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

Online Travel

Booking Holdings Sees Modest ‘Connected Trip’ Gains – But It’s Likely Still Years Away

There's a newish metric for Booking.com, namely "connected transactions." Given the state of competition and other obstacles, the so-called connected trip is light years away.

Booking Holdings Sees Modest ‘Connected Trip’ Gains – But It’s Likely Still Years Away

Mergers and Acquisitions

Guesty, Short-Term Rental Software Provider, Acquires Rentals United

The short-term rental space is fragmented to the hilt. We'll probably see more channel managers like Rentals United consolidating or seeing their businesses dry up.

Guesty, Short-Term Rental Software Provider, Acquires Rentals United

Online Travel

Airbnb Dives Into Pop Culture With New Home and Experiences Category Called ‘Icons’

Airbnb's new celebrity-driven Icons category of experiences will trigger housefuls of free publicity.

Airbnb Dives Into Pop Culture With New Home and Experiences Category Called ‘Icons’

Online Travel

Trivago Pulls Marketing Investments out of Latin America After Brand Campaign Letdown

Less localization is the tradeoff that Trivago is seemingly willing to live with as it uses AI to avoid having to pay TV pitch people in each of its markets.

Trivago Pulls Marketing Investments out of Latin America After Brand Campaign Letdown

Online Travel

Tripadvisor’s Potential Sale: Apollo Still a Suitor and a Financing Deadline

There will be a lot of moving pieces over the next few months if indeed a sale of Tripadvisor gets done.

Tripadvisor’s Potential Sale: Apollo Still a Suitor and a Financing Deadline

Online Travel

American Airlines Cuts Travel Agencies Slack: Extends Deadline For Loyalty Points

Who's in and who's out of American Airlines' new preferred agency program to date? The deadline extension seems to indicate their are some hiccups along the way.

American Airlines Cuts Travel Agencies Slack: Extends Deadline For Loyalty Points

Online Travel

Trivago Tests New TV Commercials

Just as online travel companies experiment with new features on their website pages, Trivago does something similar with its TV ads. Too soon to tell which ones will make the cut.

Trivago Tests New TV Commercials

Online Travel

Travelers Say They Want Sustainable Options – But It’s Not the Top Priority

The survey encapsulates a seeming dilemma for the travel industry. What proportion of their resources should they pour into promoting sustainable travel choices when a wide swath of travelers aren’t focused on the issue.

Travelers Say They Want Sustainable Options – But It’s Not the Top Priority

Online Travel

What Happened to the Trivago Guy?

Will AI replace the Tim Williams (Trivago Guy) and William Shatner (the Priceline Negotiator) types? Could be. Trivago, meanwhile, is already testing a second AI-infused commercial.

What Happened to the Trivago Guy?

Travel Agents

Hotelbeds Delays IPO Until the End of 2024 at the Earliest: Reports

When it comes to potential IPOs, timing is everything in life, right? Hotelbeds seemingly thinks so.

Hotelbeds Delays IPO Until the End of 2024 at the Earliest: Reports