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Dennis' Online Travel Briefing

Every Wednesday, Executive Editor and online travel rockstar Dennis Schaal brings readers exclusive reporting and insight into the business of online travel and digital booking, and how this sector has an impact across the travel industry.

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Online Travel

Expedia CEO Shrugs Off Google’s New Data Tools as Competitive Threat

Given Google's global market clout, none of its product introductions and activities should be dismissed. But Expedia's CEO Peter Kern got feisty and made a good point that Expedia has transaction data, which can be more useful for hotels and tourism boards, than mere search data. Unless Google ups its booking game, and then all bets are off.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 3 years ago

Expedia CEO Shrugs Off Google’s New Data Tools as Competitive Threat

Hotels

Are Giddy Airbnb Investors Underestimating the Regulatory Risks?

Before the pandemic turned the world sideways, nearly 12 percent of Airbnb's revenue last year came from its top 10 cities. But among them, cities like Lisbon and San Diego are taking radical steps to limit their short-term rental portfolios. Are investors overlooking the likelihood of vastly more stringent regulations?

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 3 years ago

Are Giddy Airbnb Investors Underestimating the Regulatory Risks?

Online Travel

Airbnb Rolled Up $809 Million in Acquisitions in 3 Years on Way to IPO

If Airbnb hasn't already devoted resources anew to HotelTonight and expanding its hotel business, the short-term rental giant assuredly will once it goes public. After all, in addition to Google, Airbnb sees online travel agencies, with their wide breadth of accommodations' offerings, as its most significant set of competitors. 

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 3 years ago

Airbnb Rolled Up $809 Million in Acquisitions in 3 Years on Way to IPO

Online Travel

Online Travel Innovation May Emerge From Big Tech Crackdown on 3 Continents

Regulators in China, Europe, and the U.S. can certainly screw up on execution of their goals with over-regulation, under-regulation, or initiatives that are off-target. But there's something happening around the globe that points to a new and potentially hopeful era for competition and innovation.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 3 years ago

Online Travel Innovation May Emerge From Big Tech Crackdown on 3 Continents

Online Travel

CEO of GetYourGuide Concedes It Had Its Own Google-Like Bias Issue

When GetYourGuide criticized Google for promoting an uneven competitive playing field, some GetYourGuide partners accused GetYourGuide of similar transgressions in the way it markets its Originals tours. GetYourGuide vowed to make amends, the results of which will only become clear in a few months.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 3 years ago

Online Travel

The Largest IPO in History Just Happened and It Has a Huge Travel Angle

Booking.com, Airbnb, Marriott, and every high-end retail shop on the Champs-Élysées want to see the proliferation of Alipay and other digital payment services to capture the spending of Chinese travelers. But Alipay's key cross-border payments strategy, despite a record-setting IPO, has run into major snags.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 3 years ago

The Largest IPO in History Just Happened and It Has a Huge Travel Angle

Online Travel

Can Tripadvisor’s Grand Strategy Experiment Set It Apart?

Give Tripadvisor credit for its attempts mid-pandemic to diversify its various revenue streams at a time when Google is rising. But the latest push to get price-conscious travelers to book their entire trips on Tripadvisor will be a tough sell.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 4 years ago

Can Tripadvisor’s Grand Strategy Experiment Set It Apart?

Online Travel

Justice Department Very Close to Addressing Some of the Travel Industry’s Google Problems

If the U.S. Department of Justice indeed takes imminent steps to begin the process of leveling the playing field for Google's travel advertisers and competitors in other verticals, the size of the impact would depend on the specifics. There will be a lot of wrangling — and this could be the beginning of the beginning.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 4 years ago

Justice Department Very Close to Addressing Some of the Travel Industry’s Google Problems

Hotels

Book-Direct Advocates Concede Online Travel Agency Distribution Is Still Essential

With thousands of hotels going out of business and up for sale, and vacation rentals business booming in certain destinations, there will be a ton of disruption and convergence in hospitality. Savvy short-term rental operators can pick off some direct bookings, but the mega online travel agencies will hardly notice.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 4 years ago

Book-Direct Advocates Concede Online Travel Agency Distribution Is Still Essential

Online Travel

Expedia CEO Peter Kern on the Google Silver Bullet — or Lack Thereof

Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern is waging a simplicity campaign. Turning the Expedia and Hotels.com loyalty programs into a single plan might make sense. But one thing definitely on the agenda is trimming marketing through Google, a company Kern characterized as a "shark."

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 4 years ago

Expedia CEO Peter Kern on the Google Silver Bullet — or Lack Thereof