Booking.com Looks to Compete in India With Its Own Payments System and Business Travel

This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner. Corporate travel budgets are under renewed scrutiny as companies face economic uncertainty, rising costs, and pressure to operate more efficiently. But research from the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) and Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) points to the broader business value of managed travel. The analysis found that a 1% increase in managed corporate travel spending was associated with a 0.2% increase in company revenue.

This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner. Independent hotel brands are trying to solve a problem the industry has wrestled with for years: how to gain the reach of a global chain without becoming part of one.

United Airlines on Tuesday issued a disappointing earnings outlook for the fourth quarter due to continued high costs for jet fuel. It now expects adjusted earnings per share to range from $0.50 to $1.50, short of the $1.76 analysts expected. United said it expects fuel to average $4.80 a gallon, about $0.45 higher than what consensus assumed, a difference it said is worth roughly $1 a share. The high end of that range would bring United’s 2026 adjusted earnings to no more than $7.22 per share, CNBC reported. In mid-July, United had raised

Sonesta began laying off employees last Friday, according to an employee who spoke anonymously to Skift and at least nine LinkedIn posts. The departures span communications, marketing, loyalty, quality assurance, training, food and beverage, and accounting. Sonesta's chief brand officer left in recent weeks, and marketing and creative staff have exited since Friday, according to their LinkedIn posts.

Travel through the transatlantic corridor is in a transition phase. U. S. travelers still want to go to Europe, but they are spending more carefully. Canadian and American preferences are moving further apart. Travelers are searching for shoulder-season trips and easier ways to move around once they arrive. Airlines are adding routes outside the biggest gateway cities, but many of those places still lack easy connections into regional rail and ground networks. These shifts make the next source of growth harder to identify. Travel companies are competing for a large and resilient customer base that’s becoming more selective and fragmented.

Photo Caption: Lindsay Milne Grant of Meet Boston and Arnar Már Ólafsson of the Icelandic Tourist Board at Skift Transatlantic Summit in Dublin October 15, 2026. Skift / Bryan Brophy Live tourism is a force in the travel industry, with one in five travelers saying they plan trips around live events and experiences. And often, when destinations and travel companies consider the benefits of hosting high-profile events, they think in terms of increased footfall. But when events happen in high season and tourism is already at peak levels, destinations must consider success from different angles.