,200 economy and midscale contracts expire by 2030. The question that was once unthinkable — is the flag still worth the price? — now comes up in every renewal negotiation. hubs.li/Q04mVQXg0

The largest tourism-real-estate deals increasingly arrive with a demand for exceptional treatment: special investor status, rewritten protections, consent bypassed. Albania is just the latest and the loudest case. The governance failure is the same everywhere. hubs.li/Q04mVTnz0

Is Avios becoming the tail that wags the airline? IAG Loyalty wants to make a billion euros, and many of the levers it's pulling to get there have nothing to do with flying. Here’s why IAG’s €1 billion loyalty ambition depends more on banks than airlines: hubs.li/Q04mVT5L0

China's regulatory push is no longer just a compliance issue for Trip.com Group. It's now influencing how the company operates, and its near-term financial outlook. It s feeling the squeeze of China’s tightening regulatory grip and it is now showing up in its financial outlook. The country’s largest online travel company is navigating two separate pressures — a sector-wide crackdown on train ticketing practices and its own ongoing antitrust investigation. hubs.li/Q04mV-G00

One of the big questions going into second-quarter earnings is how much can airlines hold onto their pricing gains. Airfares are up around 20% on average and last quarter, those increases led most major U.S. airlines to report record revenues. Now, even as fuel prices come down, airlines are hoping those higher prices stick. Here’s why: hubs.li/Q04mVnRW0

Hotel brands built their franchise empires on three promises: distribution, technology, and territory. One by one, those promises are expiring. Skift’s Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit spent time with owners who read their agreements closely — and walked away. What they found: territorial protections that allow competitors next door, reservation systems off-the-shelf software can replicate, and brand channels that cost more than OTAs. More than 1,200 economy and midscale contracts expire by 2030. The question that was once unthinkable — is the flag still worth the price? — now comes up in every renewal negotiation. hubs.li/Q04mVgQc0

Marriott International is getting into the rental apartment business. For the first time, the company will lend its brands to buildings whose customers are tenants, not condo buyers. It’s a departure for a branded residential business long built on selling units. Branded residences provide premium amenities, and both Marriott and developers benefit financially through licensing and management fees, with developers also leveraging presales for financing. hubs.li/Q04mVggV0

The transatlantic travel corridor is the most valuable in the world. It is also the most exposed. US inbound demand is softening, US-Europe relations are shifting under everyone’s feet, and AI is rewriting how travelers find and book everything. The leaders who plan for that now will own the next decade. The ones who wait will spend it reacting. That is the conversation happening at the Skift Transatlantic Summit 2026, themed Travel in a Fractured World. The second edition of the summit moves across the Atlantic: after launching in New York, it convenes this year in Dublin. Apply to attend here: hubs.li/Q04mV6cd0

Hello, readers! I've missed you! I was away for a couple weeks and look what I've come back to –  a World Cup celebration of … America?! The social media phenomenon that is Freddy, the Tartan Army, and ranch dressing has been a delightful surprise. Especially for a curmudgeonly and cynical journalist like me. I keep wondering what it must be like to be an executive at Buc-ee’s or Waffle House right now (and if you’re one and happen to be reading this, please let me know!) How does this tie into the Trump Effect? Well, read on: hubs.li/Q04mVg2T0

The Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and the changing of the guard all went down in this week's heat. A “heat dome” is baking Europe, forcing some of the region’s top attractions to trim hours or pause operations right as peak tourist season kicks off. Disruptions from extreme heat may be the new normal for Europe, with the UK’s Met Office saying events like this will only become more frequent. hubs.li/Q04mVc7z0

Europe's heatwave is forcing organizers to cancel events and rethink attendee safety in real-time. The question is no longer whether extreme heat will disrupt the events calendar; it's whether the industry has built the protocols to respond when it does. hubs.li/Q04mVdVW0

Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta has been saying for months that the hotel recovery story isn't just a luxury narrative. The numbers are beginning to back up his optimism. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) on a trailing 10-week average through June 13 was up 6.7% year-over-year, per CoStar. That was for the whole U.S. hotel sector, not just Hilton, and was well above the norm in the past few years. The numbers show remarkably strong demand from business and leisure travelers. It's not just a World Cup bump. hubs.li/Q04mVbsm0

"I have spent the past several months writing capital allocation analyses of each of the three largest publicly traded OTAs, and Trip.com Group is the one where the distance between the earnings call narrative and the SEC filing disclosure is widest. "Trip holds $15.1 billion against a market capitalization of roughly $30 billion. Half the company’s market value is sitting in cash and near-cash instruments, a ratio that either signals a massive valuation discount on the operating business, or the market’s implicit recognition that the cash is not as deployable as the consolidated number suggests, or both." hubs.li/Q04mV3bb0

💡 Skift IDEA Award Judge Spotlight: Storm Tussey, Chief Marketing Officer at Discover Puerto Rico. Storm leads global brand strategy and marketing for Discover Puerto Rico, helping position the Island as a destination defined by culture, connection, and meaningful experiences. With nearly two decades of leadership across travel, entertainment, technology, and consumer brands, she brings a unique perspective rooted in consumer behavior and global brand building. Entries for the Skift IDEA Awards close July 1. Don’t miss your chance to have your travel innovation recognized by industry leaders like Storm 👉 hubs.li/Q04mTwP60

We've got something new at Skift Research. Skift Research Decision Briefs lay out the key evidence, strategic context, and paths forward behind a specific strategic choice. For one of our first Decision Briefs, we're asking the question "Do hotels need to optimize their brand portfolios?" And then we're providing an answer. You can read the full Decision Brief here in our free preview. hubs.li/Q04mQPMh0

U.S. airlines are cutting capacity going into the Fourth of July travel period, even as demand remains high despite rising airfares.  Domestic capacity is down 2%, while international capacity is down 2.1%, according to aviation intelligence firm IBA. The trend is more visible among low-cost carriers: Their domestic capacity is down by 9.1% this year versus 2% for full-service carriers.  hubs.li/Q04mTtdf0

Just listen: The 2026 World Cup was supposed to be a story about soccer. Instead, it became a story about America. In this episode of the Skift Travel Podcast, Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko discuss how international visitors are experiencing the United States during the World Cup and why social media has become filled with Europeans discovering Waffle House, Buc-ee’s, Walmart, college football culture, and small-town America. hubs.li/Q04mTm190

Rove Hotels, the Dubai-born mid-scale lifestyle brand, is expanding across the Gulf and plans to more than double its portfolio over the next five years, with Saudi Arabia emerging as its most immediate priority. “We are actively working on being a regional player. We’ve announced two projects in Riyadh, we’ll announce more this year,” they said. “Our priority was to get Riyadh over the line first, then Jeddah, and then the Holy Cities are next on the list. Abu Dhabi is also a key market for us.” hubs.li/Q04mTCNm0

With Skift Global Forum a little over 3 months away, revisit the key insights from last year and start thinking about the conversations you'll want to be part of in 2026. Get the report: hubs.li/Q04mSP4Z0 In partnership with @travelguard

Julie Coker, currently leading NYC Tourism + Conventions and a veteran of Philadelphia and San Diego destination marketing, becomes Visit California's president and CEO on October 1, succeeding retiring three-decade leader Carolina Beteta. California's tourism faces headwinds: first-stop international visitor intent fell 5.6% last year and the LA wildfires hurt the state's image, though travel spending hit a record $158.9 billion and supports roughly 1.2 million jobs. hubs.li/Q04mTk2d0