There is no question that Kayak management would kill to be the beneficiary of the kind of marketing/advertising commitment that Expedia is making to Trivago. It is really tough to compete with one hand tied behind your back.
Travel brands selling vacations and luxury suites have a significantly easier job selling consumers on their products than these more stark service providers but adding a light perspective to what can be a tedious form of travel is a good start.
Chicago's visitor milestone is a result of a global rebound in business and leisure travel; however, an efforts that attempt to reposition a city's branding could also help with future growth.
The #MyDubai initiative was a first step towards telling a more human story about the city, but Dubai's challenge moving forward will be making the city relevant outside of its iconic buildings so that visitors will travel far to visit and have reason to come back after the bucket list items are ticked.
Everyone loves the concept of the sharing economy, but when it comes close to home, feelings about it are a lot more nuanced. Lots more research needs to be done at the local and neighborhood level on the effects of the sharing economy, positive and negative.