Expedia Group, the online travel conglomerate that includes Orbitz, Vrbo, Hotwire and several other metasearch engines, announced this morning that CEO Mark Okerstrom and CFO Alan Pickerill have resigned. Their resignations come after a reorganization plan led by Okerstrom failed to bring results in the company’s third quarter. Expedia chairman Barry Diller will now oversee…
With a two-decade career on television and more than 2 million Instagram followers, actress Busy Philipps knows how to keep our attention. Known for her roles on the network dramas Dawson’s Creek and Freaks and Geeks, Philipps has parlayed her active social media presence into her own late-night talk show, Busy Tonight, which shot over…
In what could be either seen as a challenge to Google or an opportunity for marketers, TripAdvisor, one of the world’s largest online travel recommendations and booking sites, has introduced its own self-serve advertising platform directed at small and medium-sized businesses. Using what the site is calling the “TripAdvisor Media Manager,” brands and media buyers…
For the average price of a bottle of bourbon, whiskey drinkers could spend the night on the grounds of the famed Jim Beam distillery on Kentucky’s famed Bourbon Trail. The home, built in 1919, comes with a tour of the stillhouse, a barbecue dinner and a bourbon tasting session with host Fred Noe, the spirit’s…
Airbnb announced earlier this month that 100% of its homes will be verified by December 2020, and today the home-sharing platform extended that pledge to its ever-growing Airbnb Experiences business in a bid to restore trust among its customers. In a statement, Airbnb said every Experience is already “reviewed for quality,” though a representative declined…
Pool floats resembling hot sauce packets, manicures with the word “Fire!” on nails, and even a Mountain-Dew inspired Baja Blast drink–these were just a few of visitors’ favorite things at the Taco Bell Hotel. The brand activation, produced in partnership with Edelman and United Entertainment Group, garnered 4.4 billion impressions from the event, with more…
PALM SPRINGS, Calif.–Much of the marketing and advertising in the travel industry is aspirational: feet in the sand, chilled daiquiris and nary a worry. At least, that’s the idea–but in the real world, even before customers arrive on a beach, one lost suitcase can derail an entire trip. It’s stories like that which made Alexander…
Following Marriott, Hilton, and the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) lead, Hyatt has officially joined its corporate peers in kicking single-use plastic toiletries to the curb. The hospitality brand announced Tuesday morning that it would be transitioning from “small bottles of shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and lotion,” to “large-format” containers in the brand’s 896 hotels and…
An advertising agency veteran who has worked for such high-profile agencies as Leo Burnett, Lufthansa marketing vice president Alexander Schlaubitz says the sheer complexity of the airline business makes it a unique marketing challenge. But, he says, working with the right partners can make all the difference. At Adweek’s annual Brandweek summit, executive editor Stephanie…
When his last gig ended, Musa Tariq took six months off in Central Michigan to contemplate the next step in his career–but it would take a cross-country trip before he found his answer. At the 2019 Brandweek summit, Tariq, head of marketing for Airbnb Experiences, was joined onstage by Adweek’s chief community officer Nadine Dietz…
PALM SPRINGS, Calif.–From flying iconic New York pizzas to hungry Californians to creating a (parody) airline safety video starring drag queens, nobody’s having more fun in the sky than JetBlue. At Adweek’s 2019 Brandweek summit, JetBlue’s vp of marketing Elizabeth Windram and her team took home the Alliance Award at the 2019 Constellation Awards for…
After a week of (particularly) bad press, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has announced the home-sharing service will be taking the “most significant steps towards designing trust on our platform” since launching in 2008. Chesky, who is also Airbnb’s co-founder, said the brand will roll out a more stringent verification process across all 7 million of…
Airbnb is planning to enter into a global sponsorship deal with the International Olympic Committee, according to sources speaking with Sports Business Daily. The sponsorship is expected to run through the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Sports Business Daily reported. While financial details were not disclosed, the deal could potentially go into the tens…
Breaking through the clutter in New York is no easy task. Despite the challenges of navigating New York’s subway system and much-needed infrastructure upgrades, the design vocabulary and signage directing riders continue to endure. Massimo Vignelli’s visual map has been a subject of typography and design enthusiasts for years. And it is as timeless today…
The surf report is becoming a temporary, pseudo-flight tracker in a new campaign for Alaska Airlines. In a data-driven bid to encourage more spontaneous and passion-fueled travel to Hawaii, the airline has partnered with the forecasting site Surfline to let the ocean dictate its fares for last-minute seats. The “Swell Deals” campaign, which runs from…
While it might seem odd to be excited about a new airline safety video, there’s no denying that we’ve been in a golden age of clever iterations on something that had long seemed boringly boilerplate. Led by creative pioneers like Air New Zealand, airline safety videos in recent years have often been fascinating forays into…
Despite 27 different types of trees and an infinite horizon of rolling mountains, dotting the 5th most forested state in the U.S., West Virginia was falling short. Instead of the Mountain State, travelers headed north for the fall foliage of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont–despite the fact that West Virginia was closer to fall fanatics…
When you’re breezing through Instagram photos of friends lounging on the beaches of Cozumel, waving from Times Square, or watching the sun set over Santorini, it’s very easy to overlook all the bumpier moments that led to that picturesque moment. Even for the most seasoned globetrotters among us, little can erase the dread of flying….
Though many airports have kicked Uber from terminal curbs to parking garages and car lots, the rideshare service has found a way to make sure travelers arriving at Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport can more easily find it. In a partnership with Clear Channel Airports, Uber is branding directional signs so travelers can get from their arrival…
When seemingly every travel brand offers its own specialized loyalty program, industry leaders are finding it difficult to stand out. A new report in the Harvard Business Review found that corporate faith in loyalty programs might be weakening: 58% of executives surveyed believe their organization’s approach to customer loyalty is ineffective. The report, which was…
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
