Dennis Schaal

We pause our argument for the moment that the Priceline Group should be rebranded as the Booking.com Group because of the latter's wider brand recognition. The Priceline Group, which actually has no plans under way to rebrand, needs to get this messy Booking.com trademark issue cleared up first. It seems like such a stretch that one of the largest travel companies in the world can't get its trademark approved.

Online travel agencies such as Expedia and the Priceline Group providing business services to hotels is seemingly the new normal. It's easy to understand how this would be valuable to resource-strapped independent hotels but the degree to which major chains sign-on remains to be seen.

We'd rather see PricewaterhouseCoopers or another neutral party estimate the revenue impact of hotel chains' direct-marketing campaigns instead of relying on Expedia, which obviously has vested interests. Still, Expedia's chart furthers discussion and the dialogue under way with hotels, and speaks to how seriously Expedia views the threat and the issue.

From outward appearances, the prospects looked bleak several weeks ago for the hedge fund-led proxy fight to succeed at United but the dissidents had the ear of other big shareholders and the United board. It now appears as though the dissidents, including airline and online travel veterans, accomplished a whole lot.

When airlines such as Delta and Etihad opt to make investments in partner airlines around the globe instead of making acquisitions, which can trigger regulatory hassles, the investor carriers are going to be subject to economic turmoil in partners' domestic markets. That just goes with the territory.

If you take Delta at its word, then fears that the introduction of Basic Economy fares to compete with the ultra-low-cost carriers on price would dilute the spend of usually higher-paying passengers haven't been borne out. Still, the situation is fluid as other legacy carriers are set to introduce these discounted fares, as well.

Engineering geeks like big, tough problems and the coders at Kayak are attempting to take on the challenges of comparing diverse restaurants in a city and also the attributes of this hop-on hop-off Beverly Hills tour versus a competitor's. And you thought comparing various flights with bag fees was tough?

JetBlue management is obviously upset that it couldn't consummate the deal with Virgin America because of the key importance of transcontinental expansion. But JetBlue didn't want a merger at any price and now it is going to play hardball in trying to steal away Virgin America's potentially alienated customers.

Professionally managed vacation rentals, when done right, offer an increased level of confidence for consumers. Vacasa's $35 million in funding is an endorsement of its growth trajectory and that of a key segment of the industry.

Hertz's investment in on-demand valet-parking service Luxe should be seen in the context of Accorhotels recently acquiring Onefinestay. Car rental companies and hotels are both feeling pressure from the sharing economy and they will be making more such investments and acquisitions as these startup mature.