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Travel Industry CEO Interviews

Conversations with travel’s top leaders at hotels, airlines, travel tech companies, tourism boards, and more.

Online Travel

Interview: Qunar’s CEO on Building China’s Largest Travel Booking Site From Scratch

Qunar is a technology company with a big vision and an enormous opportunity as the Chinese traveler busts out into the world. He won't say it outright, but it's clear that CEO CC Zhuang likes where he sits, and wouldn't want to stop the momentum with the complications that a merger with Ctrip would bring.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 11 years ago

Interview: Qunar’s CEO on Building China’s Largest Travel Booking Site From Scratch

Online Travel

SkiftStudio CEO Interview: HotelTonight Gets Predictive About Next Week’s Rates

Avid users of HotelTonight may find some value in its Look Ahead feature, but it is not a data-heavy game-changer by any means as there are no immediate actions to take, and no rate guarantee on the predictions.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 11 years ago

SkiftStudio CEO Interview: HotelTonight Gets Predictive About Next Week’s Rates

Hotels

Interview With Capella Hotels CEO: Crunching the Numbers to Create a New Luxury Hotel Brand

Can Capella Hotel Group make a sustainable business model out of providing highly individualized service to guests who think that run-of-the-mill 5-star properties are too cookie-cutter?

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 11 years ago

Interview With Capella Hotels CEO: Crunching the Numbers to Create a New Luxury Hotel Brand

Hotels

Skift Q&A: Kayak CEO on Why Metasearch Competitors Can’t Keep Up

Steve Hafner acknowledges that flight ticket purchasing on Kayak still "sucks." He candidly admits that Kayak is taking some design inspiration from the Airbnb website, which he says balances exploration and transactions without overwhelming the user.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 11 years ago

Skift Q&A: Kayak CEO on Why Metasearch Competitors Can’t Keep Up

Hotels

Priceline’s Two CEOs on The Future of Travel’s Biggest Brand

Jeffery Boyd doesn't want to meddle in Priceline's business on a day to day basis, which may provide angst to some investors. Still, incoming CEO Darren Huston has capably led Priceline's prized asset, Booking.com, over the last two years, so he's got the pedigree in what promises to be a fascinating new era in online travel.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 11 years ago

Media and PR

TripAdvisor CEO: Oyster Acquisition Is Mostly About the Photos

Given the expense of dispatching staff to each hotel to write reviews and take photos, Oyster never had a clear business model. But it is clear that TripAdvisor values Oyster's photos as a way to bridge the gap between hotel-supplied photos and very amateur guest photos.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 11 years ago

TripAdvisor CEO: Oyster Acquisition Is Mostly About the Photos

Airlines

Interview: JetBlue CEO Hopes He’s Found a Balance Between Coach and Premium

JetBlue's Mint service will be disruptive in that competitors will likely match the $599 to $999 one-way fares. Competition like this should shake things up.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 11 years ago

Interview: JetBlue CEO Hopes He’s Found a Balance Between Coach and Premium

Hotels

Skift Interview: Best Western CEO Explains the Right Way to Use Big Data

The Best Western brand is present worldwide in the form of converted or independent hotels. Building seamless technology for customers and operations is a tough task, but superior quality will eventually breed positive branding.

Samantha Shankman, Skift | 11 years ago

Skift Interview: Best Western CEO Explains the Right Way to Use Big Data

Airlines

CEO Interview: Virgin America solves identity crisis and vows profitability for 2013

Virgin America doesn't have the network at this point to truly be a big winner for business travelers. It remains to be seen whether it will run out of time before it gets there.

Dennis Schaal, Skift | 12 years ago

CEO Interview: Virgin America solves identity crisis and vows profitability for 2013