Sean O'Neill

Sean O’Neill is Skift’s Senior Hospitality Editor. Sean’s forte is reporting, and he’s broken multiple hotel industry scoops. He has also conducted 1:1 interviews on stage with the CEOs of Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, and Wyndham.

lufthansa airline airbus A380 D-AIMB LHT Frankfurt geparkt mit Engine Cover source lufthansa group

Online Travel

Priceline Buys Travel Startup Flyiin for Its Airfare Sales Tech

Airlines have been shaking up how they sell and distribute their airfares and ancillaries. Priceline is one of a few brands striving to keep pace through acquisitions or research and development.

Sean O'Neill | 5 years ago

Online Travel

Tripadvisor Seeks Credit Card Partners to Boost Subscription Sales

A Friday earnings call helped analysts quantify the potential of Tripadvisor's new direct-to-consumer subscription product. New numbers for the company as a whole were also hopeful. But wary hotel chains, resentful online travel agencies, and raging virus variants still pose risks.

Sean O'Neill | 5 years ago

Madrid Gran Via 2010 source madrid convention bureau

Online Travel

Amadeus Will Consider a Travel Tech Acquisition in the Next Year

The best bets on where Amadeus would acquire a business are hotel and airport tech and software services. But pricey valuations of many target companies are eye-watering right now.

Sean O'Neill | 5 years ago

Malaysia-Airlines-takes-delivery-of-its-first-A350-XWB-aircraft-taxiing

Online Travel

Sherpa Raises $8.5 Million for Simpler Visas: Travel Startup Funding This Week

This week, travel startups announced more than $24 million in funding. These companies help automate travel visa applications, offer installment loans for vacations, streamline corporate travel expenses, run glamping stays in Catalonia, help visitors book trip experiences in Qatar, and more.

Sean O'Neill | 5 years ago

flixbus hamburg flixmobility bus startup source flixmobility

Online Travel

Munich-Based Startup FlixMobility Ready for Train and Bus Resurgence in Europe

A soft brand, FlixMobility is like an Oyo for bus and rail. That's why it had a $2.4 billion valuation going into the pandemic. A CEO interview suggests the startup's asset-light model could prove resilient.

Sean O'Neill | 5 years ago

Coronavirus

First and Only Leader of Hotelbeds Steps Aside for New CEO Charged With Amping Up Digitization

It's an occasion to pause and appreciate the accomplishment of Joan Vilà, who created Hotelbeds and led it to become the world's largest bedbank. But looking ahead, Hotelbeds must rev up its digital metabolism.

Sean O'Neill | 5 years ago

Online Travel

Sabre Says New Delta Contract Rewarding Extras Like More Legroom Is Model for Future

Sabre and its peers are finally accepting airline demands that distribution contracts should have incentives to build technology that boosts the upselling of travelers. The industry frames the move as providing value to flyers because it makes bundled services easier to buy.

Sean O'Neill | 5 years ago

Ground Transport

President Biden Touts Amtrak’s Low Climate Impact on the Railway’s 50th Anniversary

U.S. lawmakers have been alarmingly indifferent about infrastructure for years. The pandemic appears to have provided the political will to change that, but the climate crisis is also a factor. The president used Amtrak Friday to make his case.

Sean O'Neill | 5 years ago

Rosie Hackett Bridge, Dublin City, Ireland Fáilte Ireland

Online Travel

What This New Dublin Venture Fund Sees as Opportunities in Travel During a Pandemic

To quote venture capitalist Alexia Bonatsos, "Travel startups are about to have a moment."

Sean O'Neill | 5 years ago

Iconic Shard Suite Shangri-La Hotel At The Shard London is a prime luxury hotel for business travelers and leisure luxury Source Shangri-La Hotels

Online Travel

Investors Bet More Than $210 Million on Sector: Travel Startup Funding This Week

This week, travel startups, including TravelPerk, Guesty, Staymyway, and TripAbrood, announced more than $212 million in funding. Can we popularize the phrase "world boom ahead"?

Sean O'Neill | 5 years ago