Dennis Schaal

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

TripAdvisor Instant Booking Gets Very Personal

TripAdvisor is getting more sophisticated about prodding customers to book hotels on TripAdvisor or to more effectively refer them to partner sites. In an apparently modified strategy, TripAdvisor is finding religion in being agnostic about where its users book hotels.
Dennis Schaal |
Online Travel

Did the Trivago Guy Just Lose His TV Gig?

Did the U.S. Trivago Guy just get William Shatnered? Like Shatner for Priceline.com, actor Tim Williams, who had become omnipresent on TV in the U.S. for Trivago, has hardly been seen over the last couple of weeks. It's good for brands to freshen things up and female empowerment ads are trending.
Dennis Schaal |
Online Travel

Can a TripAdvisor TV Campaign Be a Game-Changer? Two Views

It's all but certain that TripAdvisor is going to get back on TV in some form in 2017. It really needs to unless the company wants to push the launch into next year pending product changes and improvements. Past TV campaigns haven't moved the needle. The decision-making this time is all-important.
Dennis Schaal |
Hotels

HomeAway to Home Owners: It’s Online Booking or Nothing at All

Vacation rental bookings are increasingly going online but there is still a dichotomy in models -- instant confirmations versus a 24-hour fail-safe vetting period. Because of the fragmented nature of the vacation rental market, one-size-fits all doesn't seem to be in the offing.
Dennis Schaal |