*By Samantha Errico*
Your days to travel in 2018 may be numbered, but 2019 beckons. So what's ahead for the travel industry next year? Lola.com CEO Mike Volpe joined Cheddar to present his predictions for travel in 2019.
**Day-Rate Hotels**
"In this world where everyone wants to be faster and more agile, your needs around business are changing," Volpe told Cheddar Friday. Hotels are incorporating flexible check-in times for travelers who take red eyes, and offering hourly rates for visitors who are only in town for the day. Hotels are adapting to the pace of the modern travel and the growing demand of customers.
**Out with Corporate Travel, in with Consumer Travel**
The business travel industry is expected to hit $1.6 trillion by 2020, and more companies are trying to exploit the market. Companies are meeting the growing demands of the market by "taking the consumer speed and agility from the consumer travel world into the corporate travel world," Volpe said. Travel companies are racing to find the easiest booking system possible, Volpe said. "The average corporate travel system takes a person about an hour to book their flight and hotel for an upcoming trip," he added.
Chris Versace, CIO at Tematica Research, joins to discuss earnings season trends, Flash PMI signals, Walmart’s strategy updates, and Nike’s evolving outlook.
Andrew Nusca, Editorial Director at Fortune, dives into WhatsApp’s first-ever ads rollout —and how Meta’s ad push intensifies its showdown with OpenAI.
Ben Geman, Energy Reporter at Axios, joins to discuss the latest Middle East tensions, Brent crude price swings, and why gas prices aren’t falling with oil.
Al Root, Associate Editor at Barron's, joins to discuss Tesla’s robotaxis going live in Texas—what it means for autonomy, safety, and the EV race ahead.
Dena Jalbert, M&A expert and CEO of Align Business Advisory Services, on the state of U.S. M&A: deals worth $1–$10 billion (including debt) are surging.
