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.

Experiences

Google Travel Eliminated Trip Summary Feature

Google Travel just got a tiny bit less sticky because Gmail users could easily find their past, present and upcoming trips there all in one place. The feature became a victim of bigger and more important priorities.

Dennis Schaal | 3 years ago

Short-Term Rentals

Sonder Won’t Enter Cash Flow Positive Territory in 2023

The banking crisis and the macroeconomic environment are new headwinds for Sonder. Optimists and fans would say the company is making modest progress, but it is taking considerably longer than the company expected last year.

Dennis Schaal | 3 years ago

Online Travel

Barry Diller Says Expedia Has AI Edge With OpenAI CEO as a Director

Having OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on the Expedia Group board for the last few years certainly didn't hurt Expedia's ChatGPT rollout, although it's been using artificial intelligence for years.

Dennis Schaal | 3 years ago

Online Travel

Uber Taps Hopper for Flights and Fintech

This is potentially a big win for Hopper — if it turns out that Uber's UK rideshare customers will want to book flights in the Uber app. Uber is trying to prove that use case.

Dennis Schaal | 3 years ago

Online Travel

Expedia to Power Travel for Mastercard-Connected Banks

Expedia Group has a strong – and growing – business to business segment that is about a quarter of its overall revenue. Booking Holdings and Hopper are nipping at Expedia's heels.

Dennis Schaal | 3 years ago

Travel Agents

Nexion President Elected New ASTA Chair at Puerto Rico Convention

The American Society of Travel Advisors elected Nexion Travel Group President Jackie Friedman as its new chair for 2023-2024.

Dennis Schaal | 3 years ago

Online Travel

Expedia Looks to Loyalty Rollout and Vrbo Tech Migration as Next Hills to Climb

Vrbo is one of Expedia Group's core three brands, but the jury is out on whether the vacation rental unit will now recede more into the background as cities recover.

Dennis Schaal | 3 years ago

Experiences

Tripadvisor CEO’s New Strategy Comes Into Focus

In football or soccer — pick your sport/analogy — sometimes it takes a new coach to get momentum. Under its new CEO, Tripadvisor is making significant changes to its core products.

Dennis Schaal | 3 years ago

Hotels

Marriott Won’t Hide Resort Fees Anymore

Today's edition of Skift's daily podcast looks at Marriott's resort fee transparency, Guesty's acquisition, and Norwegian Cruise Line's earnings.

Dennis Schaal | 3 years ago

Short-Term Rentals

Vrbo Ads Emphasize Private Rentals That Don’t Require Sharing With Hosts, Others

Expedia aims to expand its Vrbo business in 2023. The move to bring creative production in-house and shift the narrative could help, but deeper strategic shifts would be required to compete with Airbnb.

Samantha Shankman | 3 years ago