GMH Hotels: Slumping Inbound Travel, Airline M&A, AI Bookings
Good Morning Hospitality
01/14/26
•32m
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On today’s GMH Hotels, Sarah Dandashy and Steve Turk cover the latest shifts shaping travel and hospitality in early 2026.
They break down continued weakness in overseas travel to the U.S., the Sun Country Airlines–Allegiant airline merger, Google’s move toward agentic AI checkout, and Marriott International’s expanding loyalty strategy tied to global cricket events.
The episode wraps with this week’s Unhinged Headline! A bizarre story involving a fake flight attendant on a Batik Air flight that proves travel is never boring.
Connect with Skift:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social
X: https://twitter.com/skift
Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
Previous Episode
In this GMH Special, Wil Slickers sits down with Skift Founding Editor Dennis Schaal to unpack one of the most surprising travel tech stories of the year: Kayak’s CEO quietly attempted to take the company private. They walk through what actually happened, why the move was explored, and what it reveals about the pressure facing travel platforms in a world being reshaped by AI, Google, and shifting distribution economics.
The conversation explores how Kayak fits inside Booking Holdings, what a privatization attempt says about metasearch’s future, and why some of the biggest names in travel tech are questioning whether public markets still make sense. For hotels, OTAs, and anyone watching how trips are discovered and booked, this episode breaks down what this story really signals about where power and profit are moving in travel. Read the full article here: https://skift.com/2026/01/09/kayak-ceo-tried-to-take-the-company-private-scoop/
Connect with Skift:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social
X: https://twitter.com/skift
Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
Next Episode
Kasa has acquired Mint House at a moment when much of the urban apart-hotel sector has collapsed. In this GMH special, Wil Slickers sits down with Kasa Founder and CEO Roman Pedan to break down how the deal came together, why Mint House chose Kasa, and what this acquisition signals about the future of urban short-term rentals and apart-hotels.
With Sonder now gone and capital having pulled back from the category, Roman explains how Kasa survived the shakeout, what it did differently, and whether consolidation is just getting started. They also discuss how Kasa plans to use the Mint House brand, what this means for property owners, and whether more acquisitions could be coming in 2026.
This conversation offers a clear look at one of the last scaled players standing in urban lodging and what comes next for the sector.
Read more about this news here!
Connect with Skift:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social
X: https://twitter.com/skift
Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
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