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.

Online Travel

How Microsoft Squandered a Chance to Be a Force in Travel

Whether Bing Travel/Farecast could have made it and competed just based on the flight prediction differentiator is open to debate, but Microsoft Bing never even gave it a try.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Hotels

Best Western Tries To Ease Mobile Booking Pain with Google Wallet

There are several models for making travel booking easier on mobile devices, and Google Wallet is certainly gaining ground. The problem may be, though, that it makes Google even more powerful in the process.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Hotels

The Positive TripAdvisor Ratings Taking the Sting Out of Online Reviews

Critics who blast the negativity of reviews on TripAdvisor may be surprised that the average review rating is 4.12 out of 5. But some hoteliers say a property's ranking in the pecking order in any given city is even more important.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Travel Agents Suddenly Discover User-Generated Content in Sabre-SeatGuru Deal

We know a few travel agents who have surreptitiously sneaked a peak at some user reviews of hotels on TripAdvisor, but Sabre partnering with TripAdvisor to bring user-generated content about airline seats and amenities to travel agents is bringing things to a whole new level.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Google Travel’s Grand Plan? Become the Ultimate Aggregator

Will Google be the comeback kid in travel after under-whelming the competition over the last couple of years? Google is slowly -- very slowly -- getting its act together as it tries to get its figurative hand in virtually everything.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Hotels

La Quinta’s IPO Debut Based on Contrarian Strategy 7 Years in the Making

Despite the fact that the La Quinta IPO priced below the brand's intended range due to the overall tumble of the markets in recent days, investors are buying into La Quinta's growth story. With a CAGR of 18% from 2003 to 2013, there's little not to love.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Hotels

Starwood to Ban Shark Fin at its Hotels and Restaurants Worldwide

Sometimes corporate responsibility conflicts with the bottom line, and Starwood is going to find out if its ban on shark fin will create a problem for it in Asia. Kudos to Starwood for taking this step.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Online Travel Booking Players Move Into Their Next Territory: In-Destination Services

As online travel agencies expand their grip into vacation and business travel destinations, their large mobile user base gives them an advantage, as does the fact that as a rule they have much greater technology resources than do hotels.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

SkiftX

Blackstone Acquires 15 Limited Service Hotels as It Readies La Quinta IPO

The actual or prospective IPOs of Hilton Worldwide, Extended Stay America and La Quinta notwithstanding, Blackstone is adding pieces to the empire.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Orbitz Worldwide to Add 40 Tech Jobs as It Readies China Launch

Expedia and TripAdvisor have subsidiaries in China, Priceline has gone the partnership route with Ctrip, and now Orbitz Worldwide wants to get in on the action in a more meaningful way through its HotelClub subsidiary. HotelClub will have to do some heavy lifting in China, which is a coupling, discounting and highly competitive market.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago