Dennis Schaal

Just as we've seen the blending of business and leisure travel over the years, we are now entering a period where "travel" and local, from hotels digging into community culture and travel providers offering restaurant services and tours, will get mashed together in new ways.

The Priceline Group's intent to acquire OpenTable means that merger and acquisition activity in the travel industry in 2014 may even outdo 2013's frenetic pace. Get ready for the next shoe to drop.

TripAdvisor isn't exactly a wild-eyed daredevil, but the fastest growing category on its Flipkey accommodation site is apartment rentals, a category that flirts with illegality in large, urban markets like New York.

The differentiation between low-cost carriers and their network rivals in North America is becoming murkier as business class services and international service are going mainstream.

Priceline CEO Darren Huston has been aggressive with acquisitions in his short tenure, although it is possible that discussions with OpenTable began with the prior regime. Still, having acquired Kayak for $2.1 billion in 2013, and maneuvering through the pending $2.6 billion buy of OpenTable, Huston probably has his hands full for now.

In the letter to employees, Priceline Group CEO Huston stated the Buuteeq and OpenTable deals had been under consideration for an extended period and coincidentally took place days apart. He added that "big deals" and "fancy strategies" shouldn't distract employees from the work at hand.

The Priceline Group saw a big growth opportunity in the global restaurant business, and believes it can put OpenTable's international expansion on steroids, although the buzzwords are that it must be sustainable growth. There will be synergies with other Priceline Group companies, but that is considered just icing on the cake.

The Priceline Group? Restaurants? Yes, the agreement to acquire OpenTable is about mobile, and the push by TripAdvisor and now Priceline to fully engage their customers on the go when they are already in a destination -- or when they are traveling for business.

TripAdvisor's City Guide apps can't correct lousy calls by the referees during the World Cup, but the apps can do a lot of other valuable stuff. It was a smart move by TripAdvisor to make guides to the World Cup host cities available in the apps in time for such a major global attraction.

International hotel brands will have to get more local and involved in Chinese social media channels if they hope to win over Chinese domestic travelers. Having a presence with midscale or economy brands would be an essential component.