Booking Holdings

Frequent travelers have plenty of incentive to earn miles through Rocketmiles, but the startup will have to expand its hotel options and offer a cleaner experience than its competitor for sustainable growth.

HomeAway's Brian Sharples isn't worried about online travel agencies getting into vacation rentals. InterContinental, Marriott and Hilton have the OTAs on a relatively tight leash, and won't stand for a serious flirtation with those dreaded vacation rentals.

Where Booking.com leads, other online travel agencies tend to follow. Don't be surprised if you start seeing more apartment hotels and hostels appearing on Expedia sometime soon.

These are early days, but when a major hotel provider such as Booking.com diversifies into vacation rentals, everyone should take notice.

User-generated reviews are beginning to pay a significantly larger role in travelers’ decision processes, but hotels can still participate in the conversation by replying to positive and negative reviews.

Travel companies need to figure out where and when to reach their consumers on a growing number of platforms. This survey found that many tablet users are young, middle-class, and looking to book a trip one to three months ahead of departure.

Early bookers may think they’re getting a deal (and the best seat), but could be paying $40 or more for flights booked six-months in advance. Finally, a circumstance where procrastination pays off.

Bookings in the U.S. were unscathed by the sinking and continue to grow in Asia, so the dip in European bookings may be as much an effect of the economy as a fear of accidents from tepid holiday-goers.

While airlines can't directly offer lower prices than OTAs, it can withhold certain benefits, and that's what Frontier and others are trying, to attract users directly to their sites.