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

Short-Term Rentals

Booking.com Enters Into $100 Million Tax Settlement With Italy

Booking settled Italy's claim that it needed to collect VAT on short-term rentals for many partners. This could have big implications for the sector in other EU countries.

Booking.com Enters Into $100 Million Tax Settlement With Italy

Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb and Booking Set to Benefit From EU Agreement on Short-Term Rentals

Establishing uniform short-term rental rules across the European Union would be a major step forward for the sector. Local opponents would not greet the news enthusiastically.

Airbnb and Booking Set to Benefit From EU Agreement on Short-Term Rentals

Online Travel

Despegar Sees Brazil Gains After Alleged Airline Ticket Ponzi Scheme Goes Bust

Brazil is a huge market, as are airline tickets, for Despegar. A rival with an alleged Ponzi scheme for selling airline tickets wasn't really fair competition.

Despegar Sees Brazil Gains After Alleged Airline Ticket Ponzi Scheme Goes Bust

News Blog

Lyft Will Pay Airport Riders Up to $100 to Take an Uber — If Scheduled Ride Is Late

Lyft launched an on-time pick-up promise when riders schedule an airport trip, and if the driver is 10 minutes or more late, the company pledges to shell out $100 in Lyft cash to passengers if they ended up needing to use another service such as Uber or a taxi. Screengrabs of the Lyft app. Source:…

Online Travel

Booking.com Launches Cruises in the U.S.

There doesn't seem to be much of a downside for Booking.com getting into cruises. As with flights, which it launched in 2019, we can only say — what took you so long?

Booking.com Launches Cruises in the U.S.

News Blog

Booking Holdings Is Compensating Hosts and Partners for Payments Failure

The problem surfaced in late Summer — Booking.com's short-term rental hosts in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America cited financial hardships because the company wasn't paying them for guest stays. A condo hotel that was listed on Booking.com. Source: Booking.com CEO Glenn Fogel told financial analysts last week during Booking Holdings' third quarter earnings call that…

Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb’s Latest Tools: ‘Guest Favorites,’ AI Photo Tours, and More 

If all of these Airbnb features work as advertised, then they will benefit hosts and guests — and Airbnb.

Airbnb’s Latest Tools: ‘Guest Favorites,’ AI Photo Tours, and More 

Online Travel

Tripadvisor Sees Viator at Full-Year Profitability in 2024

Until now, Tripadvisor has emphasized growth for Viator, backed by ample marketing, at the expense of profitability. It appears as though the company will moderate that strategy for 2024.

Tripadvisor Sees Viator at Full-Year Profitability in 2024

Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb Tax Probe in Italy Leads to $836 Million Seizure Order

As with most of these matters, this tax dispute will be fought out in the courts. This isn't the end of the saga.

Airbnb Tax Probe in Italy Leads to $836 Million Seizure Order

Hotels

Airbnb May Add More Boutique Hotels as NYC Listings Collapse

Diluting its short-term rental business is one thing Airbnb won't need to worry about if it indeed increases its hotel offerings in New York City.

Airbnb May Add More Boutique Hotels as NYC Listings Collapse