2014 › October

Marriott shows its lighter side with a new campaign attempting to inject humor, energy and sex appeal into the select service hotel market to attract a broader Millennial customer base.

It's great to see employees getting involved and showing community spirit around their brand. Marriott could also make the campaign more easily accessible and visible than it currently is on its site.

In a business built on emotions, a smart travel campaign can remind current customers why they'll return to the brand and stir up interest in new ones.

You can see travel advertisers on TV trying to create memorable characters. There's Priceline's The Negotiator and attempts by Trivago with the Trivago Guy and Hotels.com with Captain Obvious. It's a very tough thing to do, and CheapOair is trying to take a shortcut.

Hertz is innovating standard GPS technology to give travelers the experience they're looking for on a long car ride. The app provides an experience that breathes life into GPS coordinates that will benefit destinations and hotels, as well.

Air New Zealand found marketing gold when it decided to align itself with the Hobbit series and returning to the theme was a safe but smart choice after the national carrier received unexpectedly negative feedback for putting bathing suit models in a safety video.

Between its traveler, expert and management photos, TripAdvisor now has a depth of photo content that is unparalleled for guests checking to see what the property looks like. That's why TripAdvisor acquired Oyster, for the professional hotel photography, warts and all.

If any content site can truly personalize a user experience, it has to be the largest travel content site in the world, right?

Although tourism from emerging nations like Brazil and China is critical to America's economic growth, consistent source markets including Canada and Mexico will remain the country's bread and butter when it comes to travel dollars spent.