Google’s Best Travel App, NYC Hotel Protest and Blue Lagoon Tourism

Skift Take

Today’s podcast looks at Google Wallet’s latest rollout, labor controversy in New York City’s hotels, and the rebound of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon.

Rashaad Jorden

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, September 13. and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

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Episode Notes

Google Wallet will soon allow users to store a digital version of a U.S. passport, one of the app’s newest travel features, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes.

Google said on Thursday that the digital passport will work at select TSA checkpoints. The U.S. passport is the first one Google is adding to Wallet, an app the tech giant began rolling out in July 2022. Google also started enabling users to save select U.S. state IDs to Wallet last year.

Dawes notes rival Apple has yet to enable users to store digital versions of their passports. 

Next, hotel workers in New York City are protesting a bill that would require hotels in the city to meet stricter regulations, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.

Intro 991, the so-called “Safe Hotels Act,” would mandate hotels get a new “hotel license” to operate. Local labor unions support the bill because it would bar hotels from using subcontractors for core functions such as housekeeping, front desk and security. Roughly 700 hotels in New York City would be affected by the bill. 

Supporters of the Safe Hotels Act have argued the bill will improve safety for guests and workers as well as ensure better working conditions. But critics of the measure have said it could increase operational costs, potentially driving up room rates. 

Finally, Iceland’s Blue Lagoon has seen a rebound in guest bookings after repeated closures due to nearby volcanic activity, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. 

Occupancy for September and October at the popular attraction is around 70%. That figure is in line with last year’s numbers, according to Siggi Thorsteinsson, an executive at Blue Lagoon. The geothermal spa had several closures between November 2023 and August 2024 due to earthquakes caused by volcanoes.  

Although the Blue Lagoon hasn’t been damaged by eruptions or earthquakes, Habtemariam notes heavy news coverage of volcanic activity has given many potential visitors the impression the spa and Iceland in general may not be safe. The country only saw a 1% increase in foreign tourists coming by air between January and July from last year.