Dennis Schaal

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.

Hotel Chains Make Comeback With Chinese Travelers

The likes and dislikes of Chinese international travelers are in transformation mode as they increasingly travel and discover the world outside their home country. They are traveling more independently, booking online or via mobile apps, and giving big hotel chains a chance.

JetBlue Eliminates Online Check-In For Some Passengers

Kudos to JetBlue on several fronts: First, moving past the burden of online check-in would be a really nice leap forward. Second, JetBlue doesn't intend to make automatic check-in a perk for the elite, but plans on extending the service to passengers throughout the plane.

Marriott CEO Concedes Airbnb Does Local Better

Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson says he is having "fun" watching the development of Airbnb. He adds that Millennials will be a "massive" portion of Marriott's customer base in a decade. It won't be too much fun, though, if Millennial travelers stray from hotels as their best options for a stay.

Expedia Acquires Australia’s Wotif Group for $658 Million

While this seems like an opportunistic buy with Wotif's financial troubles, for Expedia this ties into two priorities: Expanding in Asia-Pacific and growing its global hotel business in competition with the Priceline Group's Booking.com and Agoda.