Yelp's efforts to see tighter regulation of Google's business practices could have more success this time around than several years ago, when the U.S. Federal Trade Commission dropped the ball. European Union regulators have really cast the previous U.S. effort in a shameful light, and the Trump team may be more sympathetic than the Obama administration.
Should there be TripAdvisor booths at big tourist attractions in Paris, New York, Las Vegas and Rome? It might not be a bad idea to explore to attract the business of travelers who like to book attractions offline. Would it scale? Expedia does it, but the numbers crunchers would have to figure it all out.
It certainly helps to have your hotels named after a wildly successful global restaurant chain, but making sure people don't only think of your brand as a place to eat can be a challenge.
Tipping is seen by some as an outdated concept in America, and a few vanguard restaurateurs have been trying to change how employees are compensated. But old habits die hard for both servers and customers.
Comfort food needs to go beyond a warm dish of mac and cheese. Diners and travelers are demanding more from their fine dining and their fast food, and smart restaurants are responding.
Analysts continue to critique TripAdvisor's near-term tactics. But CEO Steve Kaufer said Wednesday that no other company is as well-positioned to create value on mobile in the long run as his own.