SkiftAds: United’s new TV campaign in support of USA Olympics team
United new ad campaign for Team USA, plain vanilla as ever.
News
Two more climbers perish on Peruvian climb, bringing number to eight this season
As climbing becomes more popular the real life and death challenges get lost in the promise of the adventure-packed brochures.
Could Republican convention in Tampa make it a convention city for the future?
The convention business in the U.S. is almost always a battle of local egos rather than smart planning about how to bring business to a city.
Snacks on a plane! Five airlines with the best food that pocket change can buy
Air France takes the cake for serving (free!) champagne, but most airlines do actually offer name brands and allergen-free snacks... just expect to pay for anything more filling than coffee and chips.
Demand for hotel rooms boosts Expedia’s second quarter earnings
Ever since its split with TripAdvisor, Expedia's moved quickly ahead, both to reinvent itself as the most social of the OTAs to one that's likely the only challenger to Priceline's suite of sites.
Starwood Hotels Q2 income falls, betting future on China expansion
Aloft & W hotel is where the growth is brandwise, and China's where it is betting its future on. Europe's dragging it down, so no wonder.
Comair gets grounded: Delta shuts regional carrier and turns to larger aircraft
Most of the legacy carriers are moving towards more streamlined systems that focus on a few aircraft types rather than a diverse portfolio of planes that are harder to maintain.
Luxury hotels take a page, and then some, from family-friendly resorts
Luxury hotels, used to catering wealthy or business-oriented guests, are now offering princess pedicures and breakfast on pirate ships since happy kids equal happy parents, and happy parents rebook.
Commuters beat tourists as Singapore Ducktours pushed off the river by a price cap
Ducktours' dilemma demonstrates the constant tug and pull between tourists and local commuters. Of course the tourist boats would like to charge S$18, but the S$3 commuter vessels will attract enough visitors to chip away at the tourist business.
Carpooling.com gets $10 million from Daimler to expand into the U.S.
Car sharing services face their biggest challenges from gaining legitimacy from wary consumers as well as major players, such as the insurance industry. Backing from a car manufacturer goes a long way towards improving the odds on both of those.
Thailand’s interior ministry gives unlicensed hotels a reason to go legit
Thai industry officials think that lighter regulations will cause fewer hoteliers to cheat and keep their properties off the tax rolls. They've also got their fingers crossed that this move will help bring up nightly rates.
TripAdvisor’s friendship with Facebook hits its bottom line this quarter
Stephen Kaufer isn't going to be the most popular guy on Wall Street, but TripAdvisor's attempt to crunch user data and pour money into Facebook marketing to get better conversions for advertising partners, looks like a sage move. If analysts, looking for immediate results, don't like it, they can always write a review.