Rafat Ali

One of our favorite hospitality redesigns of 2014 so far.

This is the biggest M&A deal to occur within the travel industry in the past few years and will have a ripple effect throughout the sector.

The disconnect between the factors that affect travelers' decisions to go to a destination and choose where to stay, versus what travel businesses think matters for their profitability is in stark contrast here.

Americas are overworked, and not taking enough days off in summer for a long vacation, much to the detriment of the overall travel industry here in U.S.

One of the best travel postcards of the year, simple but profound.

U.S. airlines will have to come out and be more vocal about whether they explicitly ban the usage of devices such as Knee Defender, now that it is in the public consciousness. But regular Americans have spoken: they frown upon such devices.

U.S. doesn't just need BrandUSA to get international visitors to U.S., it needs a big get-out-and-travel marketing effort right in our own backyard. Of course weak-recovery economy doesn't help, whatever the marketing efforts may be.

The international travel habits of Americans remain anemic, but a positive way of looking at it: There is still a lot of potential for growth in America, and international destinations can do a lot more to incent Americans to travel.

Social media has evolved to become another platform to provide customer service, but it needs to be well understood before brands dive in and start tweeting. Here’s what they need to know.

Think of Skifties as a new kind of social media award that marries data, editorial context and effectiveness.