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

TripAdvisor Apps Now Provide Wi-Fi Information For Cities and Airports

TripAdvisor is trying to solve a pain point by offering information about Wi-Fi and roaming charges for travelers on mobile devices. It also not-so-coincidentally solves a pain point for TripAdvisor in that more travelers would get to use its apps and sites once they get connected.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Tourism

Disney Credits Its Magic Bracelets for Increased Holiday Traffic

The claim of increased visitors because of the bracelets is dubious, but the outcome -- increased spending by guests with the bracelets -- is just what Disney was hoping for from the project.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Skyscanner Wants to Be a Global Player, Claims Its Growth Is on Steroids

For years Skyscanner launched a plethora of country domains as if it were a major global player, which it wasn't. Now it is finally starting to put a little meat on its bones outside of Europe, and its competitors are only now starting to pay attention.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

Google EU Antitrust Settlement Means Expedia, Booking.com and Yelp Get Equal Weight in Search

Kudos to the European Union for ensuring that Google doesn't wield its market power with excessive advantage in promoting its own services. The U.S. FTC's decision to avoid taking similar actions is a regulatory blemish, although the EU agreement could put more pressure on the FTC to take another look at these issues.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Airlines

American Airlines Offers VIP Service At More Airports Than Any Other Airline

Lufthansa's Guide Service has an international flair that other VIP services don't: It is offered in 51 languages at Frankfurt and 33 languages at Munich airports. That translates into very personalized service as the airline values some customers much more highly than others.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

How Fast Are Consumers Really Moving to Same-Day Hotel Bookings?

The majority of U.S. hotel bookers aren't booking on mobile, and don't book the day of their stay -- although things are trending in that direction. Travel marketers need to cater to the trend, but can't overlook the variety of consumer behaviors and devices in play.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Airlines

Gogo’s Grip on In-Flight Wi-Fi Is So Big It Could Be Unlawful, Judge Rules

With the advent of satellite-based Wi-Fi, the competitive landscape for in-flight Wi-Fi is heating up. Still, Gogo's extensive control of domestic Wi-Fi and airline fleets is a legitimate cause of competition concern.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Airlines

Ryanair’s O’Leary Rules Out Transatlantic Flights and In-Flight Wi-Fi

Is the rise of Gulf carriers like an Internet bubble that will burst and reshape the trajectory of alliances, codeshares and aircraft purchasing economics? Ryanair's O'Leary is suggesting it may be, or at least that's his hope.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Hotels

Booking Sites in the UK Just Got the OK to Offer Lower Room Rates Than Hotels

The UK's Office of Fair Trading has made the hotel industry a bit more competitive, but the new rules have their limits. Booking.com and Expedia aren't permitted to advertise discounted rooms to the general public, but will only do so for members of their loyalty programs and other closed groups. Still, it puts hotels at a disadvantage.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

TripIt Defies Airlines With Loyalty Tracking For Four AWOL Carriers

TripIt is doing the right thing for its users by coming up with a work-around to track the loyalty programs of airlines that don't want to be tracked by third parties. Delta, United, Southwest and American are still playing hardball.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago