D/R DOWNLOAD 11.10

What’s Trending

01/ On Google

• “Travel Tuesday” trended +1,100% this week as we approach the savings and holiday season.

02/ With Media

• This week media were interested in the best new hotels, the chicest hotels in every state, travel activities that align with the 2024 solar eclipse, what's new and interesting in the cruise market, and more.

• USA Today has hired Bryan West as the Taylor Swift reporter. West has earned two Emmys as an investigative reporter and has experience as a writer and on-air journalist.

• Jezebel, a notable feminist blog with a large online presence, has shut down after the publication could not be sold.

• Media companies VICE and Tinybeans have announced layoffs this week, with editors taking to social media to share their departures.

• Fodor’s announces their 2024 “Go and No” list, where editors choose and explain the best places to visit and places to avoid, either due to human or climate conflicts, in the upcoming year.

03/ In the Zeitgeist

• The SAG-AFTRA strike has ended after 118 days of negotiations. The contract was accepted by the union and stands for 3-years.

Industry Insights

• Expedia reveals the biggest travel trends of 2024, which include travel destination “dupes”, booking trips based off of television shows, and an increase in sober travel.

• The National Geographic announced their 2024 ‘cool list’, which includes a list of 30 experiences or destinations from around the world.

• Costa Rica was chosen by Travel + Leisure as the destination of the year for 2024, citing the diverse selection of outdoor activities, rich wildlife, and immersive culture.

• One lucky winner will be able to brunch with Martha Stewart in her Bedford home for only $11.23, thanks to Booking.com.

• Prior and Capital One have collaborated to give travelers food-focus tours, with opportunities to dine with chef Jose Andre or shop local markets with chef Alejandro Ruiz for Dia de Los Muertos.

• Hyatt Centric Downtown Denver is offering a Santa Claus turndown service, where milk and homemade cookies will be delivered by the Saint Nick themselves to travelers' rooms.

• AirBnb is offering Thanksgiving with Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton, the duo who went viral after Hinton received an accidental text from an unknown phone number with an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner. Hinton accepted and attended, posting the interaction on social media afterwards, leading it to go viral and resurface online every holiday season.

• Celebrity designers Chip & Joanna Gaines have debuted 1928, a new hotel in Waco, Texas. The property embraces a more elevated aesthetic and positions itself as a luxury boutique hotel.

• Musician Dolly Parton opened a new 302 room hotel in the Smoky Mountains named ‘HeartSong’, equipped with indoor and outdoor pools, on-site restaurant and market, and trolleys to Dollywood.

• Passport renewal processing times are beginning to shorten. The time has become one week faster than last month and three weeks after compared to the summer.

• Amtrak has received a $10 billion grant from the government to work along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) due to the rise in ridership.

The Good

• AllTrails has given employees a ‘Trail Day’, where every first Friday of the month, all employees take the day off to spend time outside. The benefit has shown to boost employee morale while staying true to what the company stands for.

The Bad

• A woman is suing American Airlines for allegedly losing her children in an airport overnight during a layover after they traveled with the company's chaperone service.