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

Expedia Sued by Affiliate for Allegedly Stealing Data and Handing It to a Competitor

The American Hotel & Lodging Association has no love lost for Expedia, other online travel agencies and their affiliates, and will likely welcome the squabbling and any additional exposure the affiliate issue gets from this lawsuit. Expedia has to move fast to protect its reputation among partners.

Dennis Schaal | 9 years ago

Online Travel

Expedia Is Once Again Spending Big to Advertise on Trivago

Travel metasearch sites such as Kayak, Trivago, TripAdvisor and Skyscanner would fall on hard times if they weren't attracting advertising spend from their parents' -- or former parents' -- rivals.

Dennis Schaal | 9 years ago

Online Travel

Skift Forum Europe: Google Travel Exec Details Changing Consumer Behavior

Companies often chase and vie to sign on influencers for marketing purposes, but all can agree that Google is one of the most powerful forces in travel. Despite Facebook's inroads, Google travel products are ascending and Heckmann will shed light on their trajectory.

Dennis Schaal | 9 years ago

Online Travel

TripAdvisor CFO Sees ‘Hotel-Like’ Commissions in a $1 Billion Tours and Activities Business

If TripAdvisor's hotel-booking drive doesn't work out in the face of intense competition, tours and activities won't be bungee-jumping to the rescue. But it still can be an attractive business and TripAdvisor is best-positioned for now to make it work.

Dennis Schaal | 9 years ago

Online Travel

TripAdvisor Debuts Facebook Messenger Chatbot for User-Generated Recommendations

If your company doesn't have an artificial intelligence-fueled chatbot, the odds are you will one day. Is your company going to sit out this trend like so many procrastinators, or resource-constrained companies, did when the first crop of mobile apps appeared? History does have a habit of repeating itself but it doesn't have to.

Dennis Schaal | 9 years ago

Online Travel

Priceline’s Boyd Says Company Has the ‘Muscle’ to Offer Private Rates Like Hotels Do

Priceline Group executives say their relationships with the major hotel chains are good and the impact of their direct-booking campaigns isn't acute. Then why is Jeffery Boyd, the Group's executive chairman, talking about taking remedial actions?

Dennis Schaal | 9 years ago

Online Travel

CEO Interview: Ctrip’s Strategic Threat to Expedia, Priceline and Everyone Else

To a great extent, Ctrip is going to be preoccupied for years chasing Chinese travelers and servicing their every travel need, around the globe. Barring further consolidation, Ctrip isn't much of a threat to its partner, the Priceline Group, which is years ahead in its own hotel business and is executing superbly.

Dennis Schaal | 9 years ago

Online Travel

TripAdvisor Chairman’s Takeover Comments Not a Vote of Confidence

Greg Maffei made no mention of TripAdvisor playing the long game with its Instant Booking transition. Instead, he almost informally invited bids to acquire TripAdvisor. While the odds seem to be stacked up against Tripadvisor it could still turn things around -- if it gets the time to do so.

Dennis Schaal | 9 years ago

Online Travel

Skift Forum Europe: Kayak CEO on Rivals, Leadership and Strategy

Hafner once called metasearch a lousy business with slim margins. What's clear is some of the same dynamics making life difficult for TripAdvisor, including Google Hotel Ads and Trivago's substantial marketing spend, are also proving challenging for Kayak.

Dennis Schaal | 9 years ago

SkiftX

Booking Site Acquisitions: Who Bought What and Who Was Shut Out in 2016

Expedia got a lot of buzz for its 2015 buying binge, but over the last two years China's Ctrip has been on an equal footing with Expedia in terms of acquisition activity. At the same time, TripAdvisor is stockpiling dining-related sites, having bought five and invested in two others.

Dennis Schaal | 9 years ago