Sarah Enelow-Snyder

This week in digital news, we took an up-close look at how booking sites are reeling in their spending, and what that means for the long term. Plus, tourism websites are taking privacy seriously, and loyalty program changes are making news left and right.

This week in hospitality, vacation rental network RedAwning acquired Leavetown Vacations, which helps property owners market their multi-unit rentals.

When cases like these settle out of court, the public doesn't get to learn much.

These days, not all experiences are created equal. In-depth, time-consuming, even taxing activities will actually do the word "experience" justice, though they may not attract the mainstream.

Venture capital has definite appeal for founders looking to scale faster, but some black travel entrepreneurs would rather avoid that discriminatory world.

This week in tourism, we discussed ASTA's rebranding to "American Society of Travel Advisors," as well as the political issues the group must face. Then, don't miss our in-depth profile of Visit Philadelphia CEO Meryl Levitz, who's retiring after 40 years of promoting the same destination.

This week in aviation, we dwelled on middle seats. United plans to charge new fees for avoiding that undesirable spot, and Delta will fly a new jet that actually has fewer middle seats.

This week in hospitality, we thought more than usual about hostels, which continue evolving past the shabby old stereotype. In some cases, can we even tell the difference between an upscale hostel and a "proper" hotel?

This week in tourism news, we explained how we coined the now-popular term "overtourism," a crucial part of our editorial coverage, and new visitors to the Deep South might find some surprising developments.

This week in digital news, Booking Holdings bought HotelsCombined for a trifling $140 million, MakeMyTrip and Despegar addressed some stumbling blocks, and innovation is top of mind after the GBTA Convention.