Skift Originals

When HomeAway says Airbnb isn't a direct competitor, we think HomeAway doth protest too much. These markets will undoubtedly converge over the long term.

Loyal flyers will always be resistant to change, but Avianca’s color-conscious and well-thought-out branding is a smarter execution than American’s redesign that left little room for US Airway’s mark.

Taking time for daily travels - whether to a cafe, park, or bike ride - is an important indicator of work-life balance and have significant impacts on the movement and culture of a city.

HotelTonight blazed a trail in the U.S. as a first-mover in same-day, mobile hotel bookings. Although it has strong financial backing, achieving the same rate of success abroad may be a lot more problematic.

Citi Bike, like its home city, is among the largest in the world, and a successful launch with local pick-up would see the system expand to all five boroughs with the potential for changing the way NYC moves.

Colombia has become a darling of South America during its transformation, but those changes and their impact on tourism can be seen clearly in Medellin. The city’s tourism sector fuels its economic growth while homegrown efforts are turning the city into something many travel to see.

Plenty of sites promise "insider" experiences and "exclusive" deals, but Tablet's relationships with providers allow it to deliver an experience to its users that most online booking sites would envy.

Hosts like Warren are the greatest evangelists of the sharing economy. But when they have to suffer financially they become the worst spokesmen.

Funded, lean and focused, Hipmunk can take its sweet, little time honing its product to get ready for a larger profile. Whether it ever emerges from beautiful product to major player is a very open question. There is plenty of money to be made even as a relatively small company, but Hipmunk's ambitions are huge.

With Priceline buying Kayak, Expedia investing in Trivago, and TripAdvisor launching hotel metasearch, all the big players have a piece of the pie, and this will have many delightful twists and turns.