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.

Airlines

Southwest Turns Discarded Leather Seats Into Soccer Balls

With the soccer ball angle, Southwest should have announced this recycling program during the World Cup. No worries, there is a good message about the environment and smart business here, and it is all sustainable.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Hotels

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.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Travel Managers Worry TSA Mobile Rules Could Compromise Sensitive Data

If airlines and airports had adequate charging facilities for electronic devices then the new UK and U.S. rules on powering up electronic devices at security wouldn't be a big problem. As it is now, implementation and policies varies widely, leading to a ton of confusion.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Announcements

Priceline, OpenTable Disclose More Drama About Sale In Shareholder Lawsuit Settlement

The Priceline Group and OpenTable wanted to sweep away these pesky shareholder lawsuits to get on with the task at hand -- closing the acquisition. In reaching a settlement, OpenTable had to open the curtain a bit more into how it went about conducting the sale process.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Tourism

Cleveland Tourism Welcomes LeBron James’ Return

King James giveth and King James taketh, and now LeBron James giveth to Cleveland tourism and basketball once again.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Groupon Launches Tonight-Only Hotels in Its Mobile Apps

Groupon's launch of tonight-only hotel deals in its mobile apps isn't exactly the "shot heard 'round the world," but Groupon has the audience and scale to do some damage.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Hotels

Why Hotels Need to Worry About Millennials and the Sharing Economy

With the U.S. hotel industry performing well, it is losing some business from the sharing economy, but there isn't a lot of hurt yet. That could come later.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Airlines

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.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Hotels

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.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

SkiftX

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.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago