Dennis Schaal Archives

Dennis Schaal is Skift’s Founding Editor and Executive Editor. Dennis has been a reporter focusing on online travel and short-term rentals for more than two decades at Skift, Tnooz, USA Today, and Travel Weekly. He is well-known for tough one-on-one interviews on stage at Skift events, including with the CEOs and top execs of Expedia, Uber, Booking Holdings, Priceline, Kayak, Hopper, and more.

Online Travel

Building Agentic Commerce Is ‘Imperative’ for Travel Companies

If consumers respond positively to agentic AI and if these ChatGPT apps gain traction, then travel companies will be required to develop them, just as they do today for the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago

An iPhone screen with multiple artificial intelligence apps.

Online Travel

Will AI Disrupt Booking and Other OTAs? One Analyst Says They’re ‘Well-Positioned’

Booking Holdings and the other online travel agencies have survived through several platform shifts in the past. However, the gen AI revolution finds them in slower growth mode than in past era, upping the pressure.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago

Hotels

Hotels.com Lets Loyalty Members Use Discounts When Booking or Save Rewards for Later

This isn't a new loyalty program for Hotels.com, but a double-edged feature that may be attractive. The former book 10 nights and get one night free was very popular, but likely too expensive for the company.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago

Room Mate Laura Hotel Madrid Duplex Deluxe Room source room mate hotels

Online Travel

Airbnb Ramps Up Its Hotel Biz With Global Job Openings

Airbnb's bid to vastly expand its hotel business will be labor intensive and a years-long effort. The job openings it is advertising are just the start.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago

An atrium in Airbnb headquarters in San Francisco.

Online Travel

Inside Airbnb’s Host Summit: Profile Changes for Property Managers, What Chesky Said – Scoop

The creation of business profiles for property managers on Airbnb would be a step forward in the name of transparency. Guests would be better served if they have a preference for individual versus professional hosts.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago

Hotel and booking apps on a smartphone screen.

Hotels

An Airbnb Loyalty Program Is In the Works and It Won’t Be Like Marriott Bonvoy

Airbnb will launch some type of membership program to give guests a reason to book a hotel on Airbnb rather than earn points elsewhere. It certainly won't be a clone of hotel group loyalty programs — that's not Airbnb's style.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago

A hotel lobby with a colorful shelf filled with books and artistic pieces. A green couch and brown table are in the foreground.

Online Travel

Capital One Travel Taps Agoda B2B Veteran as New Head: Scoop

Capital One Travel landed an experienced travel B2B exec in Sarah Kaplan Moore, who hails from the online travel agency side of the ledger. Capital One's Discover acquisition potentially provides it with ammunition to better compete against leaders Chase Travel and American Express Travel.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago

Experiences

Booking.com to Add 150,000 Attractions With FareHarbor Tie-In

Don't expect a dramatic surge in Booking.com's access to new experiences inventory. Its announcement that this will happen "incrementally" was a tip-off.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago

An Airbnb superhost and guest sit at a dining room table in Chicago cutting and arranging flowers.

Online Travel

Airbnb to Hold First National Host Summit as Policy Shifts Create Friction: SCOOP

It's a critical moment for Airbnb to do some explaining — and listening — to its largest hosts about policy changes. Many of the policy tweaks also dramatically affect individual hosts, who won't be represented.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago

An outdoor bowling alley at an Airbnb in Yucca Valley, California in 2022.

Online Travel

Airbnb’s Categories Were Meant to Reinvent the Search Box – Now They’re Gone

Category search lost its utility for Airbnb when it expanded beyond one product, homes. It was telling that none of Airbnb's online travel agency multi-product rivals implemented their own version of Category search, which Airbnb touted as being so innovative.

Dennis Schaal | 8 months ago