On this week's Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast: Hotels Edition, Sarah Dandashy and Steve Turk break down a week where three big stories all pointed at the same shift: the distribution, loyalty, and infrastructure layers of hospitality are all getting reshuffled at once.

The conversation opens with Airbnb naming Andrea D'Amico, an 18-year Booking.com veteran, as its new VP of Hotels, and what that hire says about how seriously Airbnb is coming for the boutique and independent hotel market.

From there, Sarah and Steve dig into why boutique brands like Room Mate Hotels are running out of room on loyalty, and what the SpaceX IPO filing reveals about how deeply STARLINK has already embedded itself into travel's connectivity infrastructure.

This episode is presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Plusgrade⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bilt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠plusgrade.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

And for hotels with restaurants and restaurant owners, Bilt Hospitality is finally here. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠joinbilt.com/gmh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

On this special holiday episode of Good Morning Hospitality, Brandy Canaley and Michael Goldin unpack one of the biggest shifts happening in travel right now: AI-powered booking. Joined by Jason Cincotta, founder of Kismet, the conversation breaks down Google’s new push into agentic hotel booking, what it means to become “AI-bookable,” and why independent hotels and vacation rentals may need to rethink how they show up online.

The episode also dives into Airbnb’s massive Summer Release, including boutique hotels, AI-powered review tools, airport pickups, grocery delivery, rental cars, and the company’s expanding push toward becoming a full trip platform. Michael and Brandy debate whether Airbnb’s latest features are meaningful product evolution or just great PR, while also exploring how AI could reshape direct bookings, loyalty, and the future of travel planning.

This episode is presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Plusgrade⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bilt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠plusgrade.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

And for hotels with restaurants and restaurant owners, Bilt Hospitality is finally here. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠joinbilt.com/gmh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

In this special GMH Bonus episode, Jamie Lane sits down live in San Francisco with Airbnb Chief Business Officer Dave Stephenson following Airbnb’s 2026 Summer Release event.

The conversation breaks down Airbnb’s biggest updates, including expanded hotel distribution, new AI-powered search and personalization tools, rental cars, airport pickups, grocery delivery partnerships, and the continued push into experiences and services.

Jamie and Dave also dive into Airbnb’s growing hotel strategy, why the company believes boutique and independent hotels are a major opportunity, and how Airbnb may have quietly created one of the most powerful loyalty flywheels in travel through hotel booking credits tied to future home stays.

They also discuss how AI is reshaping the Airbnb experience, from personalized listings and review summaries to smarter trip planning and guest discovery, plus what these updates could mean for hosts, operators, and the broader OTA landscape moving forward.

On this week's Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast Hotels Edition, Sarah Dandashy and Steve Turk break down a question every operator is quietly asking right now: how do you build a real edge when there is no moat?

They open with the NYC labor deal that just reset the national benchmark, with housekeeper pay crossing $100K a year by 2034, and Hotel and Gaming Trades Council now setting the bar for union negotiations in every major market.

From there they dig into Peregrine Hospitality's bet that operational discipline is the only real competitive advantage in hotels, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority's push to double its room supply by 2030, Brand USA's new fact-checking platform trying to win back international travelers ahead of the World Cup, and how one small hotel group is still financing solar after federal clean energy tax credits got wiped out.

This episode is presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Plusgrade⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bilt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠plusgrade.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

And for hotels with restaurants and restaurant owners, Bilt Hospitality is finally here. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠joinbilt.com/gmh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

On Monday's Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast, Wil Slickers, Michael Goldin, Brandreth Canaley, and Jamie Lane break down why Airbnb, Uber, and TikTok are all making the same bet at the same time and what it actually means for operators. Plus: travel costs are running double inflation, and most hotel brands have more than one Gen Z problem.

This episode is presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Plusgrade⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bilt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠plusgrade.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

And for hotels with restaurants and restaurant owners, Bilt Hospitality is finally here. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠joinbilt.com/gmh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

On this week’s Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast: Hotels Edition, Sarah Dandashy and Steve Turk break down a growing debate across the hotel industry: are brands mistaking temporary strength for long-term stability? From luxury demand and premium travel to pricing power and loyalty, the industry may be more vulnerable than executives want to admit.

They also explore why Hilton and Marriott International CEOs cannot agree on what kind of economy the industry is actually in, TikTok’s new push into turning travel videos into bookable inventory, and OpenAI’s latest move to operationalize AI deployment across travel companies through the team behind Virgin Atlantic’s AI concierge.

This episode is presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Plusgrade⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bilt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠plusgrade.com⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

And for hotels with restaurants and restaurant owners, Bilt Hospitality is finally here. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠joinbilt.com/gmh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

On Monday’s Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast, Wil Slickers, Michael Goldin, Brandreth Canaley, and Jamie Lane break down what Airbnb’s latest product and earnings commentary reveal about the future of travel platforms.

The conversation centers on Brian Chesky’s push toward blending hotels, homes, services, and experiences into a more adaptive marketplace, signaling how Airbnb is positioning itself for an AI-driven future of travel discovery and planning.

The team also unpacks Airbnb’s expanded partnership with Delta Air Lines, which now includes Experiences and Services alongside stays, while also touching on what earnings season is revealing about AI adoption and infrastructure across the broader travel industry.

This episode is presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Plusgrade⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bilt⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠plusgrade.com⁠⁠ to learn more.

And for hotels with restaurants and restaurant owners, Bilt Hospitality is finally here. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠joinbilt.com/gmh⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

On today’s GMH Hotels, Katie Cline and Steve Turk unpack mixed earnings from Hyatt, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, and Choice Hotels International, plus growing concerns that World Cup hotel demand is falling short of expectations in host cities.

They also discuss Accor’s mysterious activist investor situation and what the $6.3B Amex GBT acquisition says about the next wave of travel consolidation.

This episode is presented by ⁠⁠⁠Plusgrade⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠Bilt⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠plusgrade.com⁠ to learn more.

And for hotels with restaurants and restaurant owners, Bilt Hospitality is finally here. Go to ⁠⁠⁠joinbilt.com/gmh⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

On Monday’s Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast, Wil Slickers, Michael Goldin, and Brandreth Canaley celebrate the show’s 500th episode and break down how travel platforms are expanding beyond booking and competing for the full traveler relationship.

The team starts with Uber adding hotel booking through a new partnership with Expedia Group, with Vrbo rentals expected to follow, marking Uber’s biggest move yet into travel.

They also unpack signs that Airbnb is pulling more host community engagement onto its platform, reinforcing a shift toward a more integrated ecosystem. The episode also touches on how OTA leaders are thinking about AI, trust, and the evolving role of platforms in shaping how travelers discover and book trips.

This episode is presented by ⁠⁠Plusgrade⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠Bilt⁠⁠. Visit plusgrade.com to learn more.

And for hotels with restaurants and restaurant owners, Bilt Hospitality is finally here. Go to ⁠⁠joinbilt.com/gmh⁠⁠ to learn more.

On this week’s Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast: Hotels Edition, Sarah Dandashy and Steve Turk break down Hilton’s latest push into AI with its upcoming ChatGPT app and evolving “Select” deals strategy, and how the company is positioning itself more like a platform that controls pricing, distribution, and guest engagement.

They also explore Hilton’s continued expansion of lifestyle and luxury brands across Asia-Pacific, the shift in ultra-luxury hotels toward curated guest communities, and how budget airlines are now in talks over a $2.5 billion bailout as financial pressure builds across the travel sector.

This episode is presented by ⁠Vrbo⁠ & ⁠Bilt⁠. Visit ⁠vrbo.com/goodmorning⁠ to learn more about how you can earn OneKeyCash for each eligible property you list.

And for hotels with restaurants and restaurant owners, Bilt Hospitality is finally here. Go to ⁠joinbilt.com/gmh⁠ to learn more.