Travel expert Mark Murphy is all-new and on-time with another episode of the TravelPulse Podcast.
This week, the TravelPulse founder discusses Marriott's foray into home-sharing and some of the latest headlines in travel.
"What's different with the Marriott move is the level of standardization that it's going to bring to home-sharing. We've seen some niche home-sharing products where there's consistency and that's really the key," said Murphy. "Why is this move by Marriott such a big deal and should Airbnb be threatened? The answer is there's a slice of the market for everybody and everyone needs to up their game. The idea of going and crashing on somebody's air mattress might have been great five or six years ago but that isn't going to cut it today."
Later, Murphy is joined by Crystal River Cruises' Vice President and Managing Director Walter Littlejohn to talk about the current state of river cruising and Crystal's unique product (13:45).
"If you look across our culture and society right now, people are craving more connectedness, more intimate experiences and more enrichment. Vacation has become more than just sun and fun. It's become a learning experience for people and also a desire to explore places. River cruising is a great combination of all of those needs and desires for people in one sweet vacation," said Littlejohn.
"I think the greatest misperception about the river cruise industry is that all of the experiences are the same. People used to say the same thing about ocean cruises 25 to 30 years ago. We're not all the same. Each of the brands has something unique and different to offer and is looking for a different audience. People should also keep in mind that the comfort of a river cruise is like no other. There aren't any waves and we're always close to land. Probably more people can do a river cruise than an ocean cruise," he added.
Finally, Murphy concludes with a tip on how to snag a stellar travel deal this coming Memorial Day (28:45).
Listen to episode 37 of "TravelPulse: The Intersection of Travel-Where Politics, Finance, and Travel Meet" in its entirety below:
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