Skift

Episode Notes Marriott has reached an agreement with 49 states and Washington, D.C., to pay $52 million to settle charges related to data security, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.  O’Neill notes the settlement with the states relates to a database security incident in 2018 in the guest reservations system of Starwood, a hotel group Marriott had just acquired.  And the Federal Trade Commission is requiring Marriott to put in place a new data security program following three breaches from 2014 to 2020 that affected over 300 million people worldwide. Next, 2025 might not be full of blockbuster activity for online travel agencies. The sector is projected to see more stock buybacks but not a lot of mergers and acquisitions, writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal. A BTIG research report revealed that Airbnb, Booking Holdings and Expedia Group will likely generate between $15 billion and $16 billion in free cash flow next year. Those companies are expected to allot $13 billion of that amount to stock b