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.
The Priceline Group can acquire a restaurant reservations platform in OpenTable and add tons of vacation rentals to its Booking.com unit, but Expedia Inc. plans on sticking with its guns and focusing on the hotel business. Will that focus win out? Expedia certainly has been making strides, but this is still the beginning of the beginning.
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.