The middle of the U.S. lodging market collapses, Uber quietly hires travel agents to train its AI, and hotels use smart food-waste tech to cut emissions and costs. 
On today’s Skift Daily Briefing, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahdandashy/">Sarah Dandashy</a> explores how America priced out the classic middle-class road trip, why Uber is building the invisible infrastructure behind trip planning, and how AI-powered kitchen tools are becoming one of the industry’s most effective sustainability strategies.

This episode is brought to you by <a href="https://advertising.amazon.com/">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> To learn more, go to <a href="https://advertising.amazon.com/">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising.amazon.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>

Articles Referenced: 
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://skift.com/2025/12/07/how-u-s-lodging-abandoned-the-middle-class/">How U.S. Lodging Abandoned the Middle Class</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://skift.com/2025/12/08/uber-ai-solutions-hiring-travel-experts/">Uber’s AI Solutions Arm Is Recruiting Travel Agents</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://skift.com/2025/12/08/ai-food-waste-trackers-help-hotels-avoid-tons-of-co%e2%82%82-emissions/">AI Food Waste Trackers Help Hotels Avoid Tons of CO₂ Emissions</a></li>
 <li>
Honorable Mention: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/askaconcierge/">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@AskAConcierge on IG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>
</li>
</ul>

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