Frontier Claps Back at United, IHG Looks to Asia and Airbnb Is ‘Serious’ About Hotels

IHG is prioritizing Asia for growth, with CEO Elie Maalouf planning to double the company’s presence in Japan to nearly 100 hotels and surpass 1,000 in China within 18 months. Frontier CEO Barry Biffle defended the ultra-low-cost model and rebuked United’s Scott Kirby as “elitist,” arguing the U.S. market’s problem is oversupply and noting Frontier could gain from Spirit’s renewed Chapter 11. Meanwhile, Airbnb’s Brian Chesky said the company will integrate curated boutique and independent hotels directly into core search results via a new carousel, piloting in New York and other major cities to keep travelers on-platform. Connect with Skift LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ WhatsApp: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://facebook.com/skiftnews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Threads: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bluesky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/skift⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SkiftNews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and never miss an update from the travel industry.