Adam Harris, the CEO of hotel management software company Cloudbeds, has a great no-nonsense grasp of the macro – and micro – environment in the startup fundraising world.
On this edition of the Skift Travel Podcast, Harris sits down with Skift CEO Rafat Ali to get a perspective on what it means for travel tech startups across the spectrum of maturity to be raising funding in this environment.
This podcast was recorded before the Silicon Valley Bank and other bank meltdowns, which has added even more complexities to the already dicey tech startup fundraising world, and a new spotlight on venture capital world overall and its outsized role in the growth pathways startups take.

The Environment for Travel Startup Funding and M&A

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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.
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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.

The Environment for Travel Startup Funding and M&A

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