Dennis Schaal Archives

Dennis Schaal is Skift’s Founding Editor and Executive Editor. Dennis has been a reporter focusing on online travel and short-term rentals for more than two decades at Skift, Tnooz, USA Today, and Travel Weekly. He is well-known for tough one-on-one interviews on stage at Skift events, including with the CEOs and top execs of Expedia, Uber, Booking Holdings, Priceline, Kayak, Hopper, and more.

Ariane Gorin business services president at Expedia Partner Conference 2018 source expedia

Online Travel

Expedia Leadership Shakeup and 9 Other Top Travel Stories This Week

In Skift's top travel stories this week, we covered how Expedia Group redrew its org chart, Hong Kong's tourism prospects, and how a Cape Cod, Massachusetts cafe owner is getting ready for an expected visitor surge.

Dennis Schaal | 5 years ago

Online Travel

Trip.com Group CEO Downplays Market Share Against China Antitrust Backdrop

Behind the scenes, China's competition crackdown on internet platforms could eventually have a larger impact on Trip.com Group's partnerships, business practices, and mergers than is generally appreciated. Although a reversal is unlikely, even Trip.com's 2015 acquisition of Qunar has drawn scrutiny.

Dennis Schaal | 5 years ago

Hotels

Airbnb to Introduce Host Improvements and Flexible Search Tools for Guests

Airbnb is pledging to make improvements to hosts' tools, some of which the company merely announced because implementation will take several months. Hosts will be looking to see if there is substance beyond public relations exercises.

Dennis Schaal | 5 years ago

Online Travel

Expedia Trims Business Units, Sees a Trio of Executive Departures

Does the reorganization and leadership shuffle make Expedia Group a proverbial lean, mean fighting machine to better compete? As with all these things, it will all depend on the execution.

Dennis Schaal | 5 years ago

Hotels

Will It Be Airbnb, Sonder — and Then Everyone Else?

Laurence Tosi and Allen Mask both have skin in the game when it comes to the prospects of Airbnb and Sonder. Are they downplaying Airbnb's challenges, and Sonder's breakout potential?

Dennis Schaal | 5 years ago

Online Travel

Airbnb Keeps Solid Marketing Advantage as Competitors Line Up

Airbnb seemed to be disciplined about its marketing spend during the first quarter, and didn't return to the bad old days of 2019 in terms of freewheeling spending. The true test will be this summer when rivals crank up their performance marketing campaigns.

Dennis Schaal | 5 years ago

Business Travel

Maldives Tests New Tourism Models and 10 Other Top Travel Stories This Week

In Skift's top stories this week, we covered the Maldives' experiment with new tourism models, the blurring of work and travel, Priceline's acquisition of an airline technology startup, and a Skift research analysis of hotel direct booking.

Dennis Schaal | 5 years ago

Hotels

Skift Short-Term Rental and Outdoor Summit: The Sector’s Winning and Losing Strategies

Which short-term rental companies and strategies are building momentum, and can they maintain it when a full travel recovery takes hold? The Skift Short-Term Rental and Outdoor Summit will feature executives who'll have much to say about these issues May 19, and beyond.

Dennis Schaal | 5 years ago

Hotels

Airbnb Posts $1.2 Billion Loss and Turns Attention to Expected Supply-Demand Mismatch

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company expects to add millions of new hosts in the next few years, and it has plans to simplify the host signup process. But Airbnb has to be concerned that over the last six months that strategic growth imperative has been tough going.

Dennis Schaal | 5 years ago

Online Travel

Spunky Vrbo Is Outpacing Airbnb in Listings Growth

Vrbo indeed seems to be stealing a bit of market share from Airbnb in the U.S. in recent months, albeit from a much smaller base. Vrbo's aggressive marketing campaign earlier this year appears to be paying off.

Dennis Schaal | 5 years ago