Dan Peltier

Social media and all the bells and whistles of digital age marketing can do wonders for parks and destinations, but sometimes old-fashioned word-of-mouth works just as well. And like anything, holding events at your park always brings increased awareness of what you have to offer.

Travelers want to ensure hotel management is responding to their concerns, and it shows potential guests reading the responses on TripAdvisor that this is not a do-nothing hotel, and makes improvements. And with user-submitted photos on TripAdvisor, seeing really is believing.

While the national average room rate may be $137, along with everyone claiming the economy is nearly back to normal, more than half of the top cities have lower averages. This reflects the continuing economic recovery and hotels trying to get guests in the door, meaning it's still a great time to find hotel deals.

Selfies are an element of vacations that aren't going away any time soon, and some hotels are adapting to the craze. If guests at times get creative about their selfies, some hotels are likewise getting inventive, and they can reap the financial benefits.

Online travel and airline CEOs love it when their companies' advertisements go viral, and they can only pour ice water over their heads, dry off, and admire how the ALS Association has crowd-funded its cause.

The U.S. hotel pipeline isn't anywhere near pre-recession levels, but it is fairly healthy with the emphasis on midscale and upscale brands.

Using mobile apps to speed the customs process at the airport is a logical step. Anything that can speed the customs process while maintaining security has got to be a good thing.

This gives experiential travel a new twist.

To airlines seeking to attract more passengers and elicit ancillary revenue, giving passengers wide choice in in-flight entertainment, whether it is on seatbacks or through passengers using their own personal electronic devices, is serious business.