Zoom Sees 355 Percent Revenue Leap on Rise of Virtual Meetings

Zoom's latest earnings report suggests that the trend in remote working may have staying power even after society tames the pandemic. The implications are unnerving for event planners and travel management companies. -Sean O'Neill

5 Ways Travel Loyalty Programs can Balance Customer and Business Values

It’s true that travel loyalty programs have come a long way from the standard points-based system — but some may still have a long way to go when it comes to striking the right balance between customer value and business value. -Deloitte

Corporate Travel’s Downturn Will Deliver This Financial Blow Across All of Travel

Billions of dollars in revenue are at stake next year, even once a dire 2020 is out of the way. -Matthew Parsons

United Airlines Eliminates Ticket Change Fees for U.S. Domestic Flights

If Southwest can live without change fees and still deliver quarter after quarter, it doesn't take a pandemic to understand that maybe other airlines can pull it off, too. -Jason Clampet

How a hotel hero saved my family holiday

When my son lost his security blanket, disaster loomed. But I hadn’t counted on the superhuman efforts of our hosts It doesn’t matter how or why, because I would never invade my children’s privacy like that, but a week ago a tiny piece of rag, full of holes and no longer blue, was left, let’s say by me (it wasn’t me), in a hotel. It used to be a blanket. It is still known to us domestically as Blanket. It smells of off milk in that way that everything too fragile to wash eventually does. It has been with us for nearly 13 years. Nobody knows for how much longer it will be needed, but please don’t triangulate this information to get any clues as to the age of the child who cares for it so deeply. We were in Portugal, me and two children whose privacy I would never invade. We had arrived at our second destination, passed a delightful day and came to around bedtime, when one said: “Where’s Blanket?” I replied: “You tell me – it’s your blanket.” And the other one said: “I told you he didn’t check his room.” And the first took on an expression of blind panic that I recognised from the time I drove out of a motorway service station forgetting the dog. Continue reading...

Shifting Google Dance Partners and 9 Other Coronavirus Travel Stories This Week

In coronavirus-related travel stories this week, Skift looked at the shifting lineup in Google vacation rentals, Airbnb's ambitions, what a prospective merger between IHG and Accor might look like, and how Croatia's tourism experiment is working out. -Dennis Schaal

We spend our summer holidays 20 minutes from home, in underrated east Norfolk | Patrick Barkham

While north Norfolk became gentrified, its east coast remained undervalued, except by marine life and our writer. But don’t dally … this is the ‘changing coast’ In the mid-1990s, thousands of tonnes of Norwegian granite were dumped in the shallow sea just off Norfolk. Sea defences are usually ugly things, spoiling the shoreline’s natural beauty. These nine “reefs”, however, added a curvaceousness to this coast that has transformed it for the better. Sand gathered behind the offshore reefs, creating new dunes, new habitat for shore-nesting birds and elegant, sweeping beaches. These beautiful bays of sparkling seawater are perfect for swimming and, when the winds are strong, kite-surfing. Continue reading...

Idyllic and empty: a post-lockdown holiday on the Isles of Scilly

The ‘Scilly season’ started late, and nervously, this year but that makes the dazzling white beaches all the more alluring Of all the striking scenes that the Isles of Scilly offer – from beaches that look too tropical to be in Britain to wild boulder-strewn headlands and the magical Abbey Gardens – the one that lodged in my mind was Bishop Rock lighthouse. Writers and painters the world over have been drawn to the dramatic potential of lighthouses, but Bishop Rock is special. It watches over one of the most treacherous stretches of British coast, four miles from the nearest inhabited island, and was finally completed, on its tiny mound of rock, in 1858, after a previous attempt was swept away. (It was further strengthened in 1887.) On nearby rocky Rosevear lie the ruins of a cottage where the workers who built it lived, rowing out to the site with giant blocks of granite that had been cut and rounded on St Mary’s quay. Incredibly, no lives were lost in its construction. Continue reading...

How is quarantine enforced for UK arrivals? And other travel questions answered

The government’s quarantine list is growing but what checks are being made on those self-isolating on their return? What are the current quarantine rules for UK arrivals? All international passengers need to complete the Public Health passenger locator form (PLF) online, no sooner than 48 hours before their scheduled arrival in the UK. This includes passport details; tour operator name (if applicable); departure and arrival port/airport, along with the address they’ll be staying at for the first 14 days in the UK. When arriving at the border, they’ll need to present the document and QR code attached to the confirmation email. Continue reading...

A shark headed for swimmers. Watch what the Coast Guard did

A US Coast Guard crew scrambled to get out of the water when a 6ft-8ft shark was spotted heading their way while they swam in Oceania.

Hotel quarantine guest in Victoria escaped to lobby as security guard was on his phone, inquiry told

Hotel managers have recounted major quarantine safety breaches by private security, including incidents of guards taking naps in corridors * Follow our Australian coronavirus live blog * Australian stats interactive * Victoria and Melbourne trend map * Sign up for Guardian Australia’s coronavirus email A Victorian hotel quarantine guest escaped to the ground floor lobby while a security guard was “looking down at his phone”, an inquiry has been told. The breach was among the complaints levelled by hotel managers about the work of privately contracted security guards at a judicial inquiry into the botched program on Friday. Continue reading...

Flight Centre Takes Aim at Essential Services Travel for the Road to Recovery

With a narrowing pool of viable customers, in the form of governments and other essential service providers, the competition's going to be tough out there. -Matthew Parsons

Cash-Strapped Delta Faces Repaying $300 Million on Behalf of Struggling Brazilian Carrier Gol

Delta Airlines is in no position to clean up the financial mess of one of its former subsidiary carriers, but that is precisely what the company is facing with Brazil's Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes. -Rosie Spinks

10 great UK coastal walks: readers' tips

From Sheppey to Shetland, our readers share their favourite walks along beaches, estuaries and clifftops Pack your swimmers, a small towel, a bottle of water and take the coastal walk from Fowey Harbour to Polkerris Bay. It is a moderate to strenuous walk of almost five miles (longer if you choose the circular walk back to Fowey), but you will be rewarded with the discovery of secret beaches en route, where you can stop for a swim and take in the beautiful views. Another highlight is the shipwreck that inspired Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca at Polridmouth cove. End the walk with a seafood lunch at Sam’s on Polkerris beach (booking recommended) or a drink at the Rashleigh Inn next door, and watch the sunset on the beach. Natasha Coutts Continue reading...

UK tourist attractions launch campaign to tempt younger visitors back to cities

With a quarter of urban business venues at risk of collapse, palaces and museums are reaching out to the less ‘risk-averse’ Young British holidaymakers are being encouraged to take UK city breaks and visit indoor attractions this autumn and winter, in a campaign designed to help hospitality and tourism businesses weather the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Run by Visit Britain, the “Escape the Everyday” digital campaign will launch in September and promote short breaks and day trips across the UK, with a major focus on urban tourism. Continue reading...

The Event Industry Is Being Confronted By Its Napster Moment

All types of business events are in danger of their revenue streams of tickets, sponsorships, memberships, and other types of fees being eroded. This is happening as the world gets used to digital formats and alternatives emerge to physical networking, matchmaking, and other tasks we get out of these events. The threat sounds familiar? -Rafat Ali

Booking Is In, Airbnb Is Out of Google Vacation Rentals

The online travel agency lineup in Google vacation rentals involves strategic considerations: take advantage of the bookings, and strengthen Google's competitive position in the process, or risk going without. -Dennis Schaal

Send a tip on a favourite forgotten ruin in the UK to win a £200 holiday voucher

Share a tip or tale about the UK’s heritage – think lesser-known sites, castles, forts or folly – for the chance to win a glamping break from Canopy & Stars Few things are more atmospheric than an ancient stone circle, the overgrown remains of a hill fort, or centuries-old chapel left to return to the wild. The UK is scattered with such ruins, telling tales of the past – and we’d love to hear about a favourite you have discovered. We’re looking for lesser-known suggestions, please. So, tell us about a wild folly, an abandoned castle or remote sacred site – and why (or how) it became special to you. If you have taken a great photograph of it, great, please feel free to send it in – though it is your tip that will be judged for the competition. Continue reading...

Desks, Donuts and Food Deliveries: Corporate Travel Expenses Look Different This Year

This six-month expense roundup reveals good news for local restaurants, bad news for waistlines. -Matthew Parsons

Gunmaker Smith & Wesson’s Parent Sees Opportunity With New RV Vacation Boom

Thanks to pandemic-driven demand for all thing in outdoor recreation, everyone's hearing the call of the wild. Even gunmakers. -Sean O'Neill

Abta says Covid crisis could claim 18% of UK travel sector's jobs

Travel agents association calls on the government for a package of support measures * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverage The travel industry has said 39,000 people have already lost their jobs or been told their job was at risk, as the sector worst affected by the coronavirus crisis called on the government for more financial support to avoid further job losses. The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) said the job cuts represent about 18% of the UK’s travel industry jobs and warned that thousands more tour operators, travel agents and airline jobs could be lost. Continue reading...

Country roads, take me Holme: Dorset to Norfolk by bike

A route on ancient walking trails across England makes for a challenging but magical ‘bikepack’ tour “You’re not riding to work with all that stuff, are you?” With bags strapped to the saddle, handlebars and forks, my bike is turning heads in London. If you’re one of the thousands who have saddled up for the first time during or post-lockdown, fear not – this isn’t your average commuting kit. Continue reading...

Corporate Travel Agencies Still Busy Helping Repatriate People — And Even Pets

Evacuations are difficult at the best of times. Now corporate travel agencies are battling border closures, offline bookings, canceled flights and quarantines. -Matthew Parsons

The great seascape: from Glasgow to Skye by kayak

In 1934 two men paddled from Glasgow to the Hebrides on some inner tubes and bits of wood. Today the trip is safer but equally spectacular For a small country, Scotland is exceptionally rich in long journeys with historical significance. Old drove roads run through spectacular highland zones, where cattle were once led from islands to lowland trading towns. Or there’s the voyage of the Stuart prince whose flight, in the opposite direction, inspired the Skye Boat Song. Retracing those routes would mean passing through landscapes transformed by both urban growth and a changed ecology of the hills. Continue reading...

Las Vegas in Crisis and 9 Other Coronavirus Travel Stories This Week

In conavirus-related travel stories this week, Skift looked at Las Vegas' chances without conventions, Google's new advertising product, inroads by private jet operators, and a hole in the travel industry's coronavirus sanitation response. -Dennis Schaal

Flood waters reach toes of famous Buddha statue

Floods in southern China have caused water from the Yangtze River to reach the toes of the famous Leshan Giant Buddha statue-- reportedly for the first time in decades.

STA Travel becomes latest casualty of coronavirus crisis

Package tour firm, which employed around 500 staff in 50 high street branches in the UK, confirms it has ceased trading STA Travel, which offered package tours for backpackers and adventurous young people, has become the latest business to cease trading because of the coronavirus pandemic. The travel company employed around 500 staff in 50 high street branches across the UK and at its central London headquarters. A statement posted on its Twitter account read: “To our valued customers, due to the recent announcement that STA Travel UK has ceased trading, unfortunately our team are unable to assist you at this time. Continue reading...

Google Defends Its Debt Collection Practices in Travel

Google deserves to get paid for advertising services rendered. The company could have used the coronavirus crisis to engender some much-needed goodwill among its legions of advertisers, with a degree of flexibility during the months the music died. Opportunity lost. -Dennis Schaal

Airbnb to ban house parties and limit guest numbers amid Covid-19 crisis

New rules come after ‘lockdown parties’ blamed on platform by B&B operators in the UK * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverage Airbnb will no longer allow house parties in its properties worldwide in a bid to comply with limits on gatherings that have been imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Those who want to book accommodation will now have to limit the number of occupants to 16 people, with a few exceptions for some venues. Continue reading...

Accor Shows Interest in Merger With IHG to Create Global Hotels Behemoth: Report

It would be the biggest industry marriage since Marriott and Starwood. Is it the pandemic, or did Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin have his eyes set on IHG all along? -Tom Lowry

U.S. Airports Grapple With Reversal of Fortunes as Long Bumpy Ride Awaits

Even if Congress coughs up another $10 billion in aid to airports, the future looks murky. With airlines planning to contract, it's likely that some smaller airports could lose air service altogether. -Madhu Unnikrishnan

‘That's a beauty!’ Touring north Devon by vintage campervan

Cruising Devon’s beautiful beaches and campsites in a classic 1967 VW van makes our writer feel like a celebrity Where to hire a campervan ‘Ooh,” came a voice from a passing car as I parked by a sandy cove. “That’s a beauty!” He was referring to Noddy Windsor, our lime-green 1967 VW campervan, which caused a sensation everywhere it went in north Devon. After a day at the beach, we would come back to find crowds oohing and aahing. Strangers at petrol stations approached for a chat. And at Ilfracombe Harbour, after a swim in the rain, a man took selfies as we sat inside warming up and getting a brew on. In the anxious new world of distancing and avoidance, it was a thrill to elicit such warmth and friendliness. Thanks to Noddy, we did more waving than the royals. Continue reading...

Heathrow's rapid Covid test centre ‘could replace quarantine’

Travel industry pins hopes for an end to 14-day isolation on new two-stage testing scheme at airport, with results delivered in hours A new Covid test centre is ready to start rapid testing of inbound passengers arriving at Heathrow airport’s Terminal 2, as soon as the government gives it the go-ahead. Arrivals would find out results within 24 hours of being tested, replacing the need for a 14-day quarantine. More than 13,000 passenger tests a day can be carried out in the facility, launched by aviation services firm Swissport and the Collinson Group, which runs airport lounges. A second test centre will be ready at Terminal 5 by the end of August, and operators say both centres are scalable according to demand. Continue reading...

Private Jet Operators Are Stealing Passengers from U.S. Airlines

Private jet operators did not do well in the Great Recession. When March hit, they figured they were stuck in another disaster. But things have turned out better than expected. -Brian Sumers

Places to stay in the UK over October half-term

Accommodation is booking up fast for the autumn break. Here’s our pick of cottages and glampsites that still have availability Hand-built by farmer Nick on a farm in the tiny village of Bodiam, the Original Hut Company’s shepherd’s huts are made with reclaimed timber and locally sourced materials. Fire pits and log-burners keep the four-berth huts snug year-round, and an on-site cafe and wellness space – The Hub – provides somewhere warm and dry to hunker down. Pizza nights, picnic hampers, pop-up taco vans, and homemade local produce take the pressure off catering. Flanking the National Trust’s Bodiam Castle estate, with the River Rother flowing at the bottom of the farm (outdoor adventure company Epic Life can organise kayaking or SUP adventures), the site lends itself to car-free days and mini adventures. For those who want to explore further afield, Camber Sands, Brede High Woods, Rye and Hastings are all a short drive away. • A three-night stay for four costs from £329; original-huts.co.uk Continue reading...

Amsterdam has been collapsing for years. Now it's paying the price

Cracks and sinkholes are appearing alongside the waterways of Amsterdam.

Sabre’s New Executive Role Signals a Refresh on Customer Service for the Travel Tech Company

Sabre has created a new role of "chief services officer." It might sound like a gimmick, but the concept actually has deep roots in the technology sector. -Sean O'Neill

Google Quietly Debuts Game-Changing Tours and Activities Advertising Product

While many travel companies are struggling to survive, Google has the resources to keep innovating and rolling out new products despite the travel advertising downturn. As with flights and hotels, Google's new tours and activities advertising business will have a far-reaching impact — unless regulators step in. -Dennis Schaal

Ryanair cancels flights on fresh UK quarantine restrictions

Decision follows fall in bookings to France, Spain, Sweden and Ireland Ryanair is to cancel almost one in five flights scheduled for September and October owing to a drop in bookings, as an increase in Covid-19 cases across Europe has led to fresh quarantine restrictions on travellers. Europe’s biggest carrier said forward bookings had “noticeably weakened” in the past 10 days and it would reduce capacity to reflect lower demand, mainly by cutting flight frequencies rather than entire routes. Continue reading...

Endless kilometres of beach: summer in southern Sicily

In the island’s far south-east, locals are making the most of wide sands, buzzy baroque towns – and a lack of foreign tourists Has fear of coronavirus emptied the beaches – or have I chanced upon one of the last unspoiled stretches of coastline in Italy? I am on the sand at Santa Maria del Focallo in southern Sicily. Around me, a few clusters of friends and families are huddled under umbrellas or cooling off in the sea. Dunes coloured green and pink by evergreen shrubs and bougainvillea stretch in both directions: west towards the port town of Pozzallo and east towards Portopalo, Sicily’s most southerly tip, where the Ionian Sea meets the Mediterranean. There’s an end-of-season feel, as if the stragglers are soaking up the final rays of summer. In reality, the season has only just begun. On 4 June, the travel ban between regions in Italy was lifted and beach resorts began reopening, relying heavily on holidaymakers from their own region and hoping to make ends meet despite the new mask-wearing, socially distanced normal. In this particular corner of Sicily, however, finding space to sunbathe at a safe distance has evidently never been an issue. It has endless kilometres of beach free from the privately run lidos that clutter most Italian resorts, with their tightly packed, uniform rows of sunbeds and parasols. Continue reading...

Japan’s Top Messaging App Has a Pandemic-Mindful Strategy for Domestic Tourism

Take a look at how Japan's most popular messaging app has approached travel marketing during the pandemic. It's a glance at how superapps might define the future of travel in Asia. -Sean O'Neill

A hike on Fife's camino – Culross to St Andrews

The new 56-mile Fife Pilgrim Way in eastern Scotland lifts the veil on deep history, glorious landscapes, religious lore and wild raspberries Ah, peace at last. I’m lost in a riot of wildflowers somewhere near Glenrothes, and there comes a moment when I’ve never been so close to home and yet so far away. Rabbits bound ahead of me. Dragonflies and damselflies hover. Frogs leap in puddles. The open farmlands of Fife may disguise it, but life here is hidden in all sorts of nooks. Continue reading...

Take a look inside Tokyo's drive-in haunted house

A Japanese performance group has created an experience that follows social distancing guidelines yet remains absolutely terrifying -- a drive-in haunted house.

Swimming with sharks – off Pembrokeshire

You don’t need to travel to the Caribbean or Indian Ocean for an exotic experience – there are fantastic big beasts off the coast of Wales When I lived in London, I never went to the Tower. A Madrileño I met claimed never to have entered the Prado. There are Cairenes, I’m sure, who keep meaning to visit the Pyramids. I know I’m not alone in often ignoring what is in my own backyard. The attractions of faraway always seem more alluring. But with the Covid crisis we have all become aware of how important it is to look for the treasure under our noses. That’s why I’m on a fishing boat heading out of the tiny Pembrokeshire port of Dale with oceanographer Richard Rees and skipper Andy, plus several excited – and slightly apprehensive – photographers and divers. The group is a little diminished to keep social distance. Andy has been sailing these waters off the Welsh coast all his life, mostly ferrying anglers out to the rich feeding grounds 30 miles offshore. We are on a mission to see, and swim with, marine creatures that most people, including myself, associate with more distant, exotic locations. Continue reading...

Skip the services: 20 stopovers off British motorways and A roads

Long, hot journeys are more bearable if broken at a pleasant pitstop. Refuel at these farm shops and cafes with great food, and gardens for the kids All places listed have Covid-safe regulations in place – but check individual opening hours in advance Continue reading...

Distressed Hotel Asset Sales in Thailand May Turn Into a Gold Mine for International Chains

Covid-19 unearthed hotel vulnerabilities, but Thai asset owners are not retreating. That means more branding opportunities for chains, but how they handle the pandemic will be closely watched. -Raini Hamdi

Sharks don't film themselves. Meet the man who does

"Shark Week's" Joe Romeiro captures heart-racing photos and videos. He shares the stories behind some of his unforgettable images.

Q&A: all you need to know about UK's quarantine rules for France

Travellers across the Channel face growing uncertainty due to rise in Covid cases in the country * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverage France has recorded post-lockdown record highs of daily cases in successive days with 2,669 new Covid-19 infections reported on Thursday, up from 2,524 the day before. Both figures topped the 2,288 cases on Friday, another record since the country began to ease out of lockdown in May, followed by 2,184 infections on Saturday, 1,885 on Sunday and 785 on Monday. Continue reading...

What Trump’s WeChat Ban May Mean for the Travel Sector

Trump's ban on the Chinese superapp WeChat may turn out to be a mere annoyance for many Chinese travelers. But it could cause real harm to some U.S. travel organizations. -Sean O'Neill

Young boy who won't wear mask removed from flight

Southwest Airlines removed a three-year-old and his family from a flight after the boy wouldn't keep his mask on.