Deanna Ting

Vail Resorts is strategically becoming one of the most dominant, global players in the ski business, and its acquisition of B.C.’s Whistler Blackcomb is only further proof of that.

It’s pretty clear that AccorHotels’ purchase of the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissotel brands was a smart one to make. Now, however, AccorHotels needs to focus on growing those brands, as well as that of onefinestay and its newest brand, Jo&Joe.

No word yet whether Tisch will serve as an interim CEO while the company looks for a new one, or if he's in it for the long haul, yet again.

We wondered: If travel is one of the biggest industries in the entire world, why aren't any of its brands big enough for these annual lists? We found out there are a few reasons, and a few ways brands can begin to change that.

While we'd probably cut these response times in half or maybe more before we start to get frustrated, the importance of this survey lies not in how long people are willing to wait for a response to a hotel service request made by text, mobile apps, email, or social media. It's the fact that more hotels need to be paying attention to these channels and instituting better standards for addressing requests that come through them.

We're still sticking with our takes on which Marriott and Starwood brands will ultimately stay and which ones will ultimately go, but if you want to know what Marriott has in store for all 30 brands, as well as some other still-under-wraps initiatives it plans to launch, read on.

This report seems to suggest hoteliers don't have much to worry about when it comes to Airbnb but we're dealing more with apples and oranges here than apples and apples.

We're totally onboard with hotel companies that are taking this kind of all-in approach to reinventing their brands, especially ones that have been around for so long, like Marriott. Let's just hope Marriott can do the same with Sheraton, too, and all those other 28 brands it has.

If Wyndham had succeeded in luring away SPG members who aren't necessarily elite or top-tier-level members, that would have been a big win for the company, whose portfolio skews more toward economy and midscale brands. But alas, this promotion was proof that even the best-laid plans may not always work--and it pays to pay more attention to how you set it all up.

Can Airbnb succeed in making packaged tours or peer-to-peer travel experiences cool? That's the big question when it comes to its latest investment, which is set to debut at its upcoming Airbnb Open in November. We have a feeling Airbnb just might be able to.