D/R DOWNLOAD 11.22

What’s Trending

01/ On Google

• “Busiest travel day of the year” trended +130% this week as travelers prepare for their holiday plans.

02/ With Media

• This week media were interested in Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Travel Tuesday deals, holiday travel tips and ideas, exciting hotel openings, and more.

• Arthur Frommer, founder and author of the Frommer’s brand of travel guides, passed away this week at 95. After publishing the guidebook “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day” in 1957, it became one of the best-selling travel guides of all time and helped build an empire of guidebooks, package tours, hotels and other services for travelers.

• Hearst Magazines announced a deep round of layoffs said to include up to 75 editorial employees and 100 members of the company’s sales, marketing and operational staff.

03/ In the Zeitgeist

• At Microsoft’s annual conference, a new Teams tool was revealed, which will allow users to clone their voices so they can have their sound-alikes speak to others in meetings in different languages.

• Silent services are on the rise as more consumers around the country are opting to avoid small talk, whether it be self-checkout in the grocery store, silent Uber rides, or individual booths at restaurants.

• Bluesky, a social media network co-founded by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, recently crossed the 15 million user threshold a week after the U.S. election. The site is seen as an alternative to X (formerly known as Twitter), which has seen controversy since Elon Musk’s acquisition.

• The Justice Department and a group of states asked a federal court to force Google to sell its web browser Chrome to correct the search monopoly it holds.

Industry Insights

• Spirit Airlines filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of a "restructuring support agreement” after growing debt and unsuccessful mergers with other airlines. The airline will continue to operate as normal through the holiday season and 2025.

• AAA reports that nearly 80 million Americans plan to travel for Thanksgiving between Tuesday, November 26, and Monday, December 2 – a new record.

• Delta Air Lines is offering customers the chance to use SkyMiles to buy and bid on unique experiences, such as dinner at the Bachelor Mansion, a cookout at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, and more.

• Shake Shack and Delta Air Lines are partnering to serve burgers on flights out of Boston. The partnership begins December 1 but is only available to first-class passengers on flights over 900 miles. Delta said it plans to expand service to other U.S. flights in 2025.

• Travel + Leisure unveiled its guide to the Best Places to Travel in 2025, which consists of noteworthy destinations like Marrakesh, Morocco and Charleston, South Carolina.

• Ahead of the holidays, Uber launched “XXL” rides with extra trunk space to cater to airport travelers. The service is available at more than 60 airports globally. The company also introduced a new reservation feature that allows users to receive a recommended time to leave for airport arrivals.

• Ollolai, a mountain village on the island of Sardinia, is selling homes for just €1 (which converts to $1.06) to Americans who want to leave the United States.

• National Geographic reports that communities are searching for moments of silence in a noise-polluted and overstimulating culture, hence why people are now traveling for quiet moments and socializing in silence.

• International travel over the holidays is on the rise for Gen Z and Millenial travelers, with a three percent increase in air travel for this demographic year over year.

• In its weekly PR roundup, PR News looked into the “Wicked” movie’s marketing campaign success, revealed “news influencers” as a key alternative to news outlets, and celebrated PRSA’s recognition as the Global Public Relations Association of the Year.

• Margaritaville at Sea Islander will host the first-ever dog-friendly cruise in November 2025 in partnership with Cruise Tails and Expedia Cruises of West Orlando. The cruise will be complete with dog shows, guest speakers, training and more.

The Bad

• Airbnb is facing backlash from Rome’s residents after the company announced a partnership with the Colosseum to promote Gladiator II. The company is hosting a sweepstakes offering 32 people exclusive after-hours access to the Colosseum to witness a mock gladiator fight, but locals feel that services like Airbnb are contributing to housing shortages and influxes of tourists ruining their quality of life.

• The Guardian unveiled s McKinsey’s silent impact on the current climate crisis, despite its aspirations to be a top destination for best sustainability.