Dennis Schaal

Whether Traxo is the company that ends up bringing personalized hotel recommendations to throngs of travelers or another company does it, this is where online and mobile travel is heading. The airlines are trying to do this, as well.

The ride-sharing sector is getting uber-aggressive, city-by-city. Were Uber's tactics against Gett the product of one rogue sales force or the way business is done across the country? Uber has told its sales teams to cut out this crap.

Did Uber's valuation just tick up a billion dollars or so? Google's patent for transportation-aware restaurant ads coupled with free taxi service turns online ads into a concierge service of sorts that will deepen ties between taxi services and restaurants and other businesses.

More efficient manufacture of the troubled Boeing 787 Dreamliner should accrue to Boeing's bottom line if hurrying up the production process doesn't lead to quality lapses. You can't really count on the FAA to keep close tabs on the process unless further problems surface.

HotelTonight's new Shake feature in its iPhone app streamlines an already streamlined hotel-booking app. It won't be useful for users who want to check out available properties and aren't concerned with the lowest rate. But, for HotelTonight customers in a hurry and looking for the lowest rate, this tweak should speed things up.

Some pundits favorite sport -- speculating that Southwest will scrap Bags Fly Free -- can end right now. Southwest makes a lot of money in the form of customer retention and growth by not charging fees for first and second checked bags, as well as for changing flights, and there won't be any changes in these signature policies in 2014. So ruled CEO Gary Kelly.

If United officials truly believe the carrier's merger woes are yesterday's problem, then their problems are truly much larger than imagined.

Cruise Critic's Price Drop tool looks like a great feature for consumers and a relative horror for cruise lines, which won't be happy to highlight how the market is forcing them to reduce rates to fill ships right in the middle of the peak Wave season.

After brutal battles between airlines and travel agencies over the last few years, IATA realizes it can't push through the changes in distribution that it seeks without some buy-in from the other side. New battles may be in the offing so enjoy the peace while she reigns.