Apple's Disney Deal

Your next park visit lives in Apple Wallet. Your hotel stay might too.

GOOD DAY, READERS.

Walt Disney World will be a launch partner this fall for an expanded Apple Wallet experience launching with iOS 27. Adriana Lee, Skift's travel technology and AI reporter, got concrete confirmation from both companies: In the coming months, Disney's MagicMobile pass will surface park reservations, special events, and trip details directly in Wallet. Apple is also extending the update beyond hotel keys to loyalty cards and broader trip management, forcing travel brands to decide how much of the guest experience they're willing to cede to Apple's interface.

Skift IDEA Awards

The travel industry's recognition for design, innovation, and creative excellence.

Winners are the brands and teams defining the guest experience on their own terms, judged by leaders from Hilton, Accor, IHG, and Google. Final entries close next week.

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Apple’s Wallet Key Turns Into a Full Trip Pass, With Disney as Launch Partner

By Adriana Lee

Apple is turning Wallet from a place to store hotel keys into a live trip surface. Disney shows how far that could go when a pass starts carrying more of the trip.

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U.S. Hotel Demand Is Rebounding — and It’s No Longer Just a Luxury Story

By Sean O'Neill

Ten weeks of data show remarkably strong demand from business and leisure travelers. It's not just a World Cup bump.

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IAG’s €1 Billion Loyalty Ambition Depends More on Banks Than Airlines

By Gordon Smith

Is Avios becoming the tail that wags the airline? IAG Loyalty wants to make a billion euros, and many of the levers it's pulling to get there have nothing to do with flying.

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How Agentic AI Is Solving The Billion-Dollar Hold Queue

ASAPP + SKIFT

At Skift's Data + AI Summit, ASAPP's Nirmal Mukhi shared why using AI to deflect calls before handing off to a human leaves most of the ROI on the table.

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MORNING HEADLINES

What Albania’s Flamingo Revolution Tells Us About Sovereign Capital’s Coastline Problem

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Mexico’s Posadas Had Gone Too Luxury. Its Next Deals Will Even the Split.

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Trip.com Says China’s Regulatory Crackdown Is Starting to Show Up in Its Numbers

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Experience Pure Plays Are Winning, OTAs Are Still Catching Up

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SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK

CEO of Fairmont & Raffles: Luxury Isn't What You Think It Is

On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with Omer Acar, CEO of Raffles and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. Throughout his remarkable career, Omer has held leadership roles at Four Seasons, Harrods, The Ritz Paris, and more, while living and working everywhere from Hawaii and California to Egypt, London, Paris, and now New York.

Together, they explore how luxury hospitality has evolved from a focus on opulence and perfection to something far more powerful: emotional connection.

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PEOPLE MOVES

This week's people moves shaping the industry. Let us know about a move.

Feisal Jaffer joins Capella as Chief Development Officer, having spent the previous seven years at Hilton as VP Luxury Brand Management.
Ian Brown will be taking the CEO spot at Trainline in September. Brown was previously CEO of Flutter Entertainment and has also led travel brands such as RentalCars.com.
Joe Masi has joined Davidson Hospitality as SVP Operations. He was previously the EVP Operations at Remington Hospitality, a hotel management firm.

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SKIFT TRAVEL 200

How are public travel companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to understand global market movements. Paid subscribers get full access here.

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