United Airlines has been around for nearly 100 years, and yet the airline, like most of its competitors, has not learned how to most efficiently board an airplane while letting its best customers have first crack at overhead bins.

After one of the worst years for international tourism to the United States in the past decade, Brand USA, the country’s national destination marketing organization, is turning to smart TVs and streaming to get an edge. Brand USA is launching its GoUSA TV channel this week on smart TV platforms, or those with Internet connections, that stream programming through Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku in various markets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Filip Boyen is no stranger to the hospitality industry, especially the luxury space. For more than 30 years he has held various positions in luxury hospitality, including serving as the chief operating officer and senior vice president of Belmond, which was formerly known as Orient-Express.

What do hospitality executives think of the current hotel distribution landscape,and the emergence of Google Hotelsand Airbnb? And would they ever consider walking away entirely from a particular online travel agency partner, as Hyatt threatened to do last summer? Skift discussed these topics with several hospitality executives attending the Americas Lodging Investment Summitlast month in Los Angeles, and what they had to say may or may not surprise you.

Ryanair is among the more sophisticated airlines for e-commerce. It's putting an emphasis on rental cars and hotels. RyanairSkift Take: Sometimes you'll buy a plane ticket and the airline might try to sell you a rental car. Other times, the airline will skip the car but ask if you want premium economy. Why? Carriers are using data to guess what extras you might buy. — Brian SumersThe Skift Airline Innovation Report is our weekly newsletter on the business of airline innovation.

A Silvercar promotional photo showing its app. According to CEO Luke Schneider, Silvercar's customers use the service for both leisure and business travel. SilvercarSkift Take: Silvercar remains an interesting outlier in the car rental space. As part of Audi, it will be interesting to see how it grows its operation in the U.S. as self-driving vehicles hit the mainstream. — Andrew SheivachmanSince its launch in 2012, Silvercar has taken a different path than the major car rental players.

Air Canada is in the process of reinventing itself, and last year introduced a new livery and uniforms. Now it is focused on a new frequent flyer program, coming in 2020. Air CanadaSkift Take: Like most airlines, Air Canada knows a lot about its customers. But in 2020, once it launches a new loyalty program, it will have more flexibility to slice and dice data to deliver personal offers to passengers. Let's hope customers don't find it creepy.

Southwest Airlines celebrates its new uniforms and interior in a promo shot. Southwest has earned a windfall from tax reform but doesn't foresee any big changes to its strategy going forward. Stephen M. Keller / Southwest AirlinesSkift Take: Southwest has posted record earnings and believes that tax reform will be a major benefit in 2018. But the airline's overall strategy going forward will remain consistent, at least for the time being.

A tourist on the observation deck of the Empire State Building on November 29, 2017. Empire State BuildingSkift Take: We'll believe a 2018 U.S. tourism bump when we see it. For now, it's just a bunch of numbers on paper. — Dan PeltierOn the heels of a downbeat year for U.S. tourism, the U.S. Department of Commerce on Friday painted a rosypicture for U.S. international visitation over the next five years.

JetBlue has finally started retrofitting its Airbus A320s. It announced plans to do so in 2014. JetBlue AirwaysSkift Take: JetBlue is the latest airline to fall behind on a cabin retrofit program. It happens sometimes, as it's not so easy to update airplane interiors. But the first plane is in the shop. Considering JetBlue has some planes that haven't been touched since the early 2000s, this is welcome news.