The Booking Isn’t the Finish Line: What IHG, Priceline, and McKinsey Say Brands Are Missing

Photo Credit: Heather Balsley, Traci Mercer, and Margaux Constantin speaking at the Skift Global Forum in New York on September 23, 2026. Skift For many travelers, hitting "book" no longer ends the path to purchase. They keep searching long after they book — hunting for a better deal or worrying they made the wrong decision. That was one of the key findings in "Winning Hearts in an Age of Infinite Travel Choices," a report from Skift Research and McKinsey & Company that examines how travelers' booking journeys have evolved, a topic discussed Wednesday at the Skift Global Forum in New York. "There's always something you're looking forward to the next trip ... and even when that journey ended was also not very clear because after booking, we found out that most travelers are still searching and still exploring and reconsidering options," said Margaux Constantin, one of the rep