Friday's Travel InsideOut

Continental CEO Lawrence Kellner, didn’t pull off a merger with United, but won antitrust immunity, and the two carriers will be collaborating -- to the chagrin of many in the travel industry -- within the Star Alliance. Now, Kellner is giving up his post.

Associated Press/Yahoo Finance: Continental CEO Kellner stepping down: DALLAS (AP) -- Chairman and CEO Lawrence W. Kellner will leave Continental Airlines Inc. at the end of the year to return to the private-equity business and will be replaced by company president Jeffery Smisek. Read more

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With occupancy stabilizing at Marriott, pricing still is in the tank. Revenue per available room fell 24 percent globally, and 21 percent in North America in the second quarter.

Travel Weekly: With rates in freefall, Marriott reports 76% drop in net profit: Marriott International reported a 76% drop in second-quarter net profit on weak business travel and falling hotel rates. Read more

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There's been a double whammy for online travel companies and wholesalers in San Francisco. In a surprise move, the city’s tax assessors hit Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity for their vacation-package businesses and not just their standalone merchant-hotel bookings. Also, there are signs that tour operators and wholesalers could be the next targets for San Francisco’s auditors.

Dennis Schaal Blog: Shocker: San Francisco Assessed Expedia's Vacation-Package Business, Too: When Expedia.com and its sibling Hotwire wired in $35.6 million to the City of San Francisco, and when Priceline transmitted its $3.4 million in taxes, penalties and interest today, these assessments included the online travel companies' large vacation-package businesses -- and not just their standalone merchant-model hotel businesses. Read more

Dennis Schaal Blog:Tour Operators, Wholesalers Could Be Next in San Francisco Tax Dispute: The online travel companies label San Francisco's pursuit of them on the merchant-model hotel tax issue as "discriminatory," in part because only OTCs, as far as is publicly known, have been targeted. Read more

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Two analysts, quoted in the article below, have different takes on Carnival Corp.’s prospects. One cites “solid liquidity” and another sees oversupply and pricing as “long-term hindrances.”

TravelAgentCentral: Carnival "Can" Says Analyst: A recession is not enough to put Carnival Corp. down for the count. In fact, the cruise company is doing surprisingly well despite a tough operating environment distinguished by lower pricing power and lack of demand. Read more

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If you missed earlier editions of Travel InsideOut this week, you can read them below.

Thursday's TravelInsideOut

Wednesday's TravelInsideOut

Tuesday's TravelInsideOut

Monday's TravelInsideOut

Travel InsideOut is a Dennis Schaal Blog daily feature. Get a thorough-going look at the day's travel industry top and tangentially interesting stories. Feel free to comment on them below.

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