Traveling Blog: Cruise Lines One-Up Themselves + Hawaii Counters Fears + Pitchman Shatner on Legacy

May 8, 2018

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Editor's Note

Sometimes the secret to longevity, even as the world around you is changing rapidly, is a little evolution, not revolution. We have two stories today that illustrate that practice from stalwarts in the travel industry. News Editor Hannah Sampson shows how the cruise lines have had a pretty successful history of upgrading new ships to keep customers coming back, whether it's with a teppanyaki restaurant, race track, or water park. Incremental works.

Priceline.com is hoping for the same, Executive Editor Dennis Schaal reports, as it becomes simply Priceline. There's more, though. A push is underway for a larger global business with more non-English offerings. Its pitchman, William Shatner, turned 87 in March and has been selling Priceline for 20 years. Now that's longevity.

— Tom Lowry, Managing Editor

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Cruise lines are constantly trying to come out with more impressive bells and whistles, even when the type of ship has been around for years. Consumers appear to be responding, so don't expect the game to change.

Hawaiian Tourism Officials Seek To Calm Travelers After Volcano Eruption

Poor geography knowledge is a bane of nearly every destination's existence. Natural disasters are an unfortunate opportunity for tourism officials to educate travelers, even if many will always struggle to read a map.

William Shatner's Travel Evolution as Priceline Pitchman

Who remembers Star Trek anyway? It's likely that just as many people or more know actor William Shatner through his Priceline advertising gig. Are big-name celebrities better in commercials than owls, gnomes, and belt-less soap opera stars? We're not sure of his return on investment, but at this point he can almost name his own price.

Newly Rebranded Priceline Has Global Ambitions

If you follow the money, you'll see that Booking.com, for good reason, is the parent company's favored brand even in the United States. Priceline, though, does have brand recognition and will try to make the most of it given the hand that it has been dealt.

Travel Tech Innovation Platform Will Complete Accelerator Program on June 13th

Sponsored by Plug and Play

Plug and Play brings together the best startups and the world's largest corporations. In 2018 alone, Plug and Play has participation from 20+ travel corporate partners, 16 startups, and 3 investors.

Delta's Investments Pay Off in Business Traveler Loyalty

On one hand, Delta's frequent flyers have a less-effective loyalty program. But on the other, they're flying a great airline.

We'd pay good money just to see hospitality executives try to guess which hotel brands belong to which companies.

Gogo CEO Concedes Company Lost Its Way — and Often the Wi-Fi Connectivity Too

How much of a future does Gogo have as an independent public company? We'll see. But it sounds like the new CEO is open to pursuing alternatives.

Amadeus Sees No Impact Yet on Airlines' Pushback With New Distribution Models

For a couple of decades, distribution technology giants like Amadeus dictated contract terms to the airlines. But airline groups are leading a revolt to try to impose a new model on the middlemen. It's too early to say who will get the upper hand.

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