Skift

This week’s scoop: Capital One is stripping Hopper for parts: Capital One plans to buy the installed software from Hopper that powers Capital One Travel and to hire several of Hopper’s hotel and engineering teams, according to a source familiar with the potential deal. A second source told Skift that members of Hopper’s hotel and engineering teams in Europe and Canada have already been receiving job offers from Capital One. Skift has reached to several Hopper employees but has not been able to confirm that offers have gone out. The hotel and engineering hires would help Capital One with two goals: Establish more direct relationships with hotels to build inventory and develop travel and fintech offerings. https://hubs.li/Q03WczQs0

Airlines around the world returned to normal after a major safety alert caused thousands of planes to be grounded. On Friday, Airbus issued an urgent advisory after identifying a safety issue impacting its best-selling A320 aircraft. In a statement, the company said “intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls” on some jets. Airbus said the issue raised safety concerns across a “significant number” of aircraft. https://hubs.li/Q03WcB7Z0

Imagine this scenario: You have a death in the family and airlines know from scraping your emails that you’ll be flying to the funeral with no time to shop around. Your fare? Double what everyone else is paying for the same flight. That’s not happening today, but it’s the danger former Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan warned about on a podcast in July. In 2025, airlines are eager to tout how they are using AI for customer service and to manage disruptions. But AI and pricing? That’s become a third rail. https://hubs.li/Q03WcgJJ0

Strategies start here: The insights shaping 2026. Megatrends brings the travel community together for a fast, focused look at the year ahead. Expect sharp insights, big ideas, and the trends that will guide strategies across the industry. Don’t miss out, secure your seat here ⬇️ Jan 20 London: https://hubs.li/Q03WbD2v0 Jan 22 NYC: https://hubs.li/Q03WbFWl0

For all the net-zero pledges across the travel industry, tangible climate progress remains rare. Skift set out to highlight the travel-industry leaders delivering real solutions — not just talking about it. Our list, which draws on our ongoing reporting on climate issues, focuses on recent achievements and meaningful action underway now, with the aim of inspiring the cross-sector collaboration needed to scale it. See the 10 people and companies making a difference in the first comment, below.

Luxury Escapes, the Australian travel platform, is doubling down on something that feels counterintuitive in 2025: physical retail. Instead of obsessing over online conversions and incremental A/B tests, the company is investing in fully fledged travel boutiques where customers sit down, drink champagne, and plan expensive holidays with a consultant. And based on the numbers, the move is paying off. Read Colin N.’s column, below: https://hubs.li/Q03WbGn40

Finance teams have spent years fighting doctored receipts and duplicate submissions, but a new problem is emerging in 2025: AI-generated expense fraud. The rise of consumer image generators means employees can now fabricate almost-perfect receipts in seconds, and travel and finance platforms are scrambling to keep up. SAP Concur said it is now detecting 18 times more suspected AI-generated receipts since rolling out an AI-powered receipt checker earlier this year. https://hubs.li/Q03W9hpd0

New Hotel Loyalty Research: Hotel loyalty is being reshaped by rising traveler expectations, rapid advances in technology, shifting economic conditions, and evolving owner priorities. This report maps the forces redefining loyalty today — the economics behind direct demand, the widening gap between membership scale and true engagement, and the emerging role of experiences, partnerships, and AI-powered personalization. Subscribers read it, and new readers can preview it in the link in the first comment:

Ryanair - Europe's Favourite Airline has pulled the plug on its “Ryanair Prime” membership program just eight months after launch, ending the carrier’s most ambitious experiment in paid loyalty. According to Ryanair CMO Dara Brady, the program generated roughly €4.4 million in subscription revenue during the trial but delivered more than €6 million in fare discounts. “This trial has cost more money than it generates,” Brady said in a statement. https://hubs.li/Q03W9lXP0

Small Luxury Hotels of the World has an approach to India that looks nothing like the expansion playbook of major hotel chains. After re-entering the country last year, SLH has grown its footprint from five to 12 hotels. And the company says it’s not in a hurry to add more. “We don’t usually sign like the big box brands… it’s very individualized, the way that we pick our hotels,” said Mark Wong, SLH’s senior vice president for Asia Pacific, on a recent trip to India. Every property is inspected by him or his development team. No blanket agreements, no mass signings. https://hubs.li/Q03W9mKW0