Travel Industry CEO Interviews

The Momondo Group is in the early stages of pursuing a dual brand metasearch strategy with its Cheapflights and Momondo brands. Are they different enough from one another, and will they stand out sufficiently from their rivals to make a real go of it? Other players will be watching to see if any of this makes sense.

Trippy is banking on the premise that its new question and answer platform for travel will be a cut above the rest in terms of quality, and that it will distinguish itself in the way it maps attractions and concisely summarises their basics for travel planning. That begs the question: Will it be enough?

With its emphasis on long-haul flights to Asia, and connections to the mainland U.S., it would be in Hawaiian Airlines' best interest to make installation of Wi-Fi a higher priority. The airline may be under-estimating the desire for Wi-Fi among its core leisure travelers.

Hawaii will definitely get in on the boom in travelers from Asia. The islands have lots to offer, but competition will be intense. With hotel rates soaring, hoteliers in Hawaii may come to realise that they may have to temper their rate hikes rather than make up for the 2007 recession in one fell swoop.

Qunar is a technology company with a big vision and an enormous opportunity as the Chinese traveler busts out into the world. He won't say it outright, but it's clear that CEO CC Zhuang likes where he sits, and wouldn't want to stop the momentum with the complications that a merger with Ctrip would bring.

Avid users of HotelTonight may find some value in its Look Ahead feature, but it is not a data-heavy game-changer by any means as there are no immediate actions to take, and no rate guarantee on the predictions.

Can Capella Hotel Group make a sustainable business model out of providing highly individualized service to guests who think that run-of-the-mill 5-star properties are too cookie-cutter?

Steve Hafner acknowledges that flight ticket purchasing on Kayak still "sucks." He candidly admits that Kayak is taking some design inspiration from the Airbnb website, which he says balances exploration and transactions without overwhelming the user.

Jeffery Boyd doesn't want to meddle in Priceline's business on a day to day basis, which may provide angst to some investors. Still, incoming CEO Darren Huston has capably led Priceline's prized asset, Booking.com, over the last two years, so he's got the pedigree in what promises to be a fascinating new era in online travel.

Given the expense of dispatching staff to each hotel to write reviews and take photos, Oyster never had a clear business model. But it is clear that TripAdvisor values Oyster's photos as a way to bridge the gap between hotel-supplied photos and very amateur guest photos.