# Skift's Power Rankings 2026: builders now run the show

Canonical-URL: https://notitur.com/en/digest/skift-power-rankings-2026-travel-builders
Text-Version: https://notitur.com/en/digest/skift-power-rankings-2026-travel-builders.txt
Markdown-Version: https://notitur.com/en/digest/skift-power-rankings-2026-travel-builders.md
Language: en
Published: 2026-09-16T10:01:36.624Z
Modified: 2026-09-16T10:01:36.624Z
Author: Joan Sanz
Topics: Tendencias & Innovación
Summary: Skift has published its 25 most powerful people in travel and the message is blunt: power belongs to those who build, not those who promise.

## Article

Skift has published its annual power list and the headline leaves little room for debate: the weight of the industry sits with those who build. The 2026 ranking ([Power Rankings 2026](https://skift.com/2026/09/16/power-rankings-2026/)) gathers **25 names** chosen on a very specific criterion: initiatives that are ambitious, audacious and genuinely useful. No inflated CVs, no pompous titles. Product people actually use.

In my reading, that is the interesting shift this year. For a long time travel power lists were packed with executives from big groups and distribution chiefs with market share. This Skift edition seems to move in another direction, prioritising those getting their hands dirty solving real problems across hotels, airlines, OTAs and travel-tech.

That a publication like Skift ([Skift](https://skift.com/2026/09/16/power-rankings-2026/)) puts the verb build at the centre is a clear signal for vendors and commercial teams. If you sell technology to hotels or airlines, review your pitch and match it against the names on that list. The useful question is simple: does what you offer sit alongside those audacious, useful initiatives, or does it only sound good on a slide?

## Sources

- Skift: https://skift.com/2026/09/16/power-rankings-2026/

## Citation

Skift's Power Rankings 2026: builders now run the show. Notitur. 2026-09-16. https://notitur.com/en/digest/skift-power-rankings-2026-travel-builders