MGM Just Shut the Door on Barry Diller: “We’re Done”

0:28Tasmin Lockwood: Welcome back to the Sky. gift daily briefing. It's Friday, October 30th, 2026. I'm Tasman Lockwood. Let's get into it. First up, the MGM Barry Diller saga is officially over. MGM Results says merger talks with People Inc., Diller's company, and MGM's largest shareholder have ended. Under a new voting pact filed Wednesday, People Inc. will vote its shares the way MGM's board recommends on any takeover deal and it can't push its stake above 29.9%. Quick rewind, in June People Inc. offered to take MGM private for$48.30 a share, roughly an$18 billion deal. CEO Bill Hornbuckle says the two sides actually agreed on a price but People couldn't line up the investor group it needed and pulled out in September.

1:23Tasmin Lockwood: On this week's earnings call, Hornbuckle didn't mince his words, we're done we're going to refocus on our business the bottom line the takeover drama is closed and now MGM has to fix a Las Vegas business that's been sliding for two years on its own next Marriott is cutting corporate jobs globally the company confirmed the cuts Wednesday but won't say how many people are affected only that it's happening in some corporate disciplines hotel staff aren't part of this. Marriott says new rules are being posted too and it expects many affected employees to land in them. So who's actually being cut? Marriott hasn't said but employees posting online point to HR, IT, the team that handles escalated guest complaints and quality insurance inspectors, the people who check whether hotels meet brand standards.

2:21Tasmin Lockwood: Some report departure dates in November And watch the timing. Marriott reports third quarter results this Monday, November 2nd. The takeaway? Trimming back office rolls right before earnings tells you cost discipline is front and centre. Listen closely to how Marriott frames it on Monday. Finally, would you pay for hotel loyalty? More than 485 ,000 Accor members in Asia-Pacific already do. Accor's paid subscription, All Accor Plus Explorer, runs around$245 to$260 a year depending on the market. Members get guaranteed gold status or higher plus two free nights a year, each paired with a paid night.

3:07Tasmin Lockwood: Over the past year, members booked more than 3.8 million room nights. Accor plus CEO Emily Kutan insists that this is not a discount scheme. It's an engagement play. Accor says members stayed five times as many nights as non-members in 2024. She's not even chasing a member target. What matters is frequency and revenue. Why Asia? Subscriptions are already a habit there. Accor's own research says 74 % of Asians have at least one. India is the standout after Australia, with more than 100 ,000 members, and China is next, with a WeChat launch planned in the next couple of months. The point? Paid loyalty works where subscriptions are second nature, but the real test is renewals, and that data is only starting to arrive.

4:00Tasmin Lockwood: That's your SCIFT Daily Briefing for Friday, October 30th. I'm Tasman Lockwood. For more on these stories and everything shaping the future of travel, head to skiff.com and subscribe to the newsletter at skiff.com forward slash daily.