Skift Originals

Expedia's new and inspirational "Find Yours" advertising campaign really sets a new social-media-driven tone.

The jury is out on the details of this government agency's spending practices on conventions. Still, in the wake of the GSA brouhaha, the travel spending practices of the entire government are under the microscope.

The cruise lines, like any other major brands, want to downplay crimes at all costs. But the lack of accountability at sea means that criminals have a floating playground.

There is a ton of skepticism here about whether the startup, acquired by Microsoft/Skype, can really build a seamless, mobile, group-travel planning experience and whether or not people will care if it does.

With these patents and the looming introduction of Passbook for boarding passes and check-ins, Apple wouldn't be getting into travel transactions, but would be playing at the fringes. The world isn't ending; it's probably only getting more efficient and elegant.

Mobile may soon outpace desktops in India as the preferred way to book travel and Cleartrip clearly seems to be out front in its smartphone platform.

A dream deferred no longer -- maybe. Kayak can almost taste the public markets now, but as its IPO roadshow kicks into gear, this is not yet a done deal.

CasaHop might be called social tech rather than social travel because it is a heavy tech play in the home-exchange arena.

Tight economic times are fertile ground for discounters, whether it's Priceline, Hotwire or airtickets.gr, which is partnering with Expedia for dynamic packages.

Orbitz is beginning to skew hotel displays according to the computing or mobile device you use. Get a grip on those iPads, this is only the mere beginning of an online travel agency personalization push.