Today we feature Hany Abdelkawi, Head of Travel Sales for Google, in conversation with Skift CEO and Founder, Rafat Ali, on stage in Dubai at Skift Global Forum East this December. They spoke on the topic of "Connections in the Age of AI".

Visit live.skift.com to learn more about how you can attend or view our next industry defining event.

Connection in the Age of AI with Google Head of Travel Sales

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A few months back Skift editor-in-chief Sarah Kopit wrote an article for Skift with the headline "Ozempic Made Obesity Optional. The Travel Industry Isn’t Ready".
On today's episode Seth and Sarah check in on this story and the revolutionary ways in which Ozempic, and other highly effective GLP-1 weight loss medications, are changing how people travel, including which businesses might be potential winners and losers as food and beverage consumption drops and physical experiences become more attainable for more people.
Submit your written or video questions to podcasts@skift.com for a chance to have them aired and answered on a future episode.
Presented by Brand USA
Read more travel news at https://skift.com

How Ozempic and GLP-1s Are Changing the Business of Travel

Google Hotels is the largest and most comprehensive metasearch engine in travel. It is a core part of the online travel ecosystem but remains a black box. So Skift Research did an analysis of thousands of hotel listings on Google to learn which online travel agencies (OTAs) and direct sites are bidding for bookings – and at what prices. Seth and Sarah discuss our exclusive findings with the report's lead author, Skift Senior Research Analyst Pranavi Agarwal.
Read part 1 of our deep dive into Google Travel here: https://research.skift.com/report/a-deep-dive-into-google-travel-part-i-u-s-hotel-distribution/
Presented by BrandUSA

Is Google Killing Online Travel?

The recent earnings seasons provided a glimpse into how the largest publicly traded travel companies are faring in one of the more "normal" quarters in a number of years.
So what are the main takeaways from earnings season? And which companies emerged as big winners? Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill and Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi joined Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit and Head of Research Seth Borko to discuss the results of earnings in this week’s Skift Travel Podcast.
Read more about earnings this season at Skift.

Business and International Travel Drove Earnings This Quarter

In this special bonus episode, Skift Meetings Executive Editor Andrea Doyle speaks with Skift CEO Rafat Ali and Skift Head of Events Programming Brian Quinn about the "State of Conferences".

The State of Conferences

Last week Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky announced the company's renewed focus on Experiences with its “Icons” product launch. Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit was in Los Angeles for the event and got to speak one-on-one with Chesky on a host of topics (including that pay question we promised you). In this episode we also dig into why Airbnb backed off of experiences after the pandemic, a potential Airbnb loyalty program and how Icons fits into Airbnb’s broader marketing strategy.

Connection in the Age of AI with Google Head of Travel Sales

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