Skift

Episode Notes Hotels are devising plans to bypass traditional booking intermediaries to help boost direct bookings from corporations and businesses. Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill explains why the shift could disrupt how business travel is sold.  Some hotel executives believe they can attract business travelers to book directly if they provide more enticing offers that can’t be found via third parties. Several large hotels are testing a new pricing and booking process called attribute-based booking. Hotel executives have argued the new process will help corporations better understand their spending.  Attracting more direct bookings could help hotels save money. However, O’Neill notes a transition to attribute-based booking faces several hurdles, including a lack of industry-wide standards.  Next, Viking CEO Torstein Hagen said the luxury cruise line doesn’t see any sign of a slowdown in travel, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.  Hagen said during its second-quarter earnings call on Tue