Publications

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June 2000
Teaching Note

Explore, Inc. TN

By: Allen S. Grossman and Sharon Peyus

Teaching Note for (9-300-011). View Details

Keywords: Travel Industry

September 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Explore, Inc.

By: Allen S. Grossman, James E. Austin, Myra M. Hart and Sharon Peyus

Documents the creation of a national before and after-school day care program aimed at bridging the gap between school and parents' work schedules. This high-growth, for-profit social enterprise organization operated in what was historically the domain of nonprofit or... View Details

Keywords: Microeconomics; Growth and Development; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Mission and Purpose; Performance Expectations; Quality; Social Enterprise; Travel Industry

March 2000 (Revised April 2004)
Case

VacationSpot.com & Rent-A-Holiday: Negotiating a Trans-Atlantic Merger of Start-Ups

Describes a potential trans-Atlantic merger between two young companies in the Internet space. VacationSpot.com, based in Seattle, and Rent-A-Holiday, based in Brussels, both offer online listings and reservations for independent leisure lodging (i.e., villas,... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Valuation; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Travel Industry; United States; Brussels

April 1993 (Revised December 1994)
Case

American Express TRS Charge-Card Receivables

By: Andre F. Perold and Kuljot Singh

American Express (TRS) Co. is considering a proposal to securitize a portion of their consumer charge-card receivables portfolio. In the past, they have relied exclusively on a captive finance subsidiary, Credco, to perform this function. The proposed securitization... View Details

Keywords: Credit Cards; Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Debt Securities; Travel Industry

February 2024 (Revised February 2024)
Teaching Note

Travelogo: Understanding Customer Journeys

By: Eva Ascarza and Ta-Wei Huang

Teaching Note for HBS Exercise 524-044. The exercise aims to teach students about 1) Customer Segmentation; and 2) constructing buying personas, 3) Get actionable insights from clickstream data. View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Analysis; Analytics and Data Science; Marketing Strategy; Segmentation; Consumer Behavior; Travel Industry; United States

May 2015 (Revised March 2016)
Supplement

Thomas Cook Group on the Brink (B): Transformation Year 1 Results

By: Benjamin C. Esty

Analyzes the results of the Thomas Cook turnaround plan after the first year under Harriet Green's leadership (November 2013). View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Corporate Restructuring; Female Ceo; Transformation; Change Management; Communication Strategy; Cost Management; Financial Liquidity; Financial Management; Management Succession; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Value Creation; Leadership; Travel Industry; United Kingdom

May 2016
Case

The Priceline Group: Booking a Place for the Future

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Anish Pathipati

The Chairman of the Priceline Group is considering the actions he must take to confront an evolving external environment, new direct competition, disintermediation and substitute offerings. Does his response require an increased coordination of each historically... View Details

Keywords: Operations Strategy; Service Management; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Operations; Service Operations; Travel Industry

01 Nov 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Forecasting Airport Transfer Passenger Flow Using Real-Time Data and Machine Learning

Keywords: by Xiaojia Guo, Yael Grushka-Cockayne, and Bert De Reyck; Travel; Travel

25 Jan 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman, Michael Luca & Daniel Svirsky; Travel; Travel; Travel

09 Jun 2017
News

Curating the Cuisine of Southwest China

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on SoundCloud More Skydeck episodes WildChina founder Zhang Mei (MBA 1996) released her first book this year: Travels Through Dali with a Leg of Ham, a travelogue and recipe collection culled from the... View Details

25 Aug 2022
News

The Great Priority Reset

There’s no telling when business travel will rebound, but if history is any guide, we will have to be patient. It took four years for business travel to climb back to previous levels after the terrorist... View Details

Robert F. Six

Six transformed Continental Airlines from a one-route “puddle-jumper” into one of the world’s major airlines. He is credited with dramatically expanding air travel by being one of the first executives to introduce low and discounted... View Details

Keywords: Transportation

28 May 2019
News

Action Plan: Border Crossing

Rawdon: Fostering a global spirit of cultural connection (photo by Stella Kalinina) Growing up, Leigh Rawdon (MBA 2001) didn’t travel internationally with her family. But she loved to listen to the stories her globe-trotting aunt told of... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

01 Apr 2000
News

The World at a Click

Like so many dot-com businesses these days, the Internet travel industry is, well, taking off. Among the e-travel elite are Travelocity.com, known for the depth of its travel content and bolstered by... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelly

May 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Teaching Note

The Marriott-Starwood Merger: Navigating Brand Portfolio Strategy and Brand Architecture

By: Jill Avery and Chekitan S. Dev

In September 2016, Marriott completed its $13.3 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which added 11 brands to its already robust 19 hotel brand portfolio. Tina Edmundson, Marriott’s global brand officer, was charged with making sense of the brand portfolio... View Details

Keywords: Branding; Brand Portfolio Strategy; Brand Architecture; Hospitality Industry; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Travel Industry; Travel Industry; United States

February 2014 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.: Safety, Environment and Health

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

In January 2014, Gary Bald, senior vice president of Safety, Environment and Health at Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCL), prepared for a review meeting with the company's chief executive, Adam Goldstein, and chairman, Richard Fain. Prior to joining RCL in 2006, Bald... View Details