Dan Peltier, Skift
We don't quite have the words to describe the overwhelming mark Bourdain left on the travel industry and world. But we will say that he helped change the conversation about what traveling should look like, what we should get out of it, and how we should feed ourselves along the way.
4 months ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Both TripAdvisor and Booking.com are newly emphasizing tours and activities in their TV advertising. You can expect a lot more of this from myriad players in the years to come. There will be variations, though. While these two companies push mainstream, touristy attractions, Airbnb will likely highlight curated experiences, although that could change, as well.
4 months ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Trivago and Booking.com have dramatically reduced their U.S. TV advertising. Trivago is doing so to try to stem losses, and Booking.com, which last year indicated it would lean into TV advertising, may be trying to tighten control of some marketing costs.
7 months ago
Jason Clampet, Skift
Anthony Bourdain's impact on travel and food really can't be measured.
8 months ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
Kudos to TripAdvisor and Expedia for doing the right thing in helping encourage civil discourse. Whatever one thinks about the gun policy debate, picking on a teenager's personal musings about college applications unrelated to the topic at hand is out of bounds.
11 months ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Google execs are not losing any sleep yet, but they are likely aware that some of their largest travel advertisers are starting to favor commercials on TV instead of sponsored search engine links. The big spenders' new strategies will have a rippling impact across other metasearch companies, as well.
1 year ago
Dan Peltier, Skift
Brand USA's content, including films, have generally won praise and performed well with many international travelers. But the competition on streaming services and TVs is fierce, and much of the organization's challenge will be to tell compelling stories that don't read like a tourism campaign.
1 year ago
Dan Peltier and Hannah Sampson, Skift
From what we've seen so far, travel brands with Super Bowl teasers are staying away from the culture wars and focusing on sending neutral messages with universal appeal. And while it's important to draw attention to certain issues, it's refreshing to watch light-hearted advertisements, too.
1 year ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
The Priceline Group's new emphasis on TV is unpleasant news for metasearch enterprises such as Trivago, Google, and TripAdvisor. The TV ads are an online travel agency version of a direct-booking campaign.
1 year ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Did we just see an elephant fly? The Priceline Group, which is the largest spender on digital advertising in travel, just said TV commercials may be a better way to attract loyal customers. That's even more surprising than TV-happy Trivago's recent announcement that it would start devoting more resources to digital advertising. Don't you love this industry?
1 year ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Will TripAdvisor be able to break through as it starts its TV campaigns around the world? Trivago has a big advantage. At this juncture in its life, Trivago is focused on gaining share while profit concerns take a back seat.
2 years ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
TripAdvisor's new ad campaign comes at a momentous time for the company, although TripAdvisor views it as part of a long-term TV advertising enterprise. With $70 million behind it and an empathetic bent it will probably do well. You can expect Trivago to up its game as well.
2 years ago