Skift

Skift operates as a prominent industry intelligence platform, delivering essential media, strategic insights, and targeted marketing services to key sectors within the global travel landscape. The company centralizes and disseminates critical information, providing data and services that aid professionals in navigating and making informed decisions across various facets of the travel industry. Its comprehensive approach spans multiple verticals, offering a holistic view of market trends, consumer behavior, and business strategies.

The company was founded in 2012 by Rafat Ali, establishing its roots in New York City. Ali's vision for Skift emerged from a recognized need for a dedicated and incisive source of intelligence for the travel industry, which at the time lacked a unified platform for deep analysis and actionable insights. His entrepreneurial drive and understanding of digital media and industry-specific information gaps propelled the creation of the enterprise.

Skift primarily serves professionals and decision-makers across the travel ecosystem, including airlines, hospitality, tourism boards, and technology providers. The platform aims to empower these industry stakeholders with the knowledge required to adapt, innovate, and lead in a rapidly evolving market. Its long-term vision is to remain the authoritative voice and indispensable resource, continually shaping the future dialogue and strategic direction of the global travel economy.

High-Level Overview

Skift is a media and research company focused on the global travel industry, delivering daily news, insights, research reports, newsletters, and events for travel professionals across sectors like airlines, hotels, and tourism.[1][2][3] It generates revenue through subscriptions, branded content via its SkiftX studio, and global conferences such as the annual Skift Global Forum in New York.[1] While not a traditional technology company building software products, Skift leverages digital media tools—including its recent Ask Skift AI chatbot powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT, trained on 12 years of its content—to provide intelligent search and trend analysis.[3]

Origin Story

Skift was founded in July 2012 by Rafat Ali, a former computer engineer, journalist, and entrepreneur who serves as CEO, alongside co-founder Jason Clampet, previously of Frommer's and head of product.[1][3] The name "Skift," meaning "shift" or "transformation" in Nordic languages, reflects the founders' vision of covering ongoing changes in travel.[1] Launching with $500,000 in funding from investors like L. Gordon Crovitz and Craig Forman, Skift raised an additional $1.1 million in 2013 led by Lerer Ventures, enabling early growth in news, research, and events.[1] Pivotal moments include starting SkiftX for branded content (30% of revenue by 2015) and expanding conferences from the 2014 New York Global Forum to Europe (2017) and Asia (2019).[1]

Core Differentiators

• Comprehensive Travel Intelligence: Acts as the "Bloomberg of travel" with daily news, research reports, sector newsletters, and trend-spotting across airlines, hotels, tourism, and emerging areas like attractions—unmatched depth in a fragmented industry.[1][2][3]
• AI-Powered Tools: Ask Skift AI chatbot, trained on proprietary content from news, reports, and events, answers complex queries like travel sustainability with sourced responses, enhancing accessibility.[3]
• Events and Networking: Flagship Skift Global Forum and regional forums (Europe, Asia) convene executives for insights and connections, fostering industry dialogue.[1][2]
• Marketing Services: SkiftX studio produces custom microsites, videos, and reports for travel brands, blending journalism with revenue-generating content.[1]
• Global Expansion: Increasing coverage of tourism and international markets to deepen influence beyond U.S.-centric travel media.[3]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Skift rides the digital transformation of travel, accelerated by post-pandemic recovery, AI integration, and sustainability demands, providing real-time intelligence amid sector shifts like experiential tourism and tech-driven personalization.[1][3] Its timing aligns with the lack of a dedicated travel "Bloomberg" in 2012, filling a gap as online platforms disrupted traditional media and travel booking.[3] Market forces favoring Skift include rising demand for data-driven decisions in a $1 trillion+ industry, AI tools like Ask Skift enabling scalable insights, and events capitalizing on in-person networking post-COVID.[2][3] By defining trends through journalism and research, Skift influences executives, startups, and incumbents, shaping strategies in tech-travel intersections like AI chatbots and global tourism tech.[3]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Skift's trajectory points to deeper AI experimentation, expanded global coverage (e.g., attractions and tourism), and new services embedding it further in travel operations.[3] Trends like AI personalization, sustainable travel tech, and hybrid virtual-physical events will propel growth, potentially evolving Skift into a full-stack intelligence platform with predictive analytics. Its influence may grow by advising on tech-travel convergence, solidifying its role as the indispensable hub for an industry in constant skift.