Skift Originals

Travel metasearch in the U.S. is already a crowded field with Kayak, Room 77, and Hipmunk vying for eyeballs, and recently TripAdvisor got into the game, too. Don't be surprised if there are mergers/consolidation over the next few years, although nothing appears imminent.

The cruise industry issued its own passenger bill of rights to head off more rigorous measures. Let's see if Congress has the stomach to read the fine print, and to amend the provisions to make them enforceable.

Colombia has become a darling of South America during its transformation, but those changes and their impact on tourism can be seen clearly in Medellin. The city’s tourism sector fuels its economic growth while homegrown efforts are turning the city into something many travel to see.

Businessweek magazine argued this week that the sharing and peer-to-peer economies need to stop whining about competition and start lobbying. But if they're going to win over legislators like Krueger, the new upstarts are going to need to learn that sharing goes both ways.

Plenty of sites promise "insider" experiences and "exclusive" deals, but Tablet's relationships with providers allow it to deliver an experience to its users that most online booking sites would envy.

Hosts like Warren are the greatest evangelists of the sharing economy. But when they have to suffer financially they become the worst spokesmen.

Funded, lean and focused, Hipmunk can take its sweet, little time honing its product to get ready for a larger profile. Whether it ever emerges from beautiful product to major player is a very open question. There is plenty of money to be made even as a relatively small company, but Hipmunk's ambitions are huge.

With Priceline buying Kayak, Expedia investing in Trivago, and TripAdvisor launching hotel metasearch, all the big players have a piece of the pie, and this will have many delightful twists and turns.

Disabled travelers spend an estimated $13 billion in North America and £2 billion in England every year, making them an important target for destinations looking to increase their share of the global travel market.