In Phocus

The “connected trip” has become a bit of a tired buzzword, but the ability to bundle different trip elements is not less coveted in the travel space. During an interview in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference last month, Manuel Hilty, CEO and co-founder of Nezasa, and Andrew Boch, CEO of Mobi.AI, discussed the end-to-end traveler journey and the gaps that remain. While some think of the connected trip as being “top-down,” Boch highlighted Mobi.AI’s context-aware approach to artificial intelligence (AI). “We think that, when you’re changing your flight, that should be aware of what your hotel plans were, and it should be aware of what the purpose of your trip was. Like when you’re staying at a hotel, the hotel should know why you’re there,” Boch said. “That sort of context should be preserved throughout the travel experience, and fundamentally, all the downstream suppliers need some method of both understanding that context, ingesting that context and then, hopefully, acting on that context.” The pair also commented on generational differences in data sharing, AI’s impact, agentic opportunity and more.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting travel marketing, the best use cases are still being determined. AI-supported digital travel marketing can work—as long as it still has a human touch, according to Rob Torres, SVP of media solutions and retail partnerships for Expedia Group. In October, Expedia Group released research that examined what content is driving traveler choice. The company showed participants a mix of non-AI-enhanced, AI-enhanced and fully AI content. “A good percentage of the travelers really didn't mind, and actually, I don't want to say they preferred [it], but they did not mind the AI-enhanced content as long as it did have some human touch in it as well,” Torres said during an interview in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference. As responses were positive, Expedia Group determined that content creation could benefit from some level of AI implementation.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After 26 years with the company and 10 as CEO, Priceline recently announced that Brett Keller would hand over the reins to Brigit Zimmerman in January. In an interview in the PhocusWire studio, Keller reflected on his time at the OTA, where he has held several roles including CMO and COO. His best advice for his successor was to surround herself with the best possible team and be sure to retain them, pointing to the longevity of Booking Holdings leadership team.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Within the vacation rental industry, opportunity abounds as operators lean into consolidation and professionalization. During an interview in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference last week, Sharad Sunderesan, founder and CEO of Homescreen, and Eric Goldreyer, CEO of Savvy, shared their thoughts on these trends. “You’ll see consolidation bring about that degree of consistency across the board, which helps with dealing with those increased guest expectations,” Sundaresan said. According to Goldreyer, short-term rental (STR) guests also want standardization, but, more importantly, they want to forego travel anxiety and have a reliable point of contact if something goes wrong. “They want a professional. They want someone that they can call,” he said. “If you’re in a vacation rental, you’re taking a group, and there’s higher pain points. You want to make sure that you can minimize those to the best of your ability.” Conversation shifted to artificial intelligence and how it may address significant challenges such as persistent manual processes and fragmentation.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cryptocurrency is carving out a role in travel—from B2C bookings to B2B settlements—through stablecoin-powered payments and crypto-savvy consumers making high-value transactions. Although cryptocurrency still represents a small portion of global travel spending, industry leaders believe change is coming quickly. “Travel is an emotional and high-value purchase,” said Damien Cramer, senior vice president of global travel at Nuvei. “Seventy-four percent of customers won’t complete a booking if their preferred payment method isn’t offered.” While consumers are increasingly open to paying with cryptocurrency, businesses have been slower to adopt it, especially for B2B transactions. That may be changing as stablecoins offer more predictable value and faster settlement. “The speed and ease of stablecoin transactions are becoming more profound,” Cramer said.  During an interview in the PhocusWire studio with senior reporter Morgan Hines, Nuvei’s Cramer discussed how crypto is evolving rapidly and becoming more mainstream, with faster transactions and better fiat tracking. He also touched on how adoption is expected to grow particularly in industries such as hospitality, where the technology could mean a cheaper, more efficient way to transfer funds internationally.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saudi Arabia-based OTA Almosafer, which means “traveler” in Arabic, is making headway in the Middle East. Now head of the company, Muzzammil Ahussain has risen the ranks from COO to EVP to CEO—a role he’s held since January 2023. In an interview with PhocusWire, Ahussain said Almosafer sets itself apart from global OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia through “local understanding and local knowhow” of Saudi Arabia. “We are not just an OTA in our consumer business; we’re actually a fully omnichannel business,” he said. The CEO also discussed the greatest challenges facing the company, which include prioritizing different opportunities within Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council, identifying areas to leverage artificial intelligence and human capital development.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You could be forgiven for thinking that travel companies might shy away from taking companies public via special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Many will have seen industry peers have a rough ride back in 2022 and question what has changed. For Chris Hemmeter, managing director of Thayer Investment Partners, the travel industry is in a very different place now. In an interview with PhocusWire, he said there is already a resurgence in potential SPACs attributable to the macro environment and amount of money investors have been sitting on which is "creating a little bit more interest in alternatives for companies." And the profile of a travel company that might be ready to go public via this route? They must be profitable, said Hemmeter and even "somewhat boring." "Understandable products where you can really see the slow march in growth and expansion of margin." Hemmeter also discussed how much experimentation is going on in the industry currently despite how hard funding is to come by. All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While ancillaries are often discussed as a way to boost profit, not every travel company has introduced these revenue streams. But what's holding them back? Mark McLaughlin, CEO of Coras, and Inigo Valenzuela, CEO of Smartvel, opened up about the hesitancy they encounter in the pitching process to travel suppliers. Mclaughlin identified technology as a roadblock. As an API provider for tickets and events, he said he’s really selling to two sides: marketing and tech. And if you don’t get a buy-in from both sides, “it's tricky,” McLaughlin said. Valenzuela said the process of convincing travel companies to jump on board is not going to happen overnight, either. “Selling is tough because it’s B2B sales. It's a long sales cycle,” he said, adding that there are several decision-makers and factors that need to align, including timing, people and budget. McLaughlin said that convincing a company to join up and add extras also involves recognizing what a travel company has experienced so far when selling extras and how the company may benefit. In discussion with senior reporter Morgan Hines in the PhocusWire studio, McLaughlin and Valenzuela touched on an array of topics ranging from artificial intelligence, customer acquisition and retention, the ability to compete and more. All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the short-term rental (STR) industry continues to evolve, it’s become clear that vacation rentals can be more than just a place to rest one’s head—and Airbnb has tapped into this opportunity with its recent launch of Services. But what benefit do ancillaries really pose to STR providers? Industry leaders shared their thoughts in a panel-style interview in the PhocusWire studio at Phocuswright Europe. According to Sylvia Epaillard, co-CEO and chief digital and commercial officer for Interhome, which is being acquired by HomeToGo, ancillaries can be lucrative. “Some have tried already in the industry, and we've watched that closely,” she said. “Our whole business is designed around self-service stays. People really go there with their own ideas, with their own creativity. And I think not only offering the space where they can develop that creativity but also to actually add certain services is a great opportunity.” Andrew Bate, CEO of Safely, said pushback from guests on “extra fees” has forced ancillaries to evolve. “I think in the U.S. from 2021, 2022, 2023 when occupancy was high, pricing power was high, there were fees just being added left and right that added no value or minimal value—administrative fees, parking fees—all these extra fees,” he said. Now, ancillaries are adding value rather than serving as a money grab and a way to hide extra fees. And part of that has to do with legal changes.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The travel industry has had pretty much everything thrown at it in the first six months of 2025. It has faced ongoing global conflict, economic instability, political uncertainty and challenges related to climate change.The second quarter earnings of online travel agencies, hotel groups and airlines reflected some of this turmoil. Airlines blamed macroeconomic factors for revenue losses and demand uncertainty, while the CEOs of hotel groups and OTAs were cautiously optimistic.The constant in travel that leaders come back to again and again is its resilience—bounce-backs after an ash cloud, stock market crashes and a pandemic spring to mind. While travel was down in certain regions of the world, travel companies are often quick to pivot to other destinations and products to compensate.In an interview in the PhocusWire studio, Go City CEO Jon Owen said that Europe is having a great year, with some cities seeing an increase in visitor numbers."I think ultimately what you need to do as a business is just keep going—you can't affect European reluctance to travel to California at the moment, but what you can do is keep building the right products for customers, and those market trends will change," he said.He was joined in the studio by Linda Bryndísardóttir, vice president of business development for Dohop, who said that the situation was not as "bleak" as it might sound."If you look at numbers from IATA, for example, the number of passengers is growing year over year, even in the U.S. Asia is growing quite fast. We're increasing our partnerships in Asia," she said.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Loyalty has long helped brands drive engagement but not everything is plain sailing in the travel loyalty world. The landscape is shifting with younger generations demanding something different from programs and companies reassessing what's working. At the end of last year, for example, Morning Consult reported that travelers aren’t totally satisfied with programs as they exist. And in 2023, McKinsey reported that an airline’s loyalty program's capability to convince travelers to choose their airline over another, was declining. So, where are travel brands going wrong when it comes to loyalty? Mark Ross-Smith, CEO of Loyalty Status Co., and Robert Wesley, CEO of MeProtocol, weighed in on how brands can improve loyalty strategies during a studio interview at Phocuswright Europe in Barcelona. During the wide-ranging discussion, Wesley and Ross-Smith also touched on the use of blockchain in loyalty, how artificial intelligence plays into loyalty’s evolution, the importance of personalization and more.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel’s tours and activities sector has been growing in recent years, and the space is continuing to evolve in 2025. Industry leaders opened up about current trends during a studio interview with senior reporter Morgan Hines at Phocuswright Europe earlier this summer.  Right now, experts said there are some key shifts tied to demographic, booking behavior and emerging technology, all of which could shape the future of the space. Roisin O'Sullivan, global managing director of Walks and Devour, said there has been a change in the demographic of travelers who are booking experiences. Craig Everett, co-founder and CEO of Holibob, said the booking window is consistently moving closer to the date of travel. Ali Basij, founder, chief technology officer and CEO of Instahop, said artificial intelligence (AI) is this year's biggest trend. The wide-ranging conversation also touched on the concept of original experiences, as touted by big-name brands such as Airbnb and GetYourGuide, autonomous experiences, the booking funnel and more.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peter O’Donovan's career has included several leadership roles, and he now sits as the CEO of CarTrawler. O'Donovan was appointed to the role in 2022 after four years as chief operations officer. CarTrawler works to connect clients and travel brands to mobility solutions and car rentals across the world.During a CEO Spotlight interview in the PhocusWire studio at Phocuswright Europe, O’Donovan discussed what motivates him, CarTrawler’s use of artificial intelligence and how it’s preparing for agentic AI and the challenges he faces as a CEO, among other topics. Watch the full discussion with PhocusWire's Morgan Hines. All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The travel industry is known for being susceptible to just about everything, from financial downturns and global conflict to rapid technological development and climate change. However, it's also known for its ability to bounce back—often quite quickly.At Phocuswright Europe 2025, CheckYeti, a specialist in outdoor experiences, and WingBuddy, a packaged tour operator, joined us in the PhocusWire studio to discuss what it's like to be a niche player in such turbulent times.CheckYeti CEO Jakob Keller and Michael Carfagnini, chief operating officer of WingBuddy, said that as smaller, more agile operators, they have the ability to adapt more quickly to outside influences and build trust with customers. All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If the first quarter of 2025 proved lackluster for travel startup funding with only about $1 billion going into newcomers in the space, the second quarter slipped further. It seems all the headlines around tariffs as well as the political uncertainty and global conflict may have put investments on hold, with only about $800 million going into travel startups, according to Phocuswright’s Travel Startups Interactive Database. If funding levels continue along this trend, the total come end of 2025 could be around $4 billion, significantly less than 2024’s $5.5 billion and a far cry from 2021’s record $16 billion. The lack of funding for travel startups as well as the scarcity of exits were discussed during a recent interview with Nick Cocks, founder and managing partner of Singapore-based Velocity Ventures. He touched the current attitude to risk, boardroom paralysis and IPOs being shelved.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During an interview at the PhocusWire studio at Phocuswright Europe, Maxim Sevastianov, founder and CEO of Trava, said he defines API connectivity success in the course of a long game. “You define that there is a certain need in the market for that particular application, right?” he said. “Then you develop and you talk to the customers, of course, and they say there is a need for that.” However, it's unlikely that success will be immediate. “I would say three to six months later, that's when I would say whether it's successful when you look at the numbers,” Sevastianov said. “It's not gonna happen a week or two, or whatever it takes a few months.”  But with new technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) advancing at a rapid pace, the definition of success for connectivity providers could be shifting, too.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As travel came to a screeching halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jari Virtanen, CEO of Stena Line Travel and Retail Group, was faced with a blank slate.  So, Virtanen, who oversees a portfolio of brands including Sembo, European Online Flights, Motorist and Best Travel, took the time to innovate and look to the future. According to Virtanen, at the time, he looked at larger online travel agencies (OTAs) and noticed that while they'd improved the user experience on their websites, the search method was the same. With this in mind, he and his team got to work on finding a way to compete with these OTAs by adding value through new technology. The result is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot called Amelia, now live on Sembo, which has driven a 50% uptick in conversions year-over-year and a 42% price bump, Virtanen said. “Our booking platform to begin with … it's like the Rubik's cube with all the squares separate, it's a modular thing to begin with,” he said, noting that this setup was beneficial when they started to adopt AI. With Stena Line's AI solution, users can create an itinerary in less than two minutes, according to Virtanen.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

API-first property management system (PMS) Apaleo aims to help hoteliers scale business. And according to founder and CEO Uli Pillau, the platform give developers and startups, as well as established players, the opportunity to innovate. “When you look at us, we are the only not all-in-one PMS in the market—we are a true platform, so our innovation comes really from all of the apps and the modules and components, which are being developed by third parties on top of our Apaleo PMS platform,” Pillau said in a recent interview with PhocusWire news editor Abby Crotty. Founded in 2017, Apaleo describes itself on its website as “the open platform for modern hospitality,” with its latest initiative, Agent Hub, launched earlier this year. The marketplace of artificial intelligence (AI) agents is intended to help hoteliers and tech developers share, adopt, discover and build solutions based on AI.  The company has also secured significant funding: In November 2024, the Germany-based company announced growth equity funding of €20 million, and in 2023, it raised a total of €9 million in its Series A round. During the interview, Pillau shared an update on Agent Hub, his biggest learnings as the head of Apaleo and his thoughts on AI in the hospitality industry.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), search engine optimization—or at least SEO as we know it—has been effectively kicked out of the party. And it's a “reality” that the travel sector is being forced to confront. Mario Gavira, vice president of growth and brand for Kiwi.com, who has been vocal about the future as it relates to AI and agentic AI, said the industry has to adapt. “Our content strategy, linking strategy has to change to adapt to the new reality,” Gavira said. “But that's the first step. Now we have to test—will these AI agents really become a new acquisition channel? Will it be only search? Will it be end-to-end transactions? Will people be willing to allow the agent to actually finish a transaction on behalf of the customer?” What brands need to focus on is how to become visible in those results. Amanda Moore, vice president of performance marketing for Preferred Travel Group, added that with the changing environment and the decline of SEO, public relations and personas are back on the table. But it remains to be seen how paid search will be factored in going forward. “I think the way we think of paid search is just going to evolve in terms of its definition,” Moore said. The two also opened up about how their roles have changed in recent year as technology has advanced, with AI having a profound impact on their workflows. Further, they touched on travel’s commercial model, the resurgence of public relations and more.All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an executive interview, Gillian Jones, senior business development manager of Condatis, and Vikas Bhola, CEO of Neoke, suggested that a shift towards digital ID adoption may help facilitate the connected trip, but it can feel daunting.  And while fragmentation presents a barrier, standardization is another concern, with regions and industries developing their own frameworks for implementing SSI. According to Bhola, however, the standards from the International Air Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Office, combined with European Union’s efforts, put the “interoperable private layer” within reach. Trust, again, is a key component, specifically for providers like Neoke that will be responsible for onboarding and adhering to varying standards.   “Trust and the orchestration of trust is the holy grail to enable that connected trip, connected travel,” Bhola said. All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.