Travel goes hand in hand with sustainability and charity. After all, we are the Hospitality Industry and with that comes responsibility to the local communities in the form of economic development and volunteering. We travel to many places because of their natural beauty and that must be preserved as the visitation and tourism increases. We also travel to experience new cultures and what better way to make an impact in a community than to volunteer.

A couple of really big players recently made news with tools to help travelers plan their vacations - not only streamlining the process but providing inspiration. Google made a splash with its "Destinations," which aims to make travel planning easier. It's a mobile tool where a traveler enters the name of a country into a Google search on a phone along with the word "destinations." That brings up a series of suggested towns and cities. In just a few clicks travelers can gauge a trip's average cost with at-a-glance hotel and flight prices. Google can then take web users directly …

Besides their massive global resources, online travel agencies (OTAs) rely on a potent and lethal asset to rein in millions of bookings each year: A powerhouse of stealth and strategic marketing tactics that push people to whip out their credit cards and book.

Imagine this scenario: You're walking down the bustling streets of Manhattan and see an OOH advertisement for a fashion brand. The featured shirt catches your eye and you must have it. So you look it up on your smartphone. Thanks to the brand's awesome mobile website, you can buy it instantaneously. Welcome to the newest and trending consumer journey.

Airlines face increasing competition to respond well and respond quickly to customers' questions on social media. As customers turn away from the telephone and toward the keyboard to solve concerns about their trips, airline companies have to meet that demand and react accordingly.