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

Sabre Ousts Chairman and Brings in Former Continental CEO

Sabre is smart to bring in Kellner and to make a break with the Gilliland era in taking steps toward an IPO. But, private company or not, Sabre handled the transition very clumsily.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Hotels

Russian Hotel Booking Site Acquires Larger Travel Portal

The new website could be a distraction, or it could be a relatively cheap way for Oktogo to get a URL with lots of traffic, a great name, and lots of potential for improvement.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Hotels

Vacation Ownership Site Gets $5 Million in Funding From Hotel Veterans

Venture capitalists are increasingly making bets that vacation homes and timeshares are a tremendous growth opportunity as an alternative to hotels.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Cruises

The CBS Morning Show Segment That Looks Like a Carnival Cruise Commercial

Carnival is evidently enlisting its friends in the media for its recovery tour, but it knows this is going to take a long time anyway.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Airlines

Breaking Down U.S. Domestic Airlines By Coach Seat Size and Fees

Some 40% of U.S. domestic flights currently feature seats with extra legroom in coach that are available for a fee. Expect that percentage to rise in 2014 and again in 2015.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Media and PR

Unprecedented TV Advertising Blitz by Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity

Travel startups often talk about how difficult it is to get noticed, but now even mammoth online travel agencies are finding it very difficult to break out of the pack in their TV advertising. And, it is expensive.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Airlines

American Airlines Merger Case Set for November 25

The two CEOs, Parker and Horton, are still writing joint Doug and Tom letters, showing they feel confident that they will be able to settle this whole thing. They plan to argue that Southwest is the real kingmaker when it comes to establishing airfare pricing and the Justice Department suit downplayed Southwest's role.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Foursquare Readies Local Recommendations with App Running in Background

Foursquare has to get its "cool" back, and local recommendations without the heavy lifting of check-ins or overblown advertising would be an interesting twist.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Online Travel

First Look at the $22 Million, 6-Year-in-the-Making Travel Planning Website Hopper

After all this, does Hopper really want to bill itself as a "catalogue?" It sounds like a retro brochure or directory. And, despite all the delay and years of work, it appears that Hopper still has a very long way to go before it can deliver a comprehensive and respectable product that is ready for prime time.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago

Airlines

The FAA's New Safety Flash Cards For Reading the Runway

The FAA should be commended for going with the mobile trend and optimizing these flash cards for smartphones. Hey, pilots can brush up on their signage while they have time to kill at the airport.

Dennis Schaal | 12 years ago