Samantha Shankman

Latest Stories

Cruises

Venice’s lagoon is doomed unless it gets a little “intelligent tourism”

An alternative dock is needed for cruise ships before erosion of Venice's main lagoon is further damaged. Venetians, who earn little revenue from cruises or their guests, hope a new bill will help them to regain control.

Skift | 12 years ago

Airlines

Location tracking software maps passengers mid-flight

Skyhook, a location data provider for apps, can now track users while flying. How about connecting this with Uber to have a car waiting at the airport?

Skift | 12 years ago

Media and PR

Social/video network for wilderness fans carves out a space among niche networks

This social-networking site for wildlife enthusiasts isn't making any grand promises to re-invent travel through social, just connect passionate people within a specific niche. Not a bad idea.

Skift | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Florida judge sides with OTAs in battle over hotel room taxes

The dispute over which prices OTAs are expected to pay local taxes on is playing out in several municipalities, making it clear that state laws need to be updated -- and that local governments are starved for extra revenue.

Skift | 12 years ago

Uncategorized

NYC sends mixed signals over bike share launch date

Transportation Nation gets into the nitty-gritty of the confusion surrounding the official bike share launch, but NYC residents should start seeing the first stages of deployment some time by September -- depending on your neighborhood.

Skift | 12 years ago

SkiftX

Study: Destinations are missing out on visitors because they don’t understand the Web

Who does get it? The Australia-based research named Thailand, Montreal, and Las Vegas as top three destinations for best online practices, and also recommends how to keep visitors engaged after they've returned home.

Skift | 12 years ago

Hotels

Red Planet buys stock in Tune Hotel to expand-pay-as you-go platform in Asia

The 24-property-strong AirAsia subsidiary will use the investment to expand within Asia -- as well as new properties in Scotland and Saudi Arabia -- and wherever cheap flights can carry middle class travelers.

Skift | 12 years ago

Hotels

10 hotels with impressive art collections

Hotels looking to differentiate themselves from one another this time are turning to hallways and rooms lined with both brand-name art and works by locals; often you can buy the artwork right off the wall.

Skift | 12 years ago

Uncategorized

L.A.’s ambitious city-to-the-sea subway project must contend with high school problems

Rich communities never like it when a subway stop opens their neighborhood to outsiders and Beverly Hills' school district isn't fooling anyone with its posturing about safety and its own planning issues.

Skift | 12 years ago

Cruises

Two Carnival lines introduce new price promise in the UK

Since the specifics of packages can vary so widely, pricing promises in the travel are always hard to keep. Carnival needs to make sure its new "Vantage" fares fulfill the promise of simple pricing rather than complicate matters with another price tier.

Skift | 12 years ago