Five key takeaways from the Phocuswright Conference: Travel Weekly

Will artificial intelligence change travel booking forever? What is the most important thing to consider when starting a company? Could Hopper be coming soon? How should travel companies market to Gen Z on social media? Is Kayak threatened by one of its co-founders’ new ventures?

Whether you were at the Phocuswright Conference 2023 in Fort Lauderdale or if you were interested from afar, there is a lot to find after a series of panels, sessions, meetings and interviews.

Here are some key insights from one of the biggest travel gatherings this year:

Hopper could reach profitability next year

Hopper is on track to reach profitability in 2024, founder and CEO Fred Lalonde said Wednesday at Center Stage.

When asked by moderator Siew Hoon Yeoh, founder and editorial director of WIT, when it expects to reach profitability, Lalonde said “next year.” He added that Hopper Technology Solutions, the company’s B2B division, is already profitable. “And we’ve closed that gap month by month,” he said.

Lalonde revealed the timeline while opening up about the company’s October decision to lay off 250 employees.

“It was terrible. It always is, and we did something similar to the pandemic,” he said. “But fundamentally, it comes down to the change of the environment. Money was free for a decade. And now you know, inflation has come, but this is never coming back.”

He said that “it’s never fun” to make layoffs, “but fundamentally, we have to reach profitability, like everyone else on the planet.”

Businesses need to “take on” Google

Matt Goldberg, CEO of Tripadvisor, shared on Center Stage in conversation with PhocusWire senior reporter Linda Fox that the industry needs to “face up” to Google and its massive market power.

“Every company in the world would like to reduce their dependence on any middleman, and Google is one of the most powerful companies in the world,” Goldberg said. “I tend not to talk about other companies in this type of forum, but Google has to be a company that you look at and you really confront the market power that they have and try to understand how I can differentiate from it.”

It goes further, though. Companies need to consider how to engage and partner with the Internet search giant.

“Find ways of partnering where you can combine your spending with really thoughtful ways to be in an ecosystem together, because I can assure you that Google will be focused on the regulatory scrutiny that they will get, and they want to think. how to make really valuable partners Goldberg said.

TMCs deal with a lot of complexity

Paul Abbott, CEO of American Express Global Business Travel, touched on the many complexities that travel management companies have to deal with.

Abbott addressed the challenges while in conversation with Charuta Fadnis, senior vice president of research and product strategy for Phocuswright.

“In life you have to start from where you are, and the starting point in the travel ecosystem – it’s very big, it’s very complex and it’s very fragmented,” he said. “The managed trip is even more complex, that’s just a fact. The sales trip is much simpler than the managed trip.”

With that in mind, Abbott said, Amex could have created a direct connection in a country with an airline to “declare victory.” But it won’t be – for several reasons.

“It’s not a responsible thing to do, it’s not what our customers expect from us. We’re solving real problems for real customers at scale on a global basis,” said Abbott.

Generative AI and travel personalization

As generative artificial intelligence becomes more popular with travelers, Paul English, who co-founded Kayak, foresees a new personalized future.

English, who also founded GetHuman, Lola and Deets, said he believes the technology will enable a future of user-focused travel, in turn altering the very nature of travel search and purchase sites. .

The Englishman gave a tangible example: Last year, he visited Peru with his 28-year-old son.

“(We were) trying to decide which hotel to stay at. And I was just on Kayak — I sent him a link,” English said. “And he said, ‘Kayak is for old people.’

Instead, English explained, his son had used TikTok to find a place to stay, which English identified as a “search” site as opposed to a “buy” site.

“I think AI can bring those two things together,” he said. “And I think AI can personalize search sites.”

Therefore, unlike looking at reviews that may be generic or from very specific groups of travelers that may not fit their needs, the AI ​​will be able to provide a specific itinerary for the user.

“I’m convinced this is the future,” said English, noting that a combination of research and purchase is exactly what he’s trying to do with his company, Deets. In a separate session Wednesday with Kayak CEO and co-founder Steve Hafner, he joked that his new venture could be a “Kayak killer.”

“Whether Deets will be the leader or not, I can’t say. But I’m convinced that personalization is one of the first big benefits that AI will bring to travel,” said the Englishman.

The promotion of diversity in the travel guide

One of the liveliest sessions of the week came on Monday during a program dedicated to diversity in leadership.

Research by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company and others has consistently shown that the relationship between diversity in executive teams and the likelihood of financial performance has strengthened over time.

During the session, participants discussed the issues in small groups and heard from a panel of experts on how to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in their companies. Some takeaways from the panelists:

Melissa Maher, CEO and founder of Pinnacle Enterprises Group spoke about why it is crucial to have support from the top of the company.

“The top person must be an advocate and a believer … I think this is vitally important … that diversity and inclusion must be a function of the business and must be reported to the CEO. When I was promoted to head of official inclusion, I was part of the human resources team and what happened – not intentionally – was that diversity and inclusion was not seen as a business initiative. And the minute I started reporting to the CEO, and had a much greater say in the programs and what we were doing, so it was connected to a part of the business and not a side initiative.

Jessica Patel, senior vice president of TripArc, talked about how a company’s mission can impact diversity in a meaningful way.

“Even beyond the diversity, if you are really clear about who you are and your mission, then you attract the talent that is attracted to the mission, right? If you are strong and proud of something that is meaningful, purpose, you ‘ will attract the talent that feels aligned with him.

Stuart Greif, Forbes Travel’s executive vice president of strategy and innovation, said that convincing business leaders to uphold the DEI principles is not just about telling them it’s the socially responsible thing to do – but also about showing them. the impact that DEI can have on the sector. the broader goals of the company.

“The shocking thing for me is if I ask any of the CEOs of your company and say, ‘Hey, there’s hard data, and it’s going to drive better revenue, better profit, better customer relations, better morale of the employees at the same time — would you do it to drive your business? And they say, “Hell, yes,” don’t they? But I think that sometimes the context in a context of diversity or a framework is a disservice, because the reality is high performance teams that are more diverse have better results and keep people. “

Source: FocusWire