2015 Archives

Tansler enters a space where the Expedia-HomeAway deal has done astronomically more to shake up the vacation rental sector than the former is currently capable of. But the idea of adding a new level of competition to vacation rentals that already exists with hotels with sites like BackBid is something to get excited about.

That IATA is as concerned about Brazil as it is about Venezuela and Argentina says quite a lot. Aviation's World-Cup woes in Brazil have carried over to the Olympics, and Brazil's troubles are reaching beyond its borders to drag down the entire Latin American aviation sector.

Let's hope that Tyler's future replacement--whoever she or he might be--will share views on gender diversity and add fostering gender diversity to the many industry agendas the Association supports.

Airlines are getting better at managing themselves as businesses, and the result is showing up on their bottom lines. But some of these gains come from consolidation, and are limited to the U.S.. On the whole, airlines are always vulvernable to reversals from changes in policy, fuel costs, or events they can't predict.

CityHub is taking the best of capsule hotels and combining this with learnings that smart hostel companies like Generator have gleaned over the past two years.

In aggregate the reviews are mostly positive, but combing through individual reviews points to two companies where employees are concerned about advancement opportunities or work/life balance in the shadows of whatever great perks are offered. Winning over the consumer rarely happens unless a company wins over its employees as well.

With 13,000 employees in more than 40 countries, Club Med is using Facebook At Work to connect its colossal workforce and promote connections across its various locations. Considering how awful and unused most Intranets are, this is a great idea.

Luxury cruise lines are taking a different approach to brand building than their mainstream and river cruise rivals. A new focus on excursions and fresh experiences is helping them to attract luxury travelers who want something new.

It's another chapter in the convergence of everything: Expedia, the online travel agency, invested in the Alice guest-experience app as Expedia tries to get deeper into providing technology services for hotels. Everyone's doing it -- or will soon.