D/R DOWNLOAD 11.4

What’s Trending

01/ On Google

• ‘Day of the Dead’ trended up  +750% this week, as Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Torruco Marques, announced the arrival of 2.1 million tourists to hotels in the country.

• The total number of Google searches for plausible reasons to skip work shot up over the last two years, topping 2 million in 2022, according to an analysis by Frank Recruitment Group, a global employment firm.

02/ With Media

• This week, journalists were interested in all-inclusive resorts, ski and snowboard resorts, luxury travel with a purpose, Cyber Monday/Black Friday deals and roundups of where to travel in 2023. 

• Fodor’s ‘No List’ of destinations is back after a three year hiatus, which features multiple travel destinations to avoid due to overcrowded areas with resource depletion and places suffering from water crises. 

• David Kaufman has been appointed as a new Editor of the Robb Report.  

• Mia Taylor is now a Staff Writer at Fortune.

• Dotdash has named Grace Smith as a commerce writer across Real Simple, Southern Living, and Better Homes and Gardens.

• Joi-Marie McKenzie Lewis has been promoted to editor in chief of Insider's ‘Life’ division.

• BDG has promoted Michelle Toglia to executive editor of Elite Daily. 

03/ In The Zeitgeist

• Almost 40 years after the release of the original, HBO Max dropped the official trailer for “A Christmas Story Christmas,” celebrating the start of the holiday season with the return of original star Peter Billingsley as Ralphie Parker.

• Mexico released a new law where marine animals including dolphins, seals and sea lions won’t be subject to performances or swim experiences. However, the law indicates you can still use marine mammals for scientific research or conservation purposes. 

Industry Insights

• Capital One has announced that they will be collaborating with José Andrés to bring tapas-style cuisine to their new Capital One Landing Lounge to combine culture and travel.  This elevated lounge concept will debut in New York LaGuardia and D.C.'s Reagan National airport.

• The hosts from the Netflix reality series Love is Blind are teaming up with Hotels.com for a vacation giveaway dedicated to couples that have been together for less than six months. The winners of the giveaway will receive a $2,500 Hotels.com gift card to use on their weekend getaway and both partners will have Hotels.com Rewards Gold status for one year. 

• The hotel chain, Ramada by Wyndham, is scouting for a “Chief Eats Officer” to send on a three-week endeavor to eight different countries and share their favorite food experiences on social media. 

• American Airlines has announced the removal of its first-class seating section on international flights due to declining sales post-pandemic. It will instead direct attention to their “Flagship Suite,” for business class, which includes a privacy door and additional personal storage.  

• Visit Orlando announced a giveaway for 12 free trips to Disney World in honor of Disney's 50th anniversary. To enter, applicants must upload a photo with their favorite family members, inner circle or lifelong best friends showing off their “Orlando fandom.'“

• Virgin Airlines is launching a “lottery” with a weekly prize pool to encourage more passengers to select the middle seat. Now through April 23, any middle seater who is 18 or older and a Velocity Frequent Flyer member can sign up for the lottery on the airline’s app for a chance to win weekend vacation packages, pub crawls, Australian football tickets and status upgrades.

• Original Beer Spa in Florida is offering a 90-minute bath filled with warm water and herbal bath bomb, beer-infused spa treatments, an infrared sauna and self-serve beer on tap. This service aims to reduce anxiety, inflammation and renew skin with the beverage’s wellness and skincare benefits. 

• Booking.com announced lucky guests can win a stay at Smokey Bear Ranger District House, a Travel Sustainable property, in New Mexico’s Lincoln National Forest. For a truly sustainable experience, the house was created out of recycled triple-bottom-line materials and built using resource-efficient construction methods and implements home energy and water conservation practices.

• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced that its economy/extended stay-brand will officially be named ‘Echo Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham’, despite the brand launching more than seven months ago.

• Subway announced the giveaway of 10,000 free Subway Series footlong subs to travelers “sandwiched in the middle seat” in honor of National Sandwich Day on November 10. To enter, travelers must take a photo of themselves flying in the middle seat and upload it online. 

• Switzerland’s rail industry ran the world's longest passenger train with 100 cars and almost two kilometers long to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the first railway built in the country.

• Airplane designers explored new designs for commercial planes with metal tubes, swept-back wings and  jet engines slung underneath. The planes would use less energy, lower emissions, and can reduce flight times significantly. 

• Spirit Airlineshas announced plans to add greater width and comfort to its aircraft’s seats, with design installments set to begin in January 2023.

Health-Related Updates

• Health officials in Qatar announced COVID-19 testing, mask requirements, and vaccinations will be lifted on November 1st, ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 

• Spain dropped all COVID-19-related entry rules, making it one of the last European countries to do so. Travelers from outside of the EU will no longer be required to show proof of vaccination, a negative test, or proof of recovery to enter.  

Best Practices

01/ The Good

• The reproductive justice collective SisterSong launched the Every Body Campaign and partnered with more than 35 beauty brands ahead of the midterm elections. All of the participating brands will run a limited-edition release of products in green boxes with 100% of proceeds benefiting SisterSong and their mission to support human rights. 

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