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.

Hotels

InterContinental’s Kimpton Buy: A Difference Between Hard and Soft Branding

How much will the InterContinental Hotels Group mess with the Kimpton brand? The fact that IHG officials say they aren't ready to address the future of the Kimpton Karma Rewards loyalty program raises a proverbial red flag.

Dennis Schaal and Marisa Garcia | 12 years ago

SkiftX

Bravofly to Acquire Lastminute.com for $120 Million

Sabre acquired the once-proud brand, Lastminute.com, for nearly $1.2 billion in 2005 -- and now is selling it for about one-tenth of the initial acquisition cost. Sabre bungled the Lastminute.com acquisition and integration and now it is finally unloading the company after years of trying so Sabre can get rid of a profit drain and focus on its core businesses.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Brand USA Whistleblower Lawsuit Challenges Cooperative Advertising Agreements

Were contributions from the travel industry to Brand USA intended to go directly back to the contributing company, at a 30 percent or greater premium, instead of funding broader marketing campaigns to promote inbound tourism to the U.S? That is part of what this lawsuit is about.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Hotels

InterContinental Hotels Group to Acquire Kimpton Hotels for $430 Million

Boutique and lifestyle properties are the hottest segment in the hotel industry and with the acquisition IHG gets a foothold for an enhanced position in the segment.

Dennis Schaal and Jason Clampet | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Booking.com Tries to Make European Regulators Happy, Ends Up at Disadvantage

Booking.com likely faced penalties and findings that it infringed on competition laws if it hadn't come to terms with regulatory authorities in France, Italy and Sweden. This agreement appears to disadvantage Booking.com versus its competitors -- unless authorities compel them to sign similar pacts.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Business Travel

Most Expensed Business Travel Day of the Year Will Be December 15

Mobile is making its mark on travel expense submissions as an increasing number of road warriors snap photos of their receipts and submit them through online tools.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Tourism

Brand USA Gets 5 More Years as Senate Passes Government Spending Bill

It wasn't easy, but Brand USA finally got the reauthorization that it and much of the travel industry coveted.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Future of Travel Booking: Highlights From Priceline Group CEO Interview

One of Google's largest customers, the Priceline Group, loves Google but what's love got to do with it? Google isn't growing fast enough to meet Booking.com's needs so the company turned to data-challenged TV advertising to cope with the demand-generation gap.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Hotels

HomeAway Has New Plan to Force Vacation Rental Owners to Accept Online Bookings

Many vacation rental owners are not going to be happy about HomeAway's online booking push -- but it is in the best interest of travelers and HomeAway's shareholders are going to back the move, as well.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Routehappy Secures $3.3 Million in Funding to Boost Airlines’ Ancillary Services

Like many travel startups, Routehappy labored to find its way. Now it is onto something with its Routehappy Hub, although there will be larger competitors trying to tackle the same problem. Still, tough problems like this create opportunities.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago