Dennis Schaal

AudioCompass is certainly off to a strong start in India, and importantly its audio tour guide apps work offline. A challenge for the startup going forward is that it seems like there would be little barrier to entry among would-be competitors.

Maybe the Cruise Passengers Bill of Rates should provide for a free cruise when non-passengers are erroneously sent advice about cruises they aren't booked on. OK, maybe that's going too far.

Hotel Indigo's interactive Neighborhood Guys won't point you toward the Empire State Building or Radio City Music Hall, but may direct you to Blue Smoke Jazz Standard for "urban barbecue where live music lives." For a hotel brand that prides itself on local, and digging roots in the neighborhood, this is a very nice touch.

Airbnb's safety-device giveaway program doesn't cover its massive listing base, but it's better than nothing.

Priceline's Booking.com has been conquering the world, often at Expedia's expense, but let's score one for Expedia. Its Expedia Unpublished Rates product has been kicking butt, and stealing share from Priceline's Name Your Own Price since last 2011.

Groupon and Expedia have downgraded their partnership. Whether it was a mutual decision as both parties claim or push came to shove, it was clear that these two big brands weren't going to smoothly co-exist forever.

An outsider might think the U.S. online travel market is already saturated, but Booking.com is proving that there is plenty of room to grow in the U.S., and competitors are feeling the heat.

Priceline is continuing on its torrid growth track, although room night growth decelerated for full year 2013.

This current version of the Expedia-HomeAway vacation rental beta functions more like an advertising relationship would than a tightly integrated booking process. These are very early days for the partnership, and what you see undoubtedly won't be the finished product.

This is an odd, yet astute pairing of mobile-oriented startup, Silvercar, and a global distribution system, Travelport. This is a smart way for Silvercar to broaden its service to business travelers who are looking for a premium rental during their employee travels.