Jeff Fromm

AB InBev is launching "Cheers to Beer" on International Beer Day 2026, a global platform challenging the narrative of beer's decline by focusing on consumers' desire for belonging and in-person gatherings. The campaign repositions beer as a vital social glue, shifting from traditional product advertising to becoming an "experience provider." This strategy integrates beer into cultural passion points like major sports events and music, leveraging the 2026 calendar, including the World Cup, to foster identity-based loyalty. AB InBev also embraces mindful drinking, offering diverse no/low-alcohol options to expand consumption occasions. The initiative highlights beer's enduring role in community, from local bars to global celebrations, emphasizing connection over mere consumption.

For decades, luxury mountain real estate has been closely associated with exclusivity.

A match being played at Center Court in Phoenix, AZ. Pickleball's rapid rise has created an unusual problem for the sports and fitness

Expedia Group is strategically expanding its B2B operations, aiming to empower diverse companies to sell travel by providing its extensive technology, inventory, and servicing. This "one-stop shop" approach leverages Expedia's consumer scale, creating a reciprocal "flywheel" effect. The company now offers flights, cars, and activities beyond accommodations, exemplified by its partnership with Uber, which integrates hotel bookings into Uber's ecosystem. Generative AI is also transforming travel planning, offering speed and personalization, while Expedia ensures reliable fulfillment. High-value segments like sports tourism highlight the need to connect fragmented trip components. Ultimately, Expedia envisions its capabilities being accessible wherever travel intent arises, making complex journeys seamless.

Artificial intelligence holds immense potential to revolutionize business travel by streamlining complex processes. However, the critical hurdle for AI adoption isn't its capability, but whether travelers will trust it, according to Amex GBT's Evan Konwiser. Unlike the internet, which empowered users with information, AI systems recommend solutions, demanding faith in their unseen logic. Building this trust requires AI to "show its work," explaining the rationale behind recommendations and exclusions, especially given the high stakes of travel failures. Personalization also necessitates transparent data handling and situational context, with robust security. Business travel, with its structured environment, offers an ideal testing ground. Ultimately, AI must integrate seamlessly into existing workflows, quietly eliminating tasks while consistently demonstrating transparency, control, and reliable performance to earn user confidence.

A new survey shows 87% of senior marketing executives agree on a critical AI skills gap, revealing the biggest hurdle isn't technology access but organizational readiness. AI will transform, not eliminate, marketing jobs, requiring a shift towards human qualities like curiosity and collaboration, alongside strategic internal talent development. While AI enables true customer personalization through connected touchpoints, this demands significant workflow changes and accountability. Companies face dual trust challenges: reassuring employees about job security and ensuring consumer confidence in AI-generated content. The article concludes that successful AI integration depends on adapting people, processes, and fostering cross-functional collaboration, rather than just deploying more tools.

Airbnb's World Cup success highlighted its strategy to recruit new hosts, with over 150,000 first-time listings. Major events like this act as catalysts, overcoming psychological barriers and offering significant earnings, crucial for Airbnb's supply-side growth. The company aims to retain these temporary hosts, leveraging a deliberate strategy and expanding partnerships beyond sports to concerts and festivals. AI is central to this, personalizing recommendations for hosts and guests, improving efficiency, and fostering loyalty. By integrating more services and building trust across its expanding ecosystem, Airbnb seeks to establish a repeatable playbook, turning episodic demand into sustained growth and a durable supply network.

BetMGM's rise illustrates how quickly the sports betting market has evolved—and why its next phase may depend less on acquiring customers and more on building loyalty around travel, entertainment and live sports

Travel loyalty has never been more valuable—or more confusing. Consumers are signing up for premium credit cards, earning points through everyday spending and dreaming about using those points for aspirational travel.

For decades, luxury travel was defined by visible signals: first-class cabins, five-star hotels and white-glove service.