Dennis Schaal

Skift Founding Editor/Executive Editor, member of leadership team: Author of The Definitive Oral History of Online Travel, The Oral History of Travel's Greatest Acquisition, Booking.com, and The Definitive Oral History of Short-Term Rentals. Dennis Schaal also wrote a Skift ebook, The Future of Travel Booking. He has been a reporter focusing on online travel and short-term rentals for more than two decades at Skift, Tnooz, USA Today, and Travel Weekly. Freelance for Boston Globe, Computer Shopper, and Etihad Airways Inflight Magazine. Also worked at The Star-Ledger, Connecticut Post, and was Editor in Chief of Corporate Responsibility Officer Magazine. Known for tough one-on-one interviews on stage at conferences, including CEOs/top execs of Expedia, Airbnb, Uber, Booking Holdings, Priceline, Kayak, Hopper, Marriott, Agoda, Skyscanner, Vacasa, and more.

Latest Stories

Airlines

TSA Airport Security Self-Screening Lanes Could Be Part of the Future of Travel

You can imagine one major security lapse putting pressure on the gutting of self-screening. On the other hand, TSA manual screening has been rife with miscues, as well.

TSA Airport Security Self-Screening Lanes Could Be Part of the Future of Travel

Ground Transport

Hyperloop One to Shut Down, Ending Its Vision for ‘Frictionless’ Transport

Commercial considerations doomed high-speed freight company Hyperloop One, which featured tech that attracted the interest of Elon Musk and Richard Branson. The company is dead, but the dream lives on.

Hyperloop One to Shut Down, Ending Its  Vision for ‘Frictionless’ Transport

Announcements

India’s Boom, Big Banks, and AI: How Our 2023 Megatrends Are Playing Out

From travel marketing's AI-infused reboot to blended travel's entrenchment and the rise of Indian travelers as a force, Skift's 2023 Travel Megatrends are holding up nicely. That's a teaser for Megatrends 2024-style.

India’s Boom, Big Banks, and AI: How Our 2023 Megatrends Are Playing Out

Business Travel

Uber for Business Automates Receipt Uploading for Some Clients

Automating travel and expense reporting is a trend in business travel. This Uber for Business feature just launched so its adoption will depend on how well it actually works.

Uber for Business Automates Receipt Uploading for Some Clients

Business Travel

Business Travel in 2024: ‘Rising Tension With Employees’

Business travelers know their livelihoods may depend on getting out on the road to nurture relationships with clients. Bean counters, concerned about inflation and sustainability issues, may block those trips.

Business Travel in 2024: ‘Rising Tension With Employees’

Media and PR

Trivago Ad Campaign Replaces 20 Actors With Just 1 Supported by AI

It's ironic that one of the first reported instances of AI taking jobs in the travel industry revolves around Trivago displacing a couple of dozen pitchmen and pitchwomen around the world.

Trivago Ad Campaign Replaces 20 Actors With Just 1 Supported by AI

News Blog

Despegar Ups Its Full-Year 2023 Guidance Based on Travel Strength in Latin America

Argentina-based Despegar raised its full-year 2023 guidance for both profits and revenue based on what it said were operational improvements and strength in the Latin American markets it serves. CEO Despegar Damián Scokin is shown hosting an all-employee meeting in Buenos Aires in December 2019. Source: Despegar "Accordingly, we are raising our 2023 Adjusted EBITDA…

Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb Settles Italian Tax Probe for $620 Million

Online travel agencies have been sued for occupancy taxes since 2004, before Airbnb's founding. Two decades later, the issue is ongoing around the world.

Airbnb Settles Italian Tax Probe for $620 Million

Online Travel

Chase Travel Exec On How In-House Agency and Tech Provide an Edge

Chase Travel and American Express Travel are among the top handful of leisure travel sellers in the U.S. That's mostly good news for online travel agency partners, as well.

Chase Travel Exec On How In-House Agency and Tech Provide an Edge

Online Travel

Will AI Change Google’s Business Model? We Asked 9 Top Travel Pros

Will generative AI's demands for longer answers and fewer links change Google's travel advertising business model? That change is almost inevitable, but where does that leave Google?

Will AI Change Google’s Business Model? We Asked 9 Top Travel Pros