Dennis Schaal

Google has several very clear advantages over competitors: its mountains of data sets and the computing power to do something with them. That's the context of some of these incremental changes in Google Flights and hotel search. Slowly but surely, after much data crunching and testing, Google -- which already is one of the largest players in travel -- is enhancing its flight and hotel products for consumers and advertisers.

Expedia is seeking to gain even more influence in the hotel industry while the big chains are trying to limit online travel agencies' clout through the hotels' direct-booking campaigns. As Expedia's recent Marriott Vacations and Red Lion deals, along with the needs of smaller hotels, show, there is substantial upside for Expedia.

There has been serious talk about artificial intelligence in travel for the past couple of years. While Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wasn't talking about implementing artificial intelligence for customer service in the next quarter or two, be assured that Expedia and others are working on it hard.

There's no doubt that Booking.com already has the user base -- and can increase it -- to be successful in catering to unmanaged business travelers. Whether a loyalty program will turn out to be advantageous remains to be seen and can be adjusted as the situation merits. The real question is whether Booking.com, like Expedia's Egencia, will take the next step into managed travel by acquisition or otherwise.

Ryanair is considering reducing its growth plans in the UK in light of the Brexit vote and now Germany is picking up some of the slack for Ryanair, which is expanding its already considerable presence there.

Expedia, Booking.com and Ctrip are all slated to grow at at healthy clip over the next few years despite moves by big chains to steal some market share. If Morningstar's numbers are right, then some of the chains may find that the potential advantages of their direct-booking campaigns may not be as large as they once imagined.

Two headlines here: TripAdvisor CEO remains adamantly committed to Instant Booking -- and he isn't going anywhere anytime soon. He's still excited about his gig.

Airbnb is doing all it can to scale up its listings globally, including using more management companies. The problem for Airbnb as it goes corporate is how will the guest experience retain any semblance of authenticity.

Travel startups take a dramatically different idea, creativity, exuberance, focus, money, connections, a dedication to team building, and a helluva lot of hubris. Depending on the moment, Kayak and Lola co-founder Paul English has all of the above in ever-changing quantities.

Vacation rentals and guest-booking fees aren't particularly sexy or headline-grabbing but 11-year-old HomeAway could have a far-reaching impact on parent Expedia's profit numbers. Trivago is a very nice plaything, too.