Top Stories
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Airbnb CEO interview: No room for anonymity in sharing economy
DigitalIn the wake of Airbnb moving to a Verified ID system to enhance trust between hosts and prospective guests, NBCNews.com’s Ben Popken spoke with Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky about trust and security, and what the new feature means for the evolution of Airbnb. Skift reprints the interview with permission. NBC NEWS: How does anonymity [...]
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Google tests hotel search campaign with lots of photos
DigitalGoogle is making your quest to find a hotel so much more picturesque. In a typical Google user-experience experiment, a subset of users may enter “Dallas hotels,” or perhaps substitute another city, in the Google search box or Chrome browser, and they will be able to view a horizontal collection of hotel photos (see above) [...]
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Bus service with Wi-Fi takes hold as alternative transportation for many
DigitalIt’s almost noon on a spring Friday, and the oldish fellow on the bus seat next to me is furiously working on a math problem the old school way — on paper. He’s oblivious to the activity around him: across the aisle, a young woman not always using her headphones is watching a movie on [...]
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TripAdvisor advises against mobile apps for its hotel customers
DigitalTripAdvisor is advising its hotel customers that they should definitely fine-tune their mobile offerings, but should probably steer clear of mobile apps. “They can be expensive to create, so only develop an app if you have enough frequent travelers who’ll use it often enough,” TripAdvisor says, referring to downloadable mobile apps, in a new TripAdvisor [...]
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The online travel agencies’ hotel tax mess: Every state, every case
DigitalThe City of Los Angeles sued online travel agencies such as Expedia, Priceline, Travelocity and Orbitz in 2004, and over the intervening nine years, lawyers have built careers on the litigation. Oh, some cases have been resolved, with OTAs winning the majority, but losing some big ones. Looking at Priceline as a case in point, [...]
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Priceline CEO: We won’t bias Kayak search results
DigitalWith Priceline’s acquisition of Kayak expected to close May 21, Priceline will have a new weapon in its arsenal, but CEO Jeffery Boyd vowed today that Priceline won’t do anything to bias Kayak’s search results. Appearing on CNBC today, Boyd said that Priceline won’t do anything to upset the level playing field that exists among [...]
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TUI Travel has sunnier earnings forecast because of extended wintry weather
DigitalTUI Travel Plc, Europe’s largest tour operator, said full-year earnings are likely to be higher than previously forecast after wintery weather that persisted until Easter boosted bookings from Britain to Scandinavia. Annual operating profit will increase at least 10 percent, according to the Crawley, England-based company, which had said on March 27 the advance would [...]
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Best travel ads this week: German perfectionism to quirky explorations
DigitalThis week Lufthansa pokes fun at Germans, Expedia takes viewers around the world with a Wes Anderson-inspired tour, a Baltic cruise company tugs heartstrings, and two more videos provide a bit of Friday escapism. FOR ALL OF OUR SKIFTADS OF THE WEEK COLLECTION, CHECK OUT OUR ARCHIVES HERE. Germany’s national carrier Lufthansa pokes fun at [...]
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Priceline-Kayak merger should close on May 21, thanks to regulators’ approval
DigitalPriceline and Kayak said on Thursday they expect their $1.8 billion merger to close on May 21. The two companies said they have received all the needed approvals from regulatory agencies. Norwalk, Conn.-based Priceline.com Inc. announced last November that it would buy competitor Kayak Software Corp. for $1.8 billion in cash and stock. Kayak, which [...]
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Priceline posts healthy first quarter profit, but Wall Street thinks guidance is a bummer
DigitalPriceline.com Inc., the largest U.S. online-travel agent by market value, forecast second-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates as international expansion exposes the company to economic swings in Europe. Profit, excluding some items, will be $8.87 to $9.45 a share in the current period, the Norwalk, Connecticut-based company said in a statement today. Analysts were projecting [...]
