Priceline Saw Q4 Room Nights Increase 36.5%, Outpacing Expedia’s
Priceline is continuing on its torrid growth track, although room night growth decelerated for full year 2013.
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.
Here’s a First Look at the Expedia-HomeAway Vacation Rental Experiment
This current version of the Expedia-HomeAway vacation rental beta functions more like an advertising relationship would than a tightly integrated booking process. These are very early days for the partnership, and what you see undoubtedly won't be the finished product.
Silvercar’s Audi A4s Now Available Through Travel Agents for Business Travelers
This is an odd, yet astute pairing of mobile-oriented startup, Silvercar, and a global distribution system, Travelport. This is a smart way for Silvercar to broaden its service to business travelers who are looking for a premium rental during their employee travels.
Spirit Airlines Looks to Allegiant For Ideas on Increasing Fee Revenue
All things must pass, but Spirit Airlines looks fairly unstoppable for now. Travelers who know how to play the game can take advantage of Spirit's low fares to get to their vacation destination, a little more rumpled perhaps, but carrying a heavier wallet or purse.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s 2013 Sales Declined on Sequestration Impact
CWT characterizes its 2013 financial performance as "strong," but even excluding the impact of U.S. government sequestration the company's sales volume and transactions were flat.
GuestDriven Attracts $3 Million in Funding For Mobile Personalization Tool
The GuestDriven platform intersects two unstoppable trends -- personalization and mobile. The trick is in providing guests with personalized tips and perks on their mobile devices without invading their privacy or bombarding them with advertisements in the process.
Expedia Now Claims to Be ‘World’s Largest Travel Site’
Expedia Inc. takes a somewhat narrow definition in claiming to be the "world's largest travel site" in its latest ad campaign, and might get an argument on that score from its offspring, TripAdvisor.
Orbitz and Kayak End Five-Year Exclusive Relationship
Orbitz will feel the most pain from the end of its exclusive relationship with Kayak, and will try to make up for it by forging new relationships with other metasearch players around the world.
Is Room 77 Pivoting or Is It Just Changing Its Marketing Strategy?
Competing against the likes of Priceline's Kayak, Expedia's Trivago and even Google will be very tough going for Room 77. Is Room 77 giving up on the challenge or playing possum while it hones its mobile skills?
Indiana Restarts Its Tourism Branding With New Logo and Campaign
"Honest to Goodness Indiana" speaks authenticity, and more of a statewide focus than "Restart Your Engines," but forward thinking? We see nothing forward-thinking about the branding or the campaign. Sorry.