Dennis Schaal

Lifestyle brands get all the love, but in the case of InterContinental Hotels Group, its six-decade old Holiday Inn brand family is the group's growth engine.

Profitability isn't a concern right now as Expedia's eLong invests in expanding its hotel business, and it is in the game for the long haul.

Qunar is already partnered up with the Google of China, Baidu, and will differentiate itself from Expedia's eLong and the Priceline-Ctrip partnership by eschewing investment from a foreign online travel agency -- for now, at least.

Orbitz Worldwide paid $10 million to acquire the Travelocity Partner Network in late February 2014 and would pay an additional $10 million if the affiliate network hits certain performance targets this year and in 2015. This is a nice acquisition for Orbitz Worldwide because the private label sector was already an important part of its business.

Claims of an unyielding network effect are often so much hot air such as when Expedia claims that it has "mutually beneficial supply agreements" that reinforce its global marketplace. Still, when companies such as TripAdvisor, which attracts more than 100 user reviews and ratings per minute, truly achieve a network effect, their growth can be exponential.

In certain settings and circumstances, and that includes airports and business travel usage, Zipcar is turning out to be an attractive option. Hey, even AARP members are getting on board.

Curb, the app formerly known as Taxi Magic, wants to kick all the disruptors to the curb, and believes that partnering with "incumbent" fleets is the key to its growth.

If chains such as Wyndham follow Hilton Worldwide's lead and enable their guests to reserve specific rooms, then photography and video will likely become an even more important part of booking and post-booking decisions.

What a difference a couple of years makes. No longer sister companies, Expedia doesn't want to participate in TripAdvisor Instant Booking, and declines to do anything to help the brand that it is competing with, along with Booking.com, on TV in their competing commercials.

Southwest Airlines should be commended for ending its direct relationship with SeaWorld, but the compromise decision is simply a half step if the Southwest-branded tour arm continues to promote the controversial theme park.