Skift Take Sessions

Intrepid Travel’s Secret: Purpose, Profits, and Why Small-Group Tours Are Booming

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0000

Intrepid Travel is proving that you can build a mission-driven travel company and still be more profitable than ever. In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers tees up a Skift Global Forum conversation moderated by Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit with Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton. Thornton breaks down how Intrepid uses a balanced stakeholder model and its B Corp framework to keep value in local communities while delivering an outstanding customer experience. He explains what is powering growth right now, from baby boomers chasing immersive experiences to younger travelers prioritizing trips over traditional milestones, and why the American market is the next big unlock through shorter, more flexible adventures. The conversation also hits a refreshingly honest moment on AI, where Thornton admits the industry is still figuring out “what on earth are we going to do,” while Intrepid tries to protect what makes its product work: human connection.

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Destination Marketing Is Now AI Marketing: Brand USA and Spain’s Playbook for 2026

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0000

Destination marketing is changing fast, and this session makes it obvious why. In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers sits down with Skift tourism reporter Bailey Schulz to unpack the biggest takeaways from Skift Global Forum, where Skift CEO Rafat Ali speaks with Fred Dixon, CEO of Brand USA, and Miguel Sanz, President of the European Travel Commission and Director-General of Turespaña. Wil and Bailey break down the three shifts that matter most right now: why the next battleground is influencing how AI models recommend destinations, not just buying ads; why airlift and new point-to-point routes are unlocking secondary cities and changing visitor flows; and why overtourism has become as much a perception and management challenge as it is a marketing one. Then you’ll hear the full on-stage conversation, including Fred’s view on how Brand USA is rebuilding its global platform and Miguel’s argument that destinations need more marketing, not less, if they want demand to spread beyond the usual hotspots.

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Sierra AI CEO Bret Taylor on Agents, Loyalty, and Distribution

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0000

AI is becoming the new front door to travel, and consumer behavior is moving faster than most companies can keep up.

In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers sits down with Skift Head of Research Seth Borko to break down what matters most from Rafat Ali’s Skift Global Forum conversation with Sierra AI CEO Bret Taylor, who also chairs the OpenAI board.

Wil and Seth unpack why distribution is the first battleground, why travel brands need to start building and cleaning up their data now, and why the real upside is not just cost-cutting but loyalty and revenue growth through personalized service at scale.

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Prism’s Motel 6 Bet: Ritesh Agarwal’s IPO Setup and the Budget Hotel Comeback

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0000

OYO is now Prism, and the strategy is bigger than a name change.

In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers sits down with Skift hospitality reporter Sean O’Neill to break down what Prism CEO Ritesh Agarwal is really building after years of pivots: a business that is now essentially split between India and the U.S., anchored by the Motel 6 acquisition and a push to modernize the budget experience with a tech rebuild.

Wil and Sean unpack why “iconic” matters for Motel 6 despite its baggage, what a real turnaround would require (digital, standards, and property churn), and why Prism is doubling down on economy and extended stay through Studio 6 while much of the industry chases upscale. They also dig into the IPO signal, with Ritesh framing the board’s active evaluation of an India listing and why India’s travel market momentum is part of the timing.

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IHG CEO: “Growth Is Moving East” + The Ruby Bet and the Next Wave of Hotel Conversions

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0000

In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers sits down with Skift hospitality reporter Sean O’Neill for a quick, high-signal setup on what mattered most from IHG CEO Elie Maalouf’s Skift Global Forum appearance. Wil and Sean break down three big themes listeners should be paying attention to: why IHG believes the center of gravity in travel is moving east and what that means in real numbers, the playbook differences in Japan versus India, and why IHG’s Ruby acquisition is a strategic bet on conversion-friendly, design-led urban hotels.

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Alaska Airlines Under Pressure: IT Outages, Hawaiian Integration, and the Seattle Global Push

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0000

Alaska Airlines is in one of the most important transition moments in its modern history, and it is happening under real operational pressure. In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers opens with a quick setup conversation with Skift Airlines reporter Meghna Maharishi before rolling into the on-stage session with Alaska Airlines COO Jason Berry from the Skift Aviation Forum. Meghna and Wil break down what matters most: why Alaska’s recent IT failures became a leadership-level issue, what it actually takes to build resilience (not just prevention), and how the Hawaiian integration is reshaping Alaska’s ambitions through Seattle, including the long-haul roadmap and what “going global” really means for the airline. More from Skift Takes Sessions:

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JetBlue’s Reality Check: Joanna Geraghty on Disruptions, Decisions, and the Comeback Plan

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0000

This episode starts with a quick setup conversation between Wil Slickers and Skift’s airlines editor Gordon Smith, teeing up why this JetBlue session hits differently: it opens with a real-time operational disruption and a leadership test you cannot spin your way around.

Then we roll into Gordon’s on-stage conversation from Skift Aviation Forum with JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty, covering what happened, what JetBlue learned, and how the airline thinks about making high-stakes calls when customers only remember the day something breaks.

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Is ChatGPT the New Travel Gatekeeper? Glenn Fogel on Booking’s AI Strategy

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0000

If AI becomes the front door to travel, who wins and who pays?

Wil Slickers sits down with Dennis Schaal for a sharp, no-fluff breakdown of the biggest takeaways from Skift Global Forum, including the question everyone is asking: Is ChatGPT a paid marketing channel yet, or just the start of a new distribution shift?

Dennis and Wil unpack what matters for the future of travel discovery, how monetization pressure could reshape the funnel, and what it means for platforms like Booking when the interface changes.

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Breeze Airways Explained: David Neeleman on Underserved Routes, Premium Product, and the SAF Debate

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0000

In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers opens with a quick conversation with Skift’s airlines editor Gordon Smith to break down the real story behind Breeze Airways, and why most people misunderstand what the airline actually is.

Then we roll into Gordon’s on-stage session from the Skift Aviation Forum in December 2025 with Breeze founder and CEO David Neeleman. Neeleman walks through Breeze’s thesis of connecting overlooked secondary cities to major leisure hubs, shares his view on how hard it is for new airline challengers to survive today, and delivers a moment that lit up the room with his take on sustainable aviation fuel.

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Airbnb: Services, Hotels, and Why Chesky Thinks AI Will Rewrite Travel Search

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0000

In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers opens with a quick conversation with Dennis Schaal to break down what mattered most from Skift Global Forum, before we roll the full on-stage session featuring Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky in conversation with Skift CEO Rafat Ali at Skift Global Forum.

Wil and Dennis tee up the two storylines listeners should watch closely: Airbnb’s push into services and experiences, plus the bigger strategic play around hotels, and Chesky’s belief that AI will turn travel search into “matching,” not just a chatbot. Then Chesky explains how Airbnb is thinking about the next interface for trip planning and what that shift means for marketplaces trying to own the customer journey.

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Southwest’s Big Reinvention: Assigned Seats, Bag Fees, and a 2026 Profit Surge

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0000

Southwest Airlines is rewriting its identity, and the story is bigger than “assigned seating” and “bags fly free.”

To kick off the first episode of Skift Take Sessions, Wil Slickers sits down with Skift airlines reporter Meghna Maharishi for a quick pre-session breakdown of why these changes are happening now, including activist pressure from Elliott Investment Management and the post-pandemic shift toward premium demand.

Then we roll into a live session from the Skift Aviation Forum in December 2025, where Tom Doxey lays out the transformation in plain terms: assigned seating, extra legroom, bag fees, basic economy, free Wi-Fi, new destinations, and what it all means for Southwest’s margins in 2026. Moderated by Brian Sumers.

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What is Skift Take Sessions?

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 13:11:00 -0000

Skift Take Sessions is a new weekly podcast for anyone who wants to understand how the global travel industry really works.

In this trailer, host Wil Slickers introduces the show and explains what listeners can expect each week — candid, journalist-led conversations with CEOs and senior leaders across airlines, hotels, and travel platforms, recorded live at Skift events.

Rather than headlines or press releases, Skift Take Sessions focuses on how decisions are made, how companies compete, and what these conversations tell us about where travel is headed next. You’ll hear directly from leaders at companies like Hilton, Expedia Group, Booking Holdings, Airbnb, JetBlue, and more.

If you’re new to Skift or new to travel business podcasts, this trailer is the best place to start.