2015 Archives

The devil is always in the details, but in this case (so far) the devil doesn't have any tricks up his sleeves.

Airbnb is evolving as a social network as much as a room sharing platform with services like its new Community Center page, which hosts and guests used right after the Paris attacks.

It's too early to tell how the Marriott/Starwood merger will impact individual brands, but it does give the new company stronger leverage in terms of online bookings and loyalty rewards.

Hotels need to start using the data they're collecting to make smart and personalized marketing decisions in order to stand out from the competition.

Everyone knows that being nimble enough to test and introduce new technology is a tremendous advantage. Behind the scenes, though, Expedia got good at another skill -- moving really fast to identify and make acquisitions.

Jetsetter still sees value in flash sales but it is such a small part of parent company TripAdvisor's overall business that it saw value in farming out that part of the business to Secret Escapes, which focuses on flash sales 24/7.

Marriott gets a bit of flash, while Starwood gets some leadership (again) that's interested in innovation.

Thinking about business and leisure travelers as polar opposite groups doesn't benefit anyone anymore and never really did. Both traveler types want the human touch, convenience and of course a few creature comforts during their trips.

Elite SkyMiles members are about to lose a whole lot of premium economy privileges.