HomeAway Integrates Gogobot, Uber and Instacart Into Mobile Services
It's smart for HomeAway to give its users more reasons to use its mobile app to improve their local experience with rides, food, and local attractions.
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.
CheckMate Gives Hotels a New Way to Connect With Guests Before Arrival
Hotels -- yes they do -- have to live with the fact that they move a lot of rooms through powerful online travel agencies. Platforms like CheckMate's can enable hotels to better communicate with their guests despite the involvement of the third parties.
Viator to Aggressively Expand Tours and Activities Options
Viator discussed getting more comprehensive before the TripAdvisor acquisition, but it is clear that TripAdvisor wants Viator to emphasize scaling the business.
Concur Adds Multi-Modal Transport Options From Rome2Rio
Rome2Rio surfaces transport options from ridesharing to rail that represent the future of business travel. Concur is smart to get on board early.
Expedia Adds Ratings for Airline Seats and In-Flight Amenities
Wouldn't it be great if airlines one day had to respond to flyers' adverse ratings of their flights just as hotel management often does on user review sites such as TripAdvisor? The airline industry isn't close to that point yet.
Airline and Hotel Apps Get Lousy Reviews from Users
Airline, hotel and car rental apps are rated by users as being well below the quality of travel booking apps. That they trail the travel booking apps isn't a huge surprise, but the the size of the ground they would have to gain to catch up is fairly daunting.
Priceline Downplays Kayak While Expedia Gets Aggressive With Trivago
Expedia Inc. is following the TripAdvisor playbook on Trivago, which could go the spinoff/IPO route one day. The Priceline Group, meanwhile, is focusing on Booking.com and new-prize OpenTable as priorities while being measured about Kayak's international expansion.
How Airbnb Bought a San Francisco Short-Term Rental Law, Lawsuit Alleges
Not that HomeAway isn't above doing these sorts of things, but Airbnb's lobbyists sure were adept at getting a seat at the table in San Francisco.
Confused Hotels Are Slow to Sign Up for TripAdvisor Instant Booking
Are hotels really confused about TripAdvisor Instant Booking? That's hard to believe when talking about major chains. Instead, perhaps hotels aren't eager to make the powerful TripAdvisor even more mighty.
TripAdvisor’s Flipkey Raises the Fees It Charges Vacation Rental Property Managers
Property managers using Flipkey have three business models to choose from: pay per lead, pay an annual subscription fee for an unlimited quantity of leads, or pay a commission per confirmed booking. Lots of choice, depending on each owner's situation.