Media and PR

These are tricky times for any media property, but smart brands have figured out a way to keep publishing the right content for their readers.

Why would a traveler research hotels and flights to Hong Kong, but end up booking a trip to New York City? How much time does a traveler spend researching before deciding on a destination or booking a trip? Where do travelers seek inspiration?

Like all media, travel media is constantly reinventing itself to adapt to new technologies and changing consumer behaviors. We talk to leaders in the field and look at external threats and opportunities as represented by Facebook, mobile, and advertising.

Branded Airbnb rooms? As the accommodations-sharing startup faces increasing regulatory scrutiny on its other lines of business, maybe it's not such a crazy idea after all.

The move to digital has not removed the need for expert advice, but it has upended how print guidebook companies work and forced them to adapt to a publishing cycle that traditional print publishers are not always equipped to understand.

Even if the Rio Olympics isn't going as planned, sports tourism spending is big business. More travel agents and tourism boards seem to be waking up the fact that money is no object when it comes to fans' favorite teams.

Convincing consumers to download branded travel apps was an uphill battle even when apps on smartphones were still a novelty. Now that the market has reached saturation, it's only going to get more difficult.

We turned the camera on four of travel's marketing leaders to learn what keeps them up at night. Here's what they had to say.

Under Wicks, Northstar has acquired multiple companies in order to grow, but we've yet to see its digital endeavors reach the audience such a large organization should be able to command.

In the age of smarter segmentation and targeting, utilitarian and comparison shopping ads no longer have to impact conversions.