Travel Is Your Business (MouthMedia Network)

The millennial generation is traveling more than ever before, looking for community, location, and curation. Selina has designed unique hotel co-living, co-working spaces around these needs. Digital nomads are embracing this new traveling lifestyle in droves. Selina is thinking about topics like loyalty and technology for the next generation of hospitality. Rachele Caserza, Director of Global Strategy for Selina, joins Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studio.

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What could the hotel industry learn by several putting leaders in hotel tech in one room?

Recently, VoyagerHQ hosted executives from ALICE, Uplift and Travel Tripper — in partnership with the robust Cornell Hotel Society community—in front of a live audience for a useful and relevant discussion with many takeaways for everyone in the hotel industry— from independent boutiques to major chains—on how innovation plays a crucial role in the  path forward to improve guest experience and stay competitive.

The Speakers:

Alissa Hendel: SVP Strategic Partnerships & Brands @ ALICE

Alissa joined ALICE in January as SVP Strategic Partnerships & Brands. Since graduating from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration she spent the past 12 years at Sabre Hospitality Solutions where she served in various leadership roles, including VP Strategic Sales for North America and VP Business Development for Enterprise Accounts. Alissa currently sits on the Dean’s Council of Young Alumni for the Hotel School and also serves as a Regional Vice President for the Cornell Hotel Society.

Tom Botts: Chief Commercial Officer @ Uplift

Tom joined Uplift from Miraval Group, where he served as SVP and CMO, ultimately successfully selling the brand and resorts to Hyatt Hotels. Prior to Uplift, Tom held executive positions across the airline, hotel, and online intermediary industries, including at Denihan Hospitality, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and Hotwire.com. Tom was also the co-founder and managing partner of Hudson Crossing, LLC. Tom sits on the board of directors or advisory boards of several companies, including Adara Media, Duetto Research, Hudson Crossing, and Rocketmiles (acquired by Priceline). He holds a BS in Logistics and Marketing from the University of Missouri.

Steffan Berelowitz: VP of Digital Platforms @ Travel Tripper

Steffan is the VP of Digital Platforms at Travel Tripper and Pegasus Solutions where he oversees the website and digital marketing services for hotel customers. A pioneer in all things web and mobile, Steffan has spent more than 20 years in online services and technology. He was formerly founder of Bluetrain.io, a website platform acquired by Travel Tripper in 2015. Prior to Bluetrain.io, Steffan founded Bit Group, one of Boston's top 10 digital web agencies, implementing more than 350 web sites for 150 companies including Cisco, Dell, EMC, two divisions of GE, as well as other prominent B2C organizations.

Moderated by: James Nannos: 

James is an experienced hospitality tech leader with a track record in securing strategic partnerships, motivating high sales output, and streamlining internal operations for maximum efficiency and profitability. James is also a (retired) Captain, Troop Commander, and OEF-Kuwait Veteran in the PA Army National Guard, where most recently he commanded a 96-person Cavalry Troop. James currently sits / volunteers on the Cornell Hotel Society Alumni Board. 

Sponsors:

Cornell Hotel Society: Founded in 1925, CHS NYC is the oldest, largest, and most active regional alumni chapter of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. The Chapter's primary goal is to provide a forum of educational and networking opportunities for its members to achieve both their career and personal goals. The Chapter organizes roughly a dozen engaging, high-profile events a year for alumni and students and has raised over $100,000 for scholarships and endowments that are routed exclusively back to the School of Hotel Administration.

Voyager HQ: Voyager HQ is the startup club for the global travel, tourism, and hospitality industry, bringing together entrepreneurs, corporate partners, and investors to create the future of travel experiences. With over 1,500 startup members around the world, Voyager HQ provides the community with connections, events, and coworking space curated for the travel industry.

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The genesis of online booking for activities has turned tourism into the Wild West for online travel brands. In this recap from VoyagerHQ's 2019 Travel Disruption Summit, CEOs of some of the industry's most influential brands, including Foursquare and Lonely Planet, discuss changes in booking experiences and what they mean for the traveler.

PANEL: Jeff Glueck (CEO of Foursquare), Luis Cabrera (CEO of Lonely Planet), and Shane Mayer (Head of Partnerships, GetYourGuide)

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As the global travel industry continues to advance its technology infrastructure to meet the needs of modern travelers, new challenges make way for the need for new solutions. Two leading travel industry experts, Jay Richmond (Head of Business Travel Group, North America) and Kerri Zeil (Head of Amadeus for Startups) of Amadeus, discuss with host John Matson how to distinguish between disrupting the industry, and just conforming to new technologies. It's a deep dive into what's on the horizon and how to nurture innovation from within a global enterprise travel brand, including how to manage travel content at scale and how NDC will impact aspects of the travel industry beyond airlines.

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How do the world’s leading travel companies approach emerging technology companies coming to market right now? Moreover -- what do they see as the biggest opportunities, and how do you balance that with proving out partnerships with these startups to the rest of the organization? It's an important, and complex topic to explore. The good news? Nicola Poirier (Senior Manager, Strategy & Business Development at Expedia Group) and Kerri Zeil (Head of Amadeus for Startups) share everything on the travel innovation spectrum - from blue ocean opportunities to how to shop an idea and concept internally at an enterprise company. Buckle up!

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Merchandising content platform for flight shopping…

Robert Albert, CEO of Routehappy (the industry standard for airline rich content, acquired by ATPCO) joins John Matson and Nick Vivion in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• The most commonly desired amenity in travel: seat, then WiFi
• Selling a singular vision when pitching/building Routehappy
• How it is not actually all about price
• An entire ecommerce category that’s comeditized, we all about the experience from that moment on
• Explaining products and services customers are happier, and the industry does better
• How it was obvious to him that every customer needed this
• Why Albert feels it has felt like spreading a religion, every meeting is positive, but not necessarily a priority all the time
• It is an organic experience, brick by brick building the path forward for the company and the recognition of the need
• How the pace of building the company has helped them build it right, solving a complex problem, and why the company is ready for prime time now and can solve global differentiation problem in flight shopping
• Why GDS’s didn’t solve this prior
• Sales cycles in travel vs. funds for startups
• Massive network effect, explaining the story and getting airlines and distributers to align on the story and potential impact
• How hard Albert and team worked building the company, holding twenty five meetings a week while traveling, making good product decisions that got companies interested
• Originally Routehappy was about consumer flight reviews, then built APIs of data, and operating lean
• Happy and cheap as a product compass
• How Routehappy’s solution was now described as being able to enable the industry with better data, and that resulted in the first serious ways people were paying attention
• Moving from B to C to B to B as a pivot
• Pineapple chunks, and why this Australian treat was the snack, and the meaning
• How Routehappy was recently acquired by ATPCO, software that manages the world’s airfares
• UTA rich context (universal ticket attribute)
• Becoming the “Switzerland of rich content”, how Routehappy can now deliver on the thing they said they were doing for seven years
• Overall vision as the next gen storefront, how it is time to modernize flight shopping, how indirect channels can and should transform, and coming together with the “how”
• The happy empire and the tip of the iceberg
• Albert’s parental inspiration for travel

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Modobag is the world’s first motorized, smart and connected carry-on that gets you to your destination up to three times faster than walking. CMO Tim Ryan offers insight into one of the most innovative and exciting advancements to hit the travel industry since rolling suitcases were introduced in the 1970's, on location at CES 2020.

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A fireside chat on innovation between representatives of two of the most forward thinking travel groups…

Rashesh Jethi (SVP Engineering for Americas & Head of Innovation for Airlines for the world’s largest GDS, Amadeus) and Bess Chapman (Operating Principal for JetBlue Technology Ventures) discuss travel tech infrastructure, innovation, and possibilities at the Travel Disruption Summit presented by Voyager HQ, and sponsored by Amadeus and Fareportal.

In this episode:

• What AI means for the travel industry
• How everything has changed with hyper-cheap hyper-computing
• Used to depend on massive investments for AI, and now it simply requires a lot of data and smart people
• How machine learning sit on top of that, what it means when airlines and other travel business starts really knowing customers
• Machine learning is one discipline of AI, and it means you feed computer data, makes sense of data, make more personalized recommendations, much potential in marketing
• How it is a challenge that many players are at different maturity in technology stacks
• Many are moving to open APIs to encourage growth and innovation

  PHOTO CREDIT: EVA CRUZ, CROUCHING TIGER LLC

• Regulation issues an inhibitor to innovation, but most regulation is to keep us safe
• Be respectful of regulation that’s there
• GDPR an example
• What it means that not all travel providers can keep up with changes at the same pace
• Antiquated innovation all around
• The biggest white space for disruption in airports
• Why airports will be the malls of the future
• Airports can be an oasis of commerce and relaxation
• Prescreening and biometrics, making screening fast track, frictionless
• Identifying you as a traveler, then providing you a contextual experience and a reference to what is available around you
• Amadeus believes in tapping into the creative energy of anyone, supporting innovation
• Overhyped technology (personal opinion) is blockchain
• Bags as a huge white space, RFID, and more
• How NDC change Amadeus’ current setup, and the next evolution in standard with a lot of interest from customers
• AR and VR in the travel space, ideal use-cases, and why they could just become another screen we get used to
• Using VR to book trips and for in-flight entertainment, shopping, training – and what are the challenges?
• A lot of opportunity for companies to help other companies make money
• What is looked for by Amadeus venture fund

PHOTO CREDIT: EVA CRUZ, CROUCHING TIGER LLC

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A mobility provider that has changed the way over 100 million people have traveled -- FlixBus is now taking on the US...Joanna Patterson, Head of Business Development for FlixBus (a unique combination of tech startup, e-commerce platform and sustainable transportation company) joins Marc Raco and Anthony DeRico.

• How we need more intercity bus travel
• Bus travel hasn’t innovated quickly, other players haven’t brought technology that makes it better for consumer, and how FlixBus does take a fragmented industry and makes it better to help more people get places
• A main player in Europe, hoping to be main player in US
• A few different clicks you can track buses, buses are well maintained, there is a better experience including plugs, wifi, clean,
• Charter bus operators typically are partners
• Allows bus companies its to enter the line run business because they don't have to setup a full business model and infrastructure
• FlixBus in the US trying to convince people to take buses for the first time
• Being a game changer is a combination of things: great mobile experience and good experience being on the bus, using data to optimize pricing and the network
• Skewing toward millennials and college students
• The physical touchpoint with the customer is a driver
• Being a hand in hand partner in the success ion bus operators
• The nature of the partnership
• Important that partners can provide the customer with a good experience
• Technological capabilities are not important because FlixBus has that capability
• How treating customers well is very important
• Management and training of drivers and their interaction with customers  including on the "mobility partner portal"
• Does maple flavored salmon jerky meet expectations?
• #NOTICETHEBUSES

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How can you scale cool? True personalization in travel. Leiti Hsu, Cofounder of Journy (an AI-enabled, expert-curated modern travel planning service that personalizes your trip planning, including bookings and reservations), show host, and food connector, joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studio.

• Journy uses humans, who do their jobs better with tech?
• Leiti and Susan (her cofounder) are the Yin and the Yang. They met dancing on speakers in Shanghai, while both traveling, and they become travel buddies.
• Traditional travel agencies still have humans doing things a computer can do better. Journy uses technology so that their humans can spend 80% of their time doing things only humans can do - planning amazing trips.
• Journy is for all! You can be on a budget or go for an ultimate luxury experience. Either way, Journy knows their customer extremely well.
• Learn about QQ! A texture that Taiwanese and other asian cultures love. Think boba in bubble tea - like al dente but squishier.
• Leiti saw the end of media as we knew it as Gourmet Magazine folded, and now surprisingly Journy has become a big of a media company.
• An unexpected brand Journy has worked with is 23 and Me. They gave away 23 DNA kits and planned the trips for those people back to their ancestors’ countries.
• Leiti’s home away from home travel-wise is San Sebastain. It’s the Taiwan of Europe! It’s like paradise with really good food.
• After Leiti’s mom was diagnosed with stage 4 non-smoking lung cancer, she created her dream restaurant pop-up. A hole in the wall Taiwanese beef noodle soup spot, called Tsu Soup.

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Data. It continues to be a huge topic for any brand to tackle. And of course that includes travel. But the jump from gathering data to turning it into action is another. Two leading travel experts, Ella Schreiber of Hopper and Shameem Ahmed of Amadeus, share how they are leveraging data science and machine learning to maximize user acquisition and conversion. From the aspects of traveler data that are the most useful for certain aspects of buyer behavior, to deploying data science across a large organization, this is also a look at how industries leaders make data a priority and an opportunity for market growth and international expansion.

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Azim Barodawala, CEO of Volantio (technology that helps airlines maximize unit revenues and decrease costs through greater capacity utilization, while providing customers with better predictability and control over their travel journey) joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studio.

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Telling location-centered stories around the world, including articles, videos, photography, illustration and animation, with an in-house creative and editorial teams work with a global network of freelance creators -- Alex Shebar, Director of Experiences for Culture Trip, joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studio.

In this episode:

• It’s Bess’ last show! She’s going to get her Masters from Stanford.
• Alex talks about how travelers are looking for different experiences. It’s not just the Louvre, it’s the stuff the locals know about, and the way to access that information is through content.
• What sets Culture Trip apart from the countless other travel blogs that have been around even longer? The secret is in the amazing community of content creators all over the world that they’ve been able to put together.
• The travel responsibility trend. People are being very conscious about the kind of traveling they’re doing, who are the people, what’s the culture you’re becoming a part of when you visit?
• Alex’s snack - pickles from the pickle guys! He went there with his fiancé on a local experience tour, and loved it.
• A little bit about Alex - from Boston, went to journalism school, but quickly found out he hated being one after working the night shift and showing up to crime scenes alone in the middle of the night. He was in Cincinnati, and started organizing public screenings of the top 100 films of all time, which blew up, Yelp contacted him to be a community manager, then worked for Bumble before landing at Culture Trip.
• Turning content into experience. Culture Trip has the users, they can create partnerships all over the world. Getting users excited about content they want to be a part of, and then giving them the opportunity to book it.
• Alex wants Culture Trip to be a household name, and would love to work with the Met or MOMA or the London Zoo, as well as weirder smaller tours.
• What does Alex miss most from Boston? Believe it or not it’s the sort of touristy places: Legal Seafood, Neptune House.
• Bess shares a final thought - she’s really optimistic about the travel industry. There are so many great companies starting out and she feels theres even more opportunity out there to go big and off the wall.

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Online Travel Agencies with Fareportal and CheapOair…

Sam Jain (bio), CEO/Founder of Fareportal, CheapOair and OneTravel.com, Board Chairman of Voyager HQ, joins Peter Crysdale (Co-Founder of ReCorp), Pavan Bahl (CEO of Open Source Business), Rob Sanchez (COO of Open Source Business), and Marc Raco (CPO of Open Source Business) for the first episode of Travel Is Your Business podcast.

Taking initiative to fill a gap, customer service, and introducing technology

In one of his few in-depth interviews ever, Jain covers why he started CheapOair to fill a gap in current digital online travel space, and because of the lack large contact center presence. How his background in business-to-business and customer service led to creating a digital online travel agency with a customer service focus, now the only OTA today with a toll free number on every web page, and more than 2,000 travel agents full time.

Turning a 4k debt on AmEx card into a huge business by trying to solve a dysfunction. his “coming to America” story inspired by a family jewelry business, an idea sparked by working a year for no money at a small travel agency, and buying tickets from wholesalers, the two worlds of published fares and consolidated wholesale net traded flights. The impact of Jain introducing technology with simple databases, and pivoting into an ecommerce business. Getting into the business with a model as a flight focused OTA, and providing a great user experience with a three step booking path and strong customer service, going up against four established players, and the complexity of the processes and transactions, such as 80,000 schedule changes per month.

Learning from pivots, user experience, and Voyager

Jain assertion that ecommerce is not complex when focused on product and having a depth of knowledge on one’s vertical, bootstrapping CheapOair as a pivot to go directly to the customer, a prior failed pivot, and lessons learned when getting into the hotel space. The importance of keeping focus on a core product and knowledge, and defending against OTA’s with cheaper flights with diversity of channels. How the entire seamless user experience is important from the beginning to post-transaction, and keeping target on getting repeat visitors to lower acquisition costs,

New technologies and the space being innovated, the new ability to book Amtrak, and focusing on mobile first. The Voyager incubator co-working space as an eyes and ears on innovation, looking at artificial intelligence, the value of the startup mindset, and a determination to tap into that talent pool.

Monkey commerce, dealing fruit, and global travels

The personal questions of Off the Beaten Path travels to Mathura, India, witnesses monkey commerce, dreams of a fruity excuse to go to Honolulu, and enjoys pizza in Nepal.

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A Reverse Pitch - heads of leading corporate innovation programs at travel brands share their companies' approaches to making partnership work between a startup and an enterprise company. 

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The hospitality industry is diverse, fragmented and involves a lot of stakeholders. At Voyage HQ's Travel Disruption Summit in NY, Javier Egipciaco (the Managing Director of the innovative boutique hotel brand Arla) and Kelsey Recht, the CEO of VenueBook (a platform driving dynamic bookings of event spaces), debated on the importance of hospitality brands working together to deliver a better experience for the customer. 

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If you shop for a flight online today, you’ll notice a wide range of options available to you. From seat selection to presentation of hotel and rental car options after booking, it seems like the traveler’s booking experience has become more and more holistic. Yet, there are many opportunities to grow. What has driven this trend in the last 5 years? Ancillaries packaging, New Distribution Capability, emerging technologies, and more. Senior travel executives Werner Georg Kunz-Cho (Co-CEO, Chief Human Resource Officer of Fareportal) and Alexandra Arguelles (Vice President, Online Travel Group of Amadeus North America) share what makes the holistic shopping cart window of today -- and tomorrow.

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Designing customer experience in travel...

Liliana Petrova, Director of Customer experience at JetBlue Airways, Visionary, Strategist, Customer Experience Professional and Blogger, joins John Matson, Bess Chapman, and Pavan Bahl in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Liliana Petrova on designing for Experience is like a multi-phase cake
• What is movement,
• Technology design, how to achieve movement as fast and seamless as possible
• How people will feel about the brand and interactions
• Why the experience designer needs to be a vision thinker and can’t design in increments
• Facial recognition, and why with some brands it is like having a same experience like prison or the subway, and determining that will never happen like that with JetBlue as an experience
• Delight comes from the elements and when it works to one’s standards
• Designing experience is like being like a conductor of an orchestra
• Innovation is not building new things, but finding connections that didn’t exists before between existing things
• Getting a sophisticated program up in just four months
• Will airports be the player of the future they are today?
• The quest to eliminate waiting time with bags and taking away levels of friction
• How airports could transform from being simply a processing center, and therefore offer a chance to give you joy
• Other brands doing it right, and those doing it wrong — Milan train system can do better
• Every customer has their own version of an emotional reaction — but engineering things like efficiency can create emotional experiences, creating value
• Being driven by making the world a different place, making life easier
• Liking things that stretch when it is implausible
• Why the Hyperloop is exciting
• How Petrova moved from financial analyst to design
• The baseline of customer experience is process and strategy, making connections and seeing all channels of marketing
• And hard work
• How enterprise brands can’t preserve everything with scale
• Innovation is not the end goal, it’s a way to be relevant to the customer
• The alignment in the interest of the future costumer
• Credit cards and miles/points/rewards
• Petrova on being Bulgarian and a view at her work and the American ecosystem, and having perspective
• Why Abraham Lincoln was amazing
• An intuitive move and coming to America, having two “homes”, being a citizen of the world
• Doingcxright.com

Liliana can be reached at https://thepetrovaexperience.com/

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Why the original travel app is partnered with so many brands and integrated into so much technology…

Kristen Vasan, Director of Strategic Platform Partnerships for Foursquare (a technology company that enriches consumer experiences and informs business decisions through a deep understanding of location intelligence), joins John Matson in the MouthMedia Network studio powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• The state of personalization in the travel industry, gained some momentum
• Foursquare was previously thought as a social networking app, but is a contextually aware location platform that sits on top of some of the biggest brands’ tech
• Can build a contextually aware map of where people go
• People comparing brands to one another are looking at how technological experiences compare to one another 
• The risk of becoming the best tech company instead of best service
• Going from the check in app for locations,  and how Foursquare  pivoted to become a huge player in the enterprise location space
• How their API plays into geo-locations for images and social media
• The goal to give marketers the ability to “bake” location tech, to know where you’ve stopped, see the venue where you are, and “tap you on the shoulder”
• Giving people the ability to be present and enjoy life, and only use phone when it matters most
• How Foursquare reached 1 billion consumers
• Brands building loyalty, having an understanding of offline behavior, a lot is still left to be done in that space
• How business travel is different than personal travel
• Seeing location trails of consumers and telling stories about where they go
• People look to Foursquare as the original travel app
• Are travel startups able to use Foursquare’s SDK and try to iterate on it
• Foursquare’s database of over 105M places globally you can ingest and share with world
• And  — a volcano

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Acquiring and retaining hospitality customers with surprise-and-delight rewards…

James Nannos, Director of Hotel Sales & Partnerships for Stay Wanderful (a direct booking tool to increase guest conversion and provide surprise- and-delight rewards) joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studio powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• How independent hospitality brands should think about retaining customers
• Independent hospitality chains don’t have a powerful distribution network
• Tangible guest rewards, differentiated experiences to guests, and then continuing conversation after the fact
• How can independents get in there and make a difference
• Most prefer experiences and benefits to points, most won’t get value out of points
• Personalizing small but highly perceived value rewards
• Most want to choose rewards
• If Stay Wanderful is in many properties, how that helps still customers choose a specific property
• Raising the bar of service won’t dilute the opportunity
• Stay Wanderful makes it look like a hotel is giving you the rewards, like a white label solution for that hotel
• The only business where customers are sleeping in palace of business—you must capture them while they are there
• Independent properties fighting uphill battle
• A fee-for-success model
• The importance of fining out the real decision-maker of a hospitality property or brand
• Why hotels are operating off of antiquating systems, integrating into an old tech stack
• The helpfulness of the Cornell network
• The impact of military methodology and experience on entrepreneurialism and how it connects with hotel business

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If you had an hour to sit with someone who helped build the fastest growing travel media company in the industry – what could you learn? From user-generated content, to the shift of the mobile-first environment and how trends have drastically shifted in travel, along with travel management companies, the joys of  traveling with family, and why not to take your eye off the ball in the travel industry…

Anthony Derico, Business Mentor / Advisor for Quake Capital Partners and Business Consultant / Advisor to Voyager HQ,  and former VP/Head of Sales for Skift and Skift table, joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studio powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• The move to mobile as the biggest travel shift
• The next biggest shift?
• The cellphone as a tool of travel
• Skiplagged for finding cheap flights
• Influencer content and maintaining an authentic voice, and how everyone is an influencer when they travel and share on social media
• Making travel more accessible is a market share
• Does travel have a homogeny problem to get that instagrammable moment?
• The effect on business travel
• Why people travel for business, the many layers of that decision making, and a possible game changer to focus on
• Working for your snack
• Creating amazing experiences as a brand, and really executing events that can leave an impression
• The impact of the rise of startup culture on travel
• Why travel as a benefit should be core to a business
• How trade publications can get real stories in travel, and then thoughts on content that stands out
• Inspiring children with meaningful travel destinations and experiences that make an impact

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Collaborative technology to the global airline industry that enables its customers to improve the pace and quality of aircraft maintenance, leading to significant productivity gains, lowered costs and improved safety…

Tripp Higgins, VP of Business Development, and Andy Hakes, Founder/CEO, of AireXpert (tech ops event control), joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in theMouthMedia Network studio powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Room for improvement in great communication with people out at airplanes and between travel companies and those people
• A lot of people working in adjacent roles who don’t work together and a lot situations develop on the fly
• Barriers – outsourcing, fragmentation of indie companies that don’t share resources
• Airlines relying on outsourced vendors, lack of training, very little standardization for communication
• AireXpert is a communication channel that creates a standardized link, that allows people to communicate in same space, on the fly
• How AireXpert’s business started
• Everyone has the same pains
• The difficulty of raising money in Buffalo NY, and needing capital to hire great talent
• How being in small market has challenges and opportunities
• Hot dogs!
• The sales cycle of approaching an airline
• Raising funds and the venture landscape in Buffalo
• Whether the AireXpert executives feel less or more safe now with airlines
• The exhilaration of taking in the arrival at a new destination

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AirAsia has an eye on how technology innovation can disrupt the areas of the travel industry…

When you’re the largest airline in a country, with more than 100 million passengers last year and ranked this year by Forbes the best low cost airline in Asia, you’re going to know a lot about what your customers need and want. 

You’ll know about their behavior throughout their journey with you, and how you can grow as a customer and as an ever increasingly relevant player.  In the travel industry. AirAsia Group is taking that experience and running—(or flying)—with it. With an eye on how technology innovation can disrupt the areas of the travel industry Air Asia is eyeing for expansion, and to be of value to other industry players  — (and even other industries).themyour brand

Aireen Omar, AirAsia Deputy Group CEO (Technology and Digital), joins John Matson and Bess Chapman for a discussion on why the airline has made a meaningful play into venture funding and startups, a search for talent worldwide, and investing in unicorns. Recorded in the MouthMedia Network studio powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Data is invaluable 
• What makes an airline stand out—how you make a customer feel, the right kind of services and products, as seamless sand possible
• And branding is important, seeking a fun and enjoyable way to consume it
• Understanding needs and wants, and helping them discover what they don’t know they want
• Redbeat Ventures, embracing technology, and how AirAsia has a. lot of data, and has discovered the behavior of passengers
• AirAsia wanting to seek for talent all over the world, and find solutions and disrupt the travel industry they want to expand to, and be of value to other industry players (and perhaps other industries as well)
• The resulting venture fund and separate and off balance sheet, to invest in unicorns around the world
• The wide range of who be in the fund, including lifestyle companies
• The beauty of how AirAsia can work with startups, given the 100M+ passengers per year
• The likely impact of an economy shift on the business

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Data as a roadmap to innovation, development and customer success for enterprise companies in the travel industry with XenoDATA Partners…

Taylor Culver , Founder of XenoDATA Partners (a boutique management consulting firm partnering with you on making data strategy successful), and his associate Michael McDowell, join Marc Raco and Anthony DeRico in the MouthMedia Network studio powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• A vertical agnostic company
• Why travel has a special place in Taylor and Michael’s hearts – traveling 40-50 countries
• Data is a strategic asset
• Learning from working at Hertz on the corporate development team
• Talent in work force is versed in data and can really able to ask the right questions
• What needs help now with data in the travel space?
• Enterprise issues in legacy systems
• Transferring data back and forth to shape experiences downstream
• Opportunities to utilize data points in during the experience, not just online – such as between the taking of ticket to the time you’e in the seat of a plane
• The integrated nature of Hertz communication, customer feedback, and dynamic feedback
• Genesis of the. company
• Opportunity – enterprise customers get the most value out of their data
• The $40B niche industry – car rentals, and opportunities to disrupt 

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Aruba’s travel innovation and entrepreneurialism with ATECH…

Varelie Croes (bio), Co-Founder and Board of Directors of ATECH Foundation (a community of entrepreneurs and investors and the Caribbean’s top conference for startups in Aruba featuring international speakers, and investors) and Founder and CEO The Liv Group, joins Pavan Bahl, Peter Crysdale and Tamara Wood from the studio at VoyagerHQ.

Creating an ecosystem, building on what’s there, and what Aruba already knows

Croes discusses the great conference of ATECH, Aruba as a great melting pot of cultures and history as a Dutch Colony, how rapidly growing tourism was developed by choice in Aruba, and creating a technological ecosystem and entrepreneurship to start or spend time in Aruba. How ATECH focuses on travel to build on what’s already there and how Aruba knows hospitality and travel and because it involves a broad sense of the movement of goods, people and data.

Data, airport logistics, and biometrics in travel

Data sources on the island and status as the second largest percentage of GDP on travel in the world, how data is shared, sensor technology, tech and startups as a big sector because of limitations of space and infrastructure and exports, and focusing on knowledge which comes from innovation. How big this will grow, a company that helps manage logistics in air traffic control towers, and airport management and thinking of airports as businesses. How the movement of people and goods through ports may be the next big areas of innovation. Biometric check-ins/out at airports, and trusting technology to replace jobs of individuals.

Curaçao, an unusual photo, and a duck embryo

The smallest country, an unusual aviation photo on the way to Holland, Disney World, and Vietnamese street food.

References:

Placemeter [Fashion Is Your Business Episode 118]

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Travel innovation community building with Voyager HQ…

John Matson, ‎Digital Director for Voyager HQ (a club for travel innovators which connects travel startup founders, investors, and corporations), and Co-Director of Startup Grind New York – (bio), joins Pavan Bahl and Samantha Shankman at the MouthMedia Studio at Voyager HQ.

A pilot, helping companies grow, and a dent in innovation

Matson discusses his background as a growth strategist being involved with startups, and current role helping companies grow as the Digital Director, with a focus on marketing. Voyager is a “pilot” to demonstrate necessity and impact of a structured community and space for travel innovation, powered largely by the family office of Fareportal’s Sam Jain [Episode 001]. Finding that travel startups need immense capital or a unique set of dynamic partnerships, how B-to-C really is B-to-B-to-C, providing this resource to these kind of companies, and why it turned into more of a community approach and an open ecosystem. How Voyager is not just Sam Jain’s accelerator, but Sam Jain making a dent in innovation. Growing more nearly 375 digital members and 40 members in the space since August, 2016. How the space was so hard to navigate. And an American Airlines integration for startups as a first major initiative, from a roundtable.

A clubhouse mentality, digital first, and an open source incubator

Programming, using experiences for in/out tenants, being a digital community first, having a clubhouse mentality, and creating roundtables. A monthly breakfast series involving Bootstrapper Breakfasts for up-to-seed stage companies, and Travel Founders Breakfasts for companies that raised or earned at least $1 Million. Another roundtable with Amadeus, one of the larger GDS’s.   Being like an open source incubator, bringing to the table as much as taking away, the give and don’t take approach, the hot trend of “experience” and Airbnb launching trips, the hard-to-crack nut of authentic regional experiences, and how to scale that. Competition of Airbnb vs. startups, because Airbnb is hitting at time of conversion and a web of hosts, they have the inventory. HITLIST as an example of something that builds on top of something that exists, i.e. a new way of packaging trips. “Off the Beaten Path” personal questions cover a sibling mentorship that resonated, a non-profit at 9 years old, Sweden, a sabbatical and making friends in Quebec City, and making an impact on the lives of other people.

References:

• 5 to 9 Podcast
• Amadeus
• HITLIST

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Overtourism in Barcelona and globally…

Samantha Shankman, travel reporter, producer currently working on a documentary about overtourism in Barcelona (bio), joins Pavan Bahl and John Matson at the MouthMedia Network studio at Voyager HQ.

Skift and Time, Inc., post-Olympic Barcelona, and responsive infrastructure

Shankman talks about covering the business of travel, working on travel stories from the early days of Skift, joining Time Inc., working in the capacity of booking travel, now owning a bed and breakfast outside Barcelona, and how all of the experiences have allowed her to see travel from several angles, and on both business and consumer sides of travel. How a cold email got her a job as an early employee of Skift, how she decided to go into video production, and turned onto overtourism. Barcelona as an unknown city before the 1992 Olympics, its improved infrastructure, how Barcelona succeeded in building a brand as an artistic city with urban and beach experiences, great for dining, nightlife and art. The impact of urban planning being done so quickly and in response to a rise in tourism, how there is so much tourism in specific focused areas, and the issue of pickpocketing. And Shankman’s experience with the changing dynamics of moving from a startup to a big company to a freelancer.

High occupancy, illegal home-sharing, and combatting tourism

A discussion of tourism inventory in Barcelona, high occupancy despite recently built new hotels. The city’s move to prohibit building more new hotels, the strain on infrastructure and resources in the face of rising tourism. The rise of home-sharing while only small number of home-sharing services are legal, and how Barcelona’s mayor is “combatting” tourism. The locals are fed up with tourists, and working with places that give back to the city. Shankman talks about people in her film, how change will happen wherever we are, how there is never just one cause of rising prices and limited resources, and that tourists are not always the reason a place is expensive or unlivable, as there are too many factors.

An eco-friendly farm, authentic experiences, and straining resources

the downstream effects on food due to overtourism, how people who want to come volunteer at the farm Shankmna lives at in Barcelona, and the wide desire for that experience. What is being done to provide for influx of people, more of a travel trend of food sourcing for tourists, how the most authentic experiences in tourism is to spend time with people in the area. No place is just “that place” anymore. And living on an Airbnb farm. Always growing, testing limits, how an eco-friendly house brings clarity to the real meaning of eco-conscious, creating empathy, and how paths appear. And, Shankman will be joining “Travel Is Your Business” as a host in rotation.

References:

Chrisina Grdovic [Episode 002]

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Airbnb property management and concierge service…

Matt Lerner, Founder/CEO of MetroButler, (a front desk, concierge and cleaning service rolled into one for shared homes like Airbnb that eliminates all the logistical burdens of short-term renting by providing services customized to your home) – (bio), joins Pavan Bahl , Samantha Shankman and John Matson at the MouthMedia Network studio at Voyager HQ.

Business model, expansion, and competition

Lerner discusses how hosts come to MetroButler, which takes over a property and does everything necessary to make the rental successful, whatever is related, and MetroButler gets 25% of the fee of bookings, the host has to do nothing. Typical host demographics, advertising in NYC, expanding in other cities and some pilot cities, how it takes a lot of time to work out quirks of other properties, and lead gen is largely inbound. A fragmented market with a lot of competitors, defending against companies that perform a lot of services that might want to pivot into this space, how customers interface with the MetroBulter team directly, and why Airbnb won’t likely get into this business.

Liability, privacy and security, company origins, and innovation

Dealing with liability, which is one of the biggest expenses and a big selling point, protecting privacy, how butlers photograph every room, furniture, every piece of electronics, and then do it again when they leave. Security protection and concerns about key exchanges. How hosts get increased business from the service, complexities of larger and more expensive properties, the most expensive property they have had in portfolio, the genesis of the company, and how it started with the team doing the work themselves. How MetroButler is leveraging innovation and new technology to get the job done and using it to go to the next level.

Off the Beaten Path

The best Airbnb ever, New Orleans, Barcelona, beating up your brothers, and how important travel is.

References:

One Fine Stay

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Portable Outdoor Travel Safe with AquaVault…

Avin Samtani, Co-Founder of AquaVault (a Portable Outdoor Travel Safe that was invented so you can lock up your valuables and go for a worry free swim) – (background), joins Pavan Bahl , Samantha Shankman and John Matson at the MouthMedia Network studio at Voyager HQ.

A robbery leads to a business, perfecting the design, and Shark Tank

Samtani recalls how the theft of the co-founders’ own belongings at a beach realized the need for a safe to store valuables at a beach or pool, and that day the AquaVault was born. Portal safes that lock on any lounge chair or umbrella, or any tubular support, how people get hands on the safe, prototypes with 3d printers, how it took 7 prototypes to be satisfied with the design, and getting patents. How the co-founders decided to do move forward with a strategy, starting with an inventor trade show, surf expo, then Shark Tank the experience of being one of the only companies to be selected from of tens of thousands of applicants, and what the Shark Tank process was like.

Marketing AquaVault, sourcing in China, and building a travel brand

Being a rare physical product as travel startup and an unusual concept, why it is an advantage that hotels can’t really easily test a physical product with hotel branding, the process of sourcing through China, the complexities of shipping worldwide, and how growing up in Hong Kong makes Samtani relatable to manufacturing partners. Marketing on mostly social media, the success of good press, $5k/month spend on social media ads, videos converting well, Facebook as the most successful and carrying over to Instagram. Amazon as the biggest platform. Ponding the phones five hours a day for sales and press and being relentless, key decisionmakers are pool managers and hotel GMs, how AquaVault frees up time for employees, and creates revenue as many hotels charge guests. AquaVault’s current presence in, any water parks and hotels, the new more portable version with slash resistant nylon, can put it in carry-on, and selling well. AquaVault’s 6-12 month initial sales cycle, and how Samtani would change the sales approach looking back. The next step of a waterproof phone case, building a travel brand, and why they’re not worried about people stealing chairs to get a safe.

Iceland, dim sum, and verifying the need

Off the Beaten Path personal questions covers partying after business, Iceland, favorite bathing suit, New York has everything, the best dim sum spot, and traveling with a family. Plus, going for it, and the importance of verifying market need.

References:

Daymond John [Episode 166 of Fashion Is Your Business]

Blueprint + Co

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Smart luggage and Internet of Things travel products with Bluesmart…

Diego Saez-Gil, Co-Founder and Chairman of bluesmart, a company offering a suitcase that tracks itself, auto-locks, and charges devices – (bio)) joins Pavan Bahl, John Matson and Peter Crysdale at the MouthMedia Network studio at Voyager HQ.

Company origins from a passion for travel, first to market, and the biggest challenge

Saez-Gil discusses his origins in Argentina, how backpacking around Europe created a passion for travel, leading to travel company on of the first mobile apps to book reservation from phone, WeHostels, the decision to create a smart connected suitcase with GPS, charging and tracking, weight sensors, digital locking, launched through an extremely successful crowd-funding campaign, raising a large amount of capital, and building a global brand bringing innovation into travel goods industry. Creating the first major suitcase innovation since adding wheels decades ago, the biggest hurdle was in R and D and creating reliable location tracking from anywhere in the world, which was a major feature resulting in funding it.

Being the best, learning from mistakes, and the TSA lock

The market, and how bluesmart is creating defenses for a competitive edge, how it’s good that there are other innovators in space, how “is this is something people want” has moved to “how are you different”. How the focus now is on being the best product with best design and materials, and the battle is with themselves. Whether bluesmart is a luxury move vs. a change in the way people travel, the credibility of having a previous acquired company, previous mistakes including not thinking of the company and the roadmap enough, and being too focused on making the product. The in-house development team, integrated with Magento, and selling on Amazon. Trends idea of the Internet of Things, an API integration with Uber, and the goal of making the journey as enjoyable as the destination. A TSA approved lock for master key, digital plus mechanical, to avoid breaking it to open it. Making sure everything is compliant, and the timeline of a one year development plus nine months to get to shipment of 10,000 units, How traveling abroad is important for many countries and the weight feature is important. Plus, several big developments coming soon.

The weirdest travel location, first companies, and brothers in the jungle

Personal questions in Off the Beaten Path covers the weirdest place Saez-Gil has ever been, robot stores, selling drawings and party tickets, starting a bakery, a memorable trip with brothers that ends up in the Amazon jungle, and reason to travel more.

References:

Amadeus

The bluesmart marketing video

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Travel industry news and analysis with Gene Quinn of Tnooz…

Gene Quinn, Co-founder of Tnooz (a news website focused on news and analysis about travel technology – looking at marketing, systems, devices, distribution, social media, startups – (bio)), joins Pavan Bahl, John Matson and Peter Crysdale at the MouthMedia Network studio at Voyager HQ.

The birth of Tnooz, 800 startup pitches, and mobile is the future

Quinn reviews Tnooz as an eight-year old brand created in depth of a recession, to cover digital travel economy, resulting in a B-to-B media company. How the industry thinks of itself when covering itself. The digital travel economy, innovation through startups (which mean disruption), running more than 800 startup pitches, looking at systems. How he’s excited about mobile, and started a business three years before Facebook started. Mobile vs. mobile first, vs. mobile-centric, how a lot of companies have created incubators, and looking at global distribution companies like Amadeus.

OTA’s, a new merchandising model, and addition to mobile

A background in newspapers then cable TV, seeing media business blindsided by digital, adding chat online for digital presence of newspapers. How Quinn left publishing and went feet-first into digital, cut his teeth by making himself available to board of Phocuswright and Philip Wolf, along with alignments with Fred Lalonde and Kevin May. OTAs were one of the biggest changes ever in the travel business, from hotels to travel agent networks, changing the industry fundamentally and fast. The first wave in travel of new merchandising model for the industry, how meta search engines have been libraries of libraries, and mobile is the big next wave. Infatuation and addiction to mobile devices consumes the consumer, and consumers are technologically ahead of providers of travel services.

Tours and activities, the currency of privacy, and a fishing bucket list

How the tours and activities space is one that hasn’t been cracked yet, and a platform for tours easy to book, buy and experience could be huge, and part of a fundamental value shift, and the need for better queue management, and if removing travel hiccups can be white labeled by piece of technology. Privacy can be a form of currency. Off the Beaten Path personal questions cover rushing home for a birth, the imagination of flight vs. a first experience, and how the excitement remains to this day in taking off and landing, and a fishing bucket list.

Mobile is Eating the World and Mobile Ate the World

Lavi Industries [Episode 175]

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Automating hotel room bookings for groups and events with Skipper…

Jason Shames, CEO and CoFounder of Skipper (a marketplace to help groups and events find hotel rooms – (bio)) joins joins Pavan Bahl , Samantha Shankman and John Matson at the MouthMedia Network Studios.

A successful company pivots, 9 rooms matters, and an RFP platform

Shames shares the genesis of the company as Jetaport six years ago, originally making planning trips “suck less”, and team-members working for private companies building mobile apps, having some success but seeing transactional issues with groups as an offline experience for above 8 rooms. Weddings as an example, a proprietary algorithm force ranks hotels, and building out their own RFP platform.

Building relationships, studio popcorn, and rebranding

Manually building relationships with hotels, creating a collaboration engine, making the service feel like a white glove experience and like customers had an advocate, and providing booking advisors. Snack time involves air-popped popcorn (popping during the interview). Shames reviews changing the branding from Jetaport to Skipper, being able to focus on consumer messaging and focus communication, how it was like building a new company with an existing base, and whether event planners are useful.

Supply partners, growing in the medical space, and automating offline processes

Being able to deliver top class results with one-time transactions with high margin. Owning segments of the demands to work together with supply partners. Growing in a marketplace of the medical space. Being forward-thinking in the deployment of technology, how broadly defined groups mixed with elasticity in supply offer potential for growth, continuing to automate offline processes, and how to best serve hotel partners and consumers.

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Public relations for travel with BPCM…

Sarah Pallack, Director of Travel PR for BPCM (a fully integrated global public relations agency brand building and communications in fashion, beauty, travel, lifestyle and luxury markets – (bio)), joins joins Pavan Bahl , Samantha Shankman and John Matson  at the MouthMedia Network Studios.

Adding travel to fashion, the push to digital, and Twitter vs. Instagram

Pallack shares how she runs travel wine and spirits department, and the work with hotel brands and properties, destinations from regions to islands, primarily working with luxury clients because they have budgets to do interesting things, and the experiences they offer to guests and journalists and stories to tell are interesting. How she came into a fashion house and started a travel arm, and the founders are world travelers. Doing a project for a countries like Morocco, how people talk about traveling as destination-based instead of property-based. Doing creative and edgy things and the way travel is talked about is different, more global. How traditional PR involves a lot of digital, why broadcast is difficult for luxury brands, working with social influencers as a lot of one-offs because of individual travel experiences and why that is preferred, using Instagram a lot because of the visual aspect of travel, and why Twitter can be a challenge due to language, Pinterest is strong, and whether Snapchat will be a “thing” with influencers, how Instagram Stories helps, Snapchat vs. Instagram, and being able to see what happens on Instagram with a map of activity. The way print is still the holy grail of what brands want, while the actual value and malleability of digital is much higher.

Micro-moments, collaborations, and being “woke”

How travel PR is different than PR for products or tangible goods, the nuances in travel, targeting micro-moments, generating excitement in focused timing, and why it is difficult to measure ROI because much of it is simply sharing the news, getting word out to the right people at the right time. Travel brand films, collaboration between travel and fashion, using user-generated content, looking at constructed digital initiatives like in Iceland, government subsidies, how people want to now more and get more info, and being “woke” in travel. Plus, a look at getting ahead of negative travel user reviews.

Travel bloggers, Google Maps, and being informed

Off the Beaten Path personal questions cover what Pallack would do if in another role, about the diva demands of some travel bloggers, those born-and-bread New Yorkers and loving New York, starting college early, the heat-mapped Google Maps as the defining feature of Pallack’s life, allowing travel to become a part of everything you do, and being informed and loving how PR helps propel the trend understanding cultures.

Marcie Allen

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Accommodation search engines…

Joe DiTomaso, Co-Founder and CEO of AllTheRooms (the largest and most complete accommodation search engine combining sites like Expedia, Airbnb, and 400+ other sites you may not have even heard of yet, offering more than 900,000 rooms worldwide – (bio)), joins Pavan Bahl, John Matson and Peter Crysdale at the MouthMedia Network studios.

Cataloging every room, selling analytics, and how travel ranks in Google

DiTomaso discusses aggregating and cataloging every room on the planet, from a hammock in the Caribbean to a 3 bedroom flat in London, how the consumer ends up seeing inventory and hotels and paying the “highest big”, how that’s only 1% of the market, being a B to B solution, and offering a white level B to B to C solution, allowing interactive search connecting with events, selling the analytics, including all of airbnb, how the travel space is Google’s third highest paying vertical vs. insurance and finance, and how companies like Trivago and their ad word spend are crushing competition.

The vision, acquisition costs, and airbnb

The origin of the AllTheRooms idea and the vision to do something no one has done before. Instead of plugging into a global GDS system, missing luxury and off the beaten path hotels, a vision of going after every room on the planet. As players push into instant book it exponentially escalates the inventory, where ROI goes because of acquisition costs, and how it becomes a sustainable competitive barrier-to-entry for airbnb. Once converted to instant book, how it shores up inventory on airbnb. Does airbnb become the next OTA? How AllTheRooms is finding hotel partners, how the vision is the data and analytics, and the importance of an acquisition strategy.

Kanye West, cereal box marketing, and strengths

Something about New York, Lou Ferrigno at the gym, Kanye West’s assistant, how the cartoon character eyes on cereal boxes influence consumer behavior, Boo-Berry, doubling down on strengths,

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Strategic advisory and venture capital firm with Brand New Matter…

Brian Harniman (Co-Founder and Managing Director, and member of founding team at Priceline – (bio)) and Krish Jagirdar (Vice President – (bio)) of Brand New Matter (a New York-based strategic advisory and venture capital firm that helps companies at any stage grow smarter and faster, starting with signature 30-Day Deep Dives), join Pavan Bahl and John Matson at the MouthMedia Network Studios.

Priceline and Robot Dog, exploring the meaning of success, and Krispy Kreme stories

Harniman reviews how he started in travel 20 years ago, recruited by a name your price company, and stayed for 10 years — as part of the founding team of Priceline. Jagirdar shares his background in film and finance, then working at top tier design firm Dom and Tom (and what Dom and Tom has in common with Priceline), then had own digital marketing agency Robot Dog, and learned the travel and hospitality industry building an app PlusMore. How Brand New Matter couples advisory and investment services, the 30 Day Deep Dive, exploring the meaning of success, collaboration rooted in empathy, a tolerated failure rate, help with extracting value and supporting that, helping companies dubug your company for a better foundation, defining success, risk assessment, perhaps a capital deployment, being specific to the business in the deep collaboration, and verticals such as liquor and spirits, travel, and health and wellness. And, everyone has a Krispy Kreme doughnut story.

Scale goals and vanity metrics, testing market, and stages of validation

Matson shares a listener-submitted question, how the investment process is a timeline instead of one time event, why having scale goals can be a vanity metrics, the need to prove that people want and need a product, and understand it and will use it, and then a market that will support it. The companies must have stepped through stages of validation to earn trust and establish that the business makes sense. How it doesn’t make sense to put the whole product out in a marketplace right away. The need to just show a plan to validate that the business should exist.

Hotel data, investing in travel businesses, and perfect Sundays

How hotels are using data and why hotels have been doing that wrong. Why legacy systems should not always be replaced, and the dynamics and considerations of investing in travel businesses. Personal Questions with Off the Beaten path covers a Day of Isolation, perfect Sundays, ordering a #13 bagel, coaching sports for kids, and the right places to grow up, Berlin, Parisian teachers, work/life balance, and when an industry folds back on itself.

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Hotel operations connection platform with ALICE…

Alex Shashou, Co-Founder & President of ALICE (an operations system for every department in a hotel, connecting staff and guests – (bio)), joins Pavan Bahl and John Matson at the MouthMedia Network Studios.

Building partnerships, tracking and transitioning work, and the market opportunity

Shashou shares the biggest growth transition of ALICE, how is addresses the last frontier of travel, allows all department to communicate, gives guests access, connects different software systems, and how ALICE is building great partnerships with big names. Working primarily with high end 3 star to 5 star hotels, how it was started 2012 and moved from a guest app to a back end player that changed the business model, how the open API is utilized, tracking employee work, transitioning work from shift to shift, that hotels are not technology companies but a service company, and how boutique brands are building own guest experience and their own apps but using ALICE for the operational complexity. Now at 500 locations serviced, in Europe and North America, more than 150,000 non-chain hotels are the market, with a focus on hotels big enough to matter but not so small not to matter.

Learning from pizza, easy set up, and the power of the concierge

The book “Crossing the Chasm”, and the tech reason and learning teachable moment that Dominos pizza was the snack. What implementation is like for a customer, how long it takes to be fully operational and to be staging information, clever ways to integrate with a property management system, how ALICE can be set up in one night if needed but takes time to get used to, being able to upsell through the platform via effort from the concierge, how it is not just about the bottom line but also giving each staff member the tools to get their job done.

All hands on deck, company books, and why not Asia

ALICE has all hands deck at the company every Tuesday with a global call. Reading books together as a company, which helps create both a company and a vernacular. And what has prevented Alice from expanding to Asia so far. A round of personal questions with “Off the Beaten Path” looks at London vs. New Orleans, nutrition value of English food, upcoming nuptials, big hiring drive, and an impending announcement.

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Social impact travel experiences…

Michal Alter, Co-Founder and CEO at visit.org (building the world’s leading platform for social impact travel experiences, allowing millions of users to discover, support, and interact with ‘do-good’ organizations both virtually and in-person – (profile)) joins Pavan Bahl, John Matson and Peter Crysdale in the MouthMedia Studios, powered by Sennheiser.

A heavy social mission, surviving the early years, and boots on the ground

Alter discusses local and authentic activities while traveling, and how they will benefit each local community via dollars spent, how she had privilege to travel for prolonged periods of time and had enough time to randomly meet and interact with local people, inspiring the company. And why a heavy social mission, how Alter then became a director for refugee affairs, then serving community of 100k refugees and immigrants. How Visit.org is in 76 countries, aiming for 2,000 experiences, and how they got a crazy cool URL. Existing as a for-profit social enterprise, how early success and recognition allowed the company to survive while cultivating users and experiences, having boots on the ground and vigorous online research and approach, and all providers are local non-profits and social ventures.

An exploding market, a big place in the industry, and looking ahead

Looking at today as an exciting time for tours and activities and how that market is exploding. OTAs growing their own suppliers for this, what makes Visit.org unique is that the ability to work effectively with suppliers who traditionally are very hard to work with, and building infrastructure for travel with a cause for rest of travel industry. Expanding into metropolitan areas, big partnerships with OTAs and hotels, Visit.org seeing itself as powering and building infrastructure in the industry. For many suppliers it is the first time to earn revenue that is sustainable, how 20-30% of travelers who visited organizations continued a relationship afterwards, consideration of 1.2 billion international travelers a year with the goal to have 1/3 of those have a half day Visit.org experience. The product can be added to a trip itinerary.

Egypt, the Israeli Air Force, and breaking the rules

Growing up desert Sanai in Egypt, a pristine place on earth, serving in Israeli air force as one of first female pilots cadets and a commander, what lessons have been taken away in building team and driving company, team-members sticking to shared mission, knowing when to be taking things lightly, trusting yourself to be a leader, taking advice from the best people out there, and not accepting rules but instead breaking them.

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Mobility and redefining urban life with Postmates, Chariot and Ford…

Brandon Teitel (profile), VP of Brand Strategy at Postmates (an on-demand logistics company that operates a network of couriers who deliver goods locally), and Brittany Lewis (profile), Marketing Manager at Chariot (a crowdsourced commuter shuttle service and a Ford Smart Mobility Company), join Pavan Bahl, Peter Crysdale and guest host Amy Jung (Co-founder of Raw Haus) in front of a live audience on location at the Ford Hub NYC (Ford’s first brand experience studio) at the Westfield World Trade Center . Music used with permission from Cassidy Andrews. This episode is powered by Sennheiser.

Two mobility companies, partnerships, and regional considerations

Teitel discusses partnerships, and making sure Postmates is becoming a household name. Lewis talks crowd-sourced data, New York as a fourth city, helping cities and urban areas and reducing congestion and increase mobility. Postmates as a remote control for your life. As heads of branding and growth, both Teitel and Lewis are well connected to the organization, partnerships are the key to growing the company, considering regional behaviors and how that affects the marketing and operational approach, and changing the model to be responsive.

Utilizing data and user input, growth strategy, and surprise cookies

A deeper dive into partnerships, the use of data, utilizing user input to determine routes and cities, partnering with governments and corporations to solve transportation problems for employees, how urban used to go to suburban, but now the need to be servicing suburban areas. Growth strategy, Chariot’s 65 million dollar cash deal and responsibility. Organic partnerships vs. big marketing initiatives, and a surprise delivery!

Parma, Jim Cramer, and candy

And then a special offer! A round of personal questions in “Off the Beaten Path” covers favorite international cities, whether Parmesan cheese come from Parma, Sao Paulo, winter here/summer there, how a job at Jim Cramer’s Mad Money led to another job, how people live their lives, creating the future of cities, “Postmating” the entire candy aisle, and being too busy with a cookie to answer a question.

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Chariot’s first NYC crowd-funded commuter route…

Brittany Lewis, Marketing Manager for Chariot (an app-based crowd-sourced commuter service and Ford Smart Mobility Company – (profile)) joins Marc Raco in the MouthMedia Network Studios powered by Sennheiser for a special announcement on a new crowd-funded route.

Lewis announces that after a month-and-a-half in Chariot’s fourth City, launching first crowd-funded route in New York City on October 10th, 2017. She clarifies how a crowd-sourced route works, why Chariot’s model is a significant urban opportunity, how urban growth created mobility issues, and Chariot and Ford looking at how to help get people where they need to go while considering other city issues. The sense of community with Chariot, the notion of on-demand and a personal experience, fostering the sense of community in the rides in a place like New York, and launching quickly after the first two routes in NYC. Plus, naming the service routes, and a special connection on a chariot for Lewis personally.

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Travel app with intelligent filters help you find trips that suit your time, destination preferences and budget…

Gillian Morris, Co-founder and CEO of Hitlist (a mobile app which sends users personalized, proactive alerts when there are cheap flights – profile), joins John Matson, Peter Crysdale and Marc Raco in the MouthMedia Network Studios in New York, powered by Sennheiser.

Optimal timing, a price graph, and an organic rate of growth

Morris discusses how the app alerts you, and how Hitlist monitors 50 million flights of data a day, and helps to save time and money and get you traveling more. How other flight search engines are about if you want to book right now and know what you want and where to go, but how booking at optimal times can save a lot of money. Driving the purchase so customers know the right moment, the price graph, how Hitlist has a use case, the way the organic growth rate is going up, being at a million users, and pride that they didn’t have to raise a lot of money.

Deals and value, targeted inspiration, and a wide open space for innovation

The genesis of the company from a spreadsheet solving Morris’ own problem, like Tinder for cities, how people will pay a premium for convenience, and that deals mean good value, not the cheapest. How Hitlist has moved into idea of lists and collections and specific trips, narrowing down to date or destination ideas (such as specific holidays) for targeted inspiration. The revenue from affiliate booking, deals to places like Iceland that has subsidized airlines or travel to bring people into the destination, jetBlue’s innovation, people who get into travel startups for loving travel instead of solving a problem – how the right businesses are not getting built. And there is a wide-open space for things not getting addressed right now.

Last minute Turkey, an Iranian Secret Service, and good grammar

Off the Beaten Path covers least planned, last-minute trip from Istanbul to the coast of Turkey, going from terror to legitimacy, good grammar, going places that are changing, being followed by an Iranian secret service person, and Gaza Sky Geeks.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How rewarding employees for responsible corporate travel saves money and boosts morale…

A misalignment — between the intent of corporate travel policies and the way employees manage travel expenses — results in tremendous financial waste. Dan Ruch, Founder of Rocketrip, offers insights on a behavioral change platform for large organizations interested in controlling travel costs and creating a positive climate, with employees rewarded for great behavior. Guest host Nick Vivion, Editorial Director of tnooz, joins hosts Pavan Bahl and John Matson at the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser. (Ruch’s profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danruch/)

Splitting the savings, motivating and changing behavior, and an employee perk

Ruch discusses how travel is an emotional product and a misunderstood industry, how employees rewarded for great behavior, the ability to predict what a trip should cost, and proactively rewarding the behavior of employees who reduce travel costs and go above and beyond the call of duty (travel policy). How, if an employee beats a budget, half of the savings goes to the company, half to the employee, and how companies are usually controlling policies and creating friction as the usual way to control costs. Rocketrip’s guarantee policy, motivating and changing behavior, predictable motivation, and encouraging employees to save money. How employees become competitive within the company, and the platforms is a cost savings program masquerading as an employee perk, and an employee benefit program that pays for itself and helps retain and motivate talent.

Inspiration and genesis, behavior economics, and being platform agnostic

The genesis of the idea, how airlines and hospitality predictable rational humans that do predictably irrational things, the need for people to want to belong to something that has status. Inspiration from Google travel program, although with a difference, financial incentives are not in cash—instead giving points in the Rocketrip platform that can be redeemed via the platform or donated. The importance that employees do something with the rewards that keep the memories going. And how Bitcoin—and investment opportunity—can be accessed through the savings. Big industry players, Concur and other larger players in corporate travel space, how Rocketrip is platform agnostic, companies like Sabre and Amadeus, how many travel managers have not kept up with innovation enough as a matter of their function.

Gold stars, a venture fund, and tin cans in the sky

Gamification, and how the process is like getting a gold star and economic motivation and being all about determining what the employee will need to offset their cost to make a change. Not competing with other platforms, the process of developing and launching Rocketrip, brainstorming inside of a venture fund, the YCombinator journey, and advice on raising money. Personal questions cover tin cans in the sky, flight efficiency, teenagers teaching senior citizens how to use computers, and lessons from shoveling driveways.

Hear other great MouthMedia Network shows powered by Sennheiser at www.mouthmedianetwork.com .

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Five innovative travel startup companies pitch industry leaders and investors at Voyager HQ …

The companies and judges gathered at the Voyager HQ Clubhouse in New York City for Travel Pitch Night, sponsored by Amadeus. Panelists and audience judged each startup on presentation, business model’s viability, product/market fit, and fundability. This episode powered by Sennheiser.

The companies that pitched:

Samantha Ruiz (CEO/Co-Founder)  – Well Traveled

Rebecca Lima (CEO/Co-Founder) – Ment

Matthew Lerner (CEO/Founder)  – MetroButler

Lisa Israelovitch (CEO/Founder) – Umapped

Eyal Raab (Business Development) – Riskified

Panel of judges:

Kerri Zeil, Head of Amadeus for Startups

Christophe Allard, Director North America at Brussels Airlines

Werner Georg Kunz-Cho, Co-CEO of Fareportal

Gillian Morris, Co-Founder & CEO of Hitlist

Hear more podcasts from MouthMedia Network at www.mouthmedianetwork.com .

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Covering travel, leisure, food and wine with Time, Inc…

Christina Grdovic (bio), Managing Director (overseeing advertising sales and marketing) of Food & Wine and Travel + Leisure Magazines at Time, Inc., join Peter Crysdale (Co-Founder of ReCorp), Pavan Bahl (CEO Open Source Business), and Tamara Wood for the second episode of Travel Is Your Business podcast.

Starting with Time, Inc., new media, and content

Grdovic discusses how she got to know and became involved with Food and Wine and Travel and Leisure, and the scope of the brands, publications and the work. New media, using data and the way it is packaged and sold, analyzing focus on content coverage, the relation to what advertisers need, how research shows people spend more money overall when traveling, and playing in luxury travel.

Innovation, native content, and Top Chef

Trying to keep up with the changing travel industry, and keeping a pulse on innovation. Comparing travel advisors as friends telling you where to go and what to do, and augmented reality as a possible replacement. How native content on travel is becoming less commercial-like, the impact of social media on showcasing food and travel, scarcity vs. universality, expert vs. user-generated content, controlling content, and how it is getting harder to create an exclusive experience. Why loyalty programs are important, a content-to-commerce shift and concerns around it, and the journey in developing campaigns and content for clients. Separating marketing vs. editorial as church and state, a focus on sharing, and a user-generated photography contest with a chance to become a travel and leisure photographer. Plus, the story of getting involved with Top Chef, and the significant impact from it.

Machu Picchu, Croatia, and bad vacations

Off the Beaten Path offers up some personal questions, covering Peru, a partial Machu Picchu hike, Croatia and Yugoslavia, and were those really bad vacations?

References:

• #treatyoself
• Takashi Japanese restaurant
• Gail Simmons
• Food and Wine Festival in Aspen

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The most influential B2B news resources for the travel industry…

Arnie Weissmann, Editor in Chief of Travel Weekly, discusses the 60-year+ publication, embracing technology, and proper PR behavior with hosts Pavan Bahl and John Matson along with guest host Nick Vivion of tnooz, in the MouthMedia Network Studios powered by Sennheiser. (Weissmann’s profile)

Sixty years of experience, AOL and ATT, and print vs. digital

Weissmann discusses how Travel news offers the opportunity to be learning from experienced deep domain experts, the launch of more than 60 years ago to becoming one of the most influential resources in the travel industry, how Travel News has been online since 1997 and continues to be strong, big involvement with events, and how Weissmann likes to be a “player and coach”, in management and into interviews and writing. How the movement of technology allowed Travel Weekly to grow and get a foot in the door with AOL, providing core destination content for AOL for years. ATT had them build a business travel website, Twitter chats result in more than 100 million impressions, why they haven’t been more committed to video, curation differences between print and digital, and the difference in storytelling real estate.

Brand strength, the recent rise of travel agents, and a PR pet peeve

How B to B media is a more sustainable business model, the significance of brand strength, loyalty, the impact of time poverty, how different publications look at specific angles of the industry, a focus on distribution that is mostly travel agents, a recent rise of travel agents, what’s old is new, and how those who embraced tech have survived. Respect for readers, uncovering stories, a disturbing trend, a PR pet peeve, and the horrible the phone call of “did you get my email?”. How the subject line must grab you, and relationship matters in getting a reply from an editor or publisher.

College dropout turns writer, rambling vs. traveling, and camping in a Doge Dart

Personal questions cover Weissmann’s first significant story he wrote, being undirected, college coursing in Japanese tea ceremony, bowling, oil painting, organic gardening and more resulting in dropping out of college, how saving money and travelling led to blossoming as a writer when not structured or pressured, an extensive camping trip in a Dodge Dart, rambling vs. traveling, camping in ten countries in Africa, working as a nanny in Cyprus, picking fruit in Israel, making choices to experience more instead of rushing, and where in the world would he have liked to grow up. Gross National Happiness, when a guide makes all the difference, how the travel industry is fragile, and seeking a good story that is bigger than a company and progresses a narrative.

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Online Travel Agencies with Fareportal and CheapOair…

Sam Jain (bio), CEO/Founder of Fareportal, CheapOair and OneTravel.com, Board Chairman of Voyager HQ, joins Peter Crysdale (Co-Founder of ReCorp), Pavan Bahl (CEO of Open Source Business), Rob Sanchez (COO of Open Source Business), and Marc Raco (CPO of Open Source Business) for the first episode of Travel Is Your Business podcast.

Taking initiative to fill a gap, customer service, and introducing technology

In one of his few in-depth interviews ever, Jain covers why he started CheapOair to fill a gap in current digital online travel space, and because of the lack large contact center presence. How his background in business-to-business and customer service led to creating a digital online travel agency with a customer service focus, now the only OTA today with a toll free number on every web page, and more than 2,000 travel agents full time.

Turning a 4k debt on AmEx card into a huge business by trying to solve a dysfunction. his “coming to America” story inspired by a family jewelry business, an idea sparked by working a year for no money at a small travel agency, and buying tickets from wholesalers, the two worlds of published fares and consolidated wholesale net traded flights. The impact of Jain introducing technology with simple databases, and pivoting into an ecommerce business. Getting into the business with a model as a flight focused OTA, and providing a great user experience with a three step booking path and strong customer service, going up against four established players, and the complexity of the processes and transactions, such as 80,000 schedule changes per month.

Learning from pivots, user experience, and Voyager

Jain assertion that ecommerce is not complex when focused on product and having a depth of knowledge on one’s vertical, bootstrapping CheapOair as a pivot to go directly to the customer, a prior failed pivot, and lessons learned when getting into the hotel space. The importance of keeping focus on a core product and knowledge, and defending against OTA’s with cheaper flights with diversity of channels. How the entire seamless user experience is important from the beginning to post-transaction, and keeping target on getting repeat visitors to lower acquisition costs,

New technologies and the space being innovated, the new ability to book Amtrak, and focusing on mobile first. The Voyager incubator co-working space as an eyes and ears on innovation, looking at artificial intelligence, the value of the startup mindset, and a determination to tap into that talent pool.

Monkey commerce, dealing fruit, and global travels

The personal questions of Off the Beaten Path travels to Mathura, India, witnesses monkey commerce, dreams of a fruity excuse to go to Honolulu, and enjoys pizza in Nepal.

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Analyzing the intent of online consumer journeys in travel…

Richard Harris, CEO of Intent Media (operating the world’s most powerful platform for advertising on commerce sites, with ads running across a network of leading travel websites), discusses how “digital exhaust” becomes valuable real time user intent data, sharing competitive information and rates develops loyalty, the distinction between search and commerce, and building a successful company culture. Recorded with hosts John Matson, Pavan Bahl, and guest host Nick Vivion of tnooz in the MouthMedia Network Studios powered by Sennheiser.

Travelocity two ways, repurposing digital exhaust, and Dubonnet wine

Harris reveals how he and his partners started as consultants, sold their company to Travelocity, then took over Travelocity, exited, then started Intent Media. He discusses the essence of the company as taking tools of machine learning to predict what users are trying to get accomplished and then solving that in real time to give them the user experience they want. Using predictive analytics regarding that someone won’t buy, and helping them get where they want to go, how keys are to be useful to customer, provide utility that links to even a competitor, and to monetize that. Found data of customer journey, realizing their intent, then the digital “exhaust” becomes real time user intent data, value added for user. How Harris and his partners realized “money will fall on their heads”. How showing competitive information and rates increases loyalty to the site, and positioning as a great place to start a search, how taking a competitive risk brings trust, and the way cooperative efforts allow competitors to send opportunities to each other in the travel vertical. And Dubonnet Rouge Aperitif Wine makes an appearance during snack time.

Opening walled gardens of data, search vs. commerce, and multi-vertical potential

A look at how search technology can be different and the way merchandising is done is different, how the consumer is trained to use 20 different sites, and if sorting is different, it gives impression different inventory. How using data that comes from one particular source is only used for benefit of that source, walled gardens will break open, and the benefits of a neutral arbiter to use network wide data—and, now, its is more walled. Blurred lines in digital commerce, how Amazon fits in, the why the distinction between search and commerce is arbitrary. Consumers just want to have help making a decision and getting it done. Sharing of anonymous data, dealing with various data sets, and how now much of the incoming data is digital so it is pushed in real time and more accurate. Plus, customer profiles in travel are deep, with multi vertical potential.

Superior workplace culture, hotels and direct booking, and the year-long honeymoon

The remarkable working culture of Intent Media, how it has been one of the best places to work for 6 years straight, a focus on dogs, and whether the culture is mapped out or organic? Hotels and direct booking, why Intent got into that world and bought Voyat. Off the Beaten Path personal questions cover inspiring and beautiful New Guinea, a year-long honeymoon, giving children a multicultural, well-rounded perspective including India, a book that impacted Harris’ executive path, and staying out of the emotional ups and downs of running a business.

Hear more podcasts from MouthMedia Network at www.mouthmedianetwork.com

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A new, better way to move with a zero-emission hop-on, short-trip transportation alternative using pedicabs…

Jeff Thomashow and Steven Aitkenhead, Co-founders of HOST Transportation (re-imagining the traditional pedicab for the 21st century by providing urban dwellers a quick, affordable way to move locally through cities), join John Matson and Pavan Bahl in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

Good experiences mean adoption, why pedicabs, and being a brand extension

Thomashow and Aitkenhead discuss pedicabs as a last mile option, how their sweet spot and launchpad is the East Village in NYC, getting over the resistance of pedicabs, how people tend to immediately adopt if they try a service and have a good experience, providing music, phone chargers, and tapping into Millennial mindset in the pedicabs, all customized by personal, human connection. Why pedicabs, partnering with brands to provide a neighborhood level transportation service, how “Instagrammable” are moments, how effective the pedicabs are when wrapped beautifully with brand extension, moving them into the digital sphere, and — hand stuffed donuts for a snack.

Bumble, branded cabs, creating a level of joy and engagement

Working with brands, how most native New Yorkers have little-to-no perception of pedicabs in NYC, putting an institution and a brand and trust behind this industry, making pedicabs something to trust and to enjoy the experience, and rebranding, the company name Hop On Short Trips (HOST), looking for brands who are forward thinking, trying new things, and are generationally focused. A partnership with Bumble, closing the gap between the digital and physical, the importance of Millennials, and being able to trust brands. How branded pedicabs have stood out, whether experiential marketing agencies are a fit vs. going direct to brands, and believing in partnerships. How the business started in April, now having 6 pedicabs operating under brand, being in the test phase, creating a level of joy, and aligning with brands who want to become a part of the fabric of New York and a part of the weekend.

The future of mobility, a surplus of pedicabs, and a look at per-minute charges

The testing phase proved initial theories, tapping into the acting community for great experience as well as fitness trainers, and looking at potential partnerships with companies like Chariot. We have to wait for a lot of innovation because of traffic. The future of mobility is how far you are going. The opportunity for a shuttle between offices, an assumption of the app, issues with regulations in New York, and regulations provide for the per-minute charge. And, a surplus of pedicabs, bring stranded without a ride and being save by a UPS truck, the impact of transportation on when growing up, and how some things just have to be done. Plus, moving around the city doesn’t have to suck.

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Big picture global macro patterns and behaviors, with Sheryl Connelly…

Sheryl Connelly, Global Trends and Futuring Manager (a.k.a. Corporate Futurist) for Ford Motor Company, talks with MouthMedia Network President Pavan Bahl about the insights and implications of the 2018 Ford Trends Report. Recorded at the MouthMedia Network studios, powered by Sennheiser. Read the 2018 Ford Trends Report here.

Data for all, giving younger people purpose, and seeking solutions

Connelly reveals how the report previously was kept proprietary and inside Ford, but now it is cascading it widely, as it is functionally agnostic. The brief is that the more it was shared that Ford received more insights. She discusses how trust is a trend that can’t be overestimated. She reviews the personal note to the reader, and how disorientation, disparity, and inequities cannot be ignored anymore, that people want to explore them and look for solutions and how the world is committed to looking for solutions. Being thoughtful in how to engage young people to give them purpose, working in emerging markets, endeavoring to be sure Ford is meaning the same thing around the world, elevating to truly a global space. How the whole landscape of automotive industry is evolving, and Ford is playing a leadership role.

An activist awakening, mental and physical health, and the Ford Hub

Uncertainty and confusion globally, an activist awakening, discovering the degree of intolerance of opposing viewpoints, and the understanding of the impact of individual actions on change. When thinking about solutions, whether women can feel safe and have accessible options, a societal cultural shift, how mental well being goes along with physical health, creating a culture of curiosity that opens the door for innovation, the impact of sleep on health and weight loss, disconnecting from work in order to grow and explore, and mending the mind. Retail, and pop up retailers such as Story offers evolution in use case and agile experiences. And the Ford Hub brand experience in the World Trade Center Oculus in New York City.

Managing data, autonomous vehicles, and the changing family

How the younger generation doesn’t care about giving personal information, and how brands can be distinguished by how they act as stewards of info. Autonomous driving features/autonomous vehicles, how we are already driving a semiautonomous vehicle, so the building blocks are already there. Bringing autonomous vehicles widely into reality will be partly dependent on legal, municipal, and other influencers, and how with this comes a greater level of responsibility for Ford. In 2021, when Ford brings its first autonomous vehicles to the streets will they be ride hailing and package delivery vehicles. Ford is “all in” with major investment and commitment, and it is something definitely coming. What it looks like offers various possibilities, addressing concerns of jobs going away. In the past the biggest fear with automation was what we’d do with our leisure time, but that didn’t happen. A lot of data in the “singled out” section—a lot of data on what average family means, for first time in America’s history there are more single people than married. Yet people maintain that single people are treated differently, and the definition of the nuclear family has changed. What kind of vehicles does that now mean, understanding how shifts might change affects how and where production is determined.The future plays out in ways that are tough to imagine. The resilience of the human spirit, and awe inspiring, head scratching data.

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A special holiday message of thanks and warm wishes from hosts John and Pavan and everyone from Travel Is Your Business podcast. Happy Holidays!

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Shopping and travel packing list…

Chubi Nwagbara, Co-Founder at Emadri (and TheVane, the place to shop the items missing for your next trip), joins Pavan Bahl, John Matson and Peter Crysdale in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

Working with booking platforms, likely users, and impact of various factors on recommendations

Nwagbara discusses communication flow, how client partners have multiple options, how bookings are pushed to TheVane, then the info hits algorithm and the booking platform offers recommendations. Taking into account how weather, dates, gender, age, and purpose of travel all impact recommendations, the typical type of people who want to use and how it also affects recommendations, and why business travelers know what they need to pack so leisure travelers are the most likely users.

Data differences widgets and white labeling, and TheVane

Being able to give style preferences via social media, engaging consumers to learn more, and the difference in data collected and available between different parts of travel industry. The end goal and motivation to be in space for Emadri, providing widgets on travel sites, offering white labeling, and how TheVane is where they started and they have evolved. Having information on travelers in advance of trips, and what travelers are interested in doing on trips.

Revenue model, a sharing economy opportunity, and a lion mane

The value for retailers from an aggregated data standpoint, and how the value-add is the algorithm. The revenue model as software as a service or commission on sales of any product. Sharing economy vs. buying and delivery, some want for customization, some want for revenue, some for both. Airline partners vs. hotel partners, and how airlines provide more data. Personal questions with Off the Beaten Path cover Choose your own Adventure, the strangest item of clothing in a closet, and the mane of a real lion for Halloween.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All-in-one ride-hailing app making ride sharing transparent…

Payam Safa, Founder & CEO of Bellhop (an all-in-one ride-hailing app enabling price comparisons and ride-booking from multiple ride-sharing companies) joins Marc Raco, Nick Vivion (tnooz) and Brandon McKenzie (MetroButler) in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

A lack of transparency, bringing all into one, and obtaining API access

Safa discusses how consumers don’t have transparency across multiple apps, why Bellhop is starting with ride hailing, how many consumers shift between different apps in a non-transparent environment constantly shifting to find best ETA/price. Bellhop is bringing all apps into one, enabling consumers to make more informed decision to save time and money. Offering direct API access to companies, either building for them or first company to have access to API.

A race to the bottom, an ally in a new CEO, and loyalty programs

How rideshare companies are starting to accept their fate that they are interchangeable. A race to the bottom, capturing rideshare, no brand loyalty, determining the need/demand, and knowing ridesharing companies were determined to agree to this, and why the new CEO of Uber is a key to the opportunity. Potential loyalty programs at rideshare companies, incentives, and a potential program for random upgrades.

Data, global expansion, and the pain of pivoting

The data of Bellhop, price transparency for the consumer, and how the purpose of aggregating is the transparency. Why Bellhop changed focus onto ride hailing, and the initial version had one partner in a vertical (food delivery, ride hailing tours, etc). The name Bellhop and its fit with vision as business focus has changed, and whether this is a data play globally? The need to build supply in other markets in order to go international, working with air travel for most efficient way to travel, and an exciting pilot working with the Port Authority of NY and NJ along with other partnerships to grow demand. Plus, personal questions cover the path of pain of business pivots, and stirring things up on the dance floor.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Customer experience and customer support in travel and hospitality…

Brianne Kimmel, GTM (Growth, Marketing Strategy, Audience & Industry) at Zendesk (which builds software for better customer relationships, empowering organizations to improve customer engagement and better understand their customers) joins John Matson and Pavan Bahl in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

End-to-end communication, being more human, and driving innovation

Kimmel describes Zendesk as a software company which builds products to improve customer experience and customer support for companies like AirBnB, Expedia, etc. and end to end communication such as chatbots. Training representatives to speak more conversationally, humans to be more human, especially since most contacts are because of a problem and people expect a human response back. More conversational travel companies are driving innovation. OTAs feel responsible for customer experience, share info with providers.

Data insights, Zendesk for startups, and the future of changing travel

Data insights driven to clients, a foundation for great marketing, thinking a lot around AI, machine learning, voice, how you build self-serve knowledge base. Zendesk for Startups, free software of full suite of products for 12 months for startups (including support), ensuring startups talk to customers early and often and ask the right questions. The future of mobility, the way people traveling changing, how autonomous vehicles can change travel and media consumption, fewer people owning cars, how that will impact weekend getaways, and marketing, starting the funnel and targeting.

Sydney, China, and hyper-local community building

Kimmel living in Sydney for years, building a local product in China, building hyper local communities, early performance marketing, paid user acquisition. How building local communities is very different in China, working with local community managers. Surfing and sailing in Sydney, and loving Cape Town in South Africa.

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B2B2C global distribution platform for in-destination experiences with Simplenight…

Mark Halberstein discusses how destination experiences fit into an $800 billion global business, and how the tech infrastructure for searching and booking is fragmented, consumers have to use a number of sites and apps, which is inefficient and time wasting.

Halberstein, Founder/CEO of SIMPLENIGHT (a Global Experience Platform™ providing cloud based distribution, inventory management, merchandising and technology solutions for the travel industry) joins Marc Raco and Nick Vivion (tnooz) in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

Defragmenting experiences, a GDS with various touchpoint, and what’s next in the mix

He discusses how destination experiences fit into an $800 billion global business, and how the tech infrastructure for searching and booking is fragmented, consumers have to use a number of sites and apps, which is inefficient and time wasting. A GDS for in destination experiences, tours/activities, box office events, night life, etc., how this made them sellable, building a cloud-based one-stop shopping experience, offering an API, various touch points, OTAs, search engines, a layer of in-vehicle destination planning in the future, partnerships with Jaguar and Land Rover, how it can be a booking flow, banner ad, SMS, in the concierge desktop, and many other touchpoints, out on property and off property seamlessly to serve to the customer. How meetings and car rentals are on the radar as future sectors in the mix.

Creating an infrastructure, the name, and harnessing data and insights

How developing relationships and understanding pain points has been critical to growing the business. And that if you can design the proper infrastructure for distribution and hosting content across categories, the supply community will seek you out. Origins and implications of the name SIMPLENIGHT, and how a great day leads to a simple night. Allowing people to arrange a superior and remarkable experience, business-to-business vs. consumer facing versions of SIMPLENIGHT, an original vision of one-stop shop for fun, looking at when data is shared, making SIMPLENIGHT smarter and knowing you better, anticipating desires and needs, and utilizing and harnessing data and insights.

Listening, experiencing the world, and becoming your audience

Personal Questions cover making sure to enjoy experiences at every destination, photography, the importance of listening and try to listen even more. Becoming your audience, trusting your gut and being in tune with market. Halberstein is listening a lot to his wife and her influence, always being open to new opportunities and to meeting new people, and the reason to make sure and experience the world.

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Making a real income as an outstanding AirBnB Host…

Evelyn Badia, Founder of The Hosting Journey, joins Pavan Bahl and Brandon McKenzie (MetroButler), in a conversation about her journey as an AirBnB Host and coach for other hosts, in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Badia’s work as an AirBnB Host and AirBnB Coach, teaching how to do AirBnB right
• Her prior work as a producer for TV commercials
• Why she started hosting when economy shifted, before AirBnB was popular.
• Living with strangers vs. losing your house, and learning about this from a NY Times article
• A lot of people start AirBnB out of necessity, and then decide they like it
• How Badia had too much time on her hands, then started traveling, then moved from casual hosting to it as a full time job, then a hosting coaching career (in part due to her lawyer)
• When AirBnB hosting became a six figure income for Badia
• How she never stopped because the economy never picked up, and jobs were never the same
• How she was talking about AirBnB too much, and coaching became the obvious thing
• That time the AirBnB founders tapped her to talk in New York when things were starting to happen there with AirBnB
• Vacation rental owner typically have different mindsets than AirBnB hosts, how it is about need vs. privilege
• Why AirBnB may be moving away to some degree marketing of individuality of hosts, even hotels on platform
• Implications of prospective regulatory issues on certain visitors
• How the character of the guest has changed over time
• The importance of cleanliness, new sheets, why Badia doesn’t do bar soaps, the importance of an amazing house manual, and sharing the things on your neighborhood you know, being very specific
• Buying for the refrigerator, make sure basic things have been provided (ie, milk)
• Pricing strategy, how everything affects business — from weather to politics – adjusting weekly
• The Hosting Journey open Facebook group for hosts international
• Is a full time tenant a good idea?
• How Badia is staying connected to community, podcast, webinars,
• Being very clear about offerings and what an AirBnB host provides
• Horror stories, and how guests have even seen Badia naked
• What is it like living with strangers all the time, how Badia’s personal life navigates around being an AirBnB host
• Why Badia doesn’t care about her personal and AirBnB lives mixing, and why she prefers guests who are exploring NYC
• And the goal of a future TV show
• Selling sauce that won the “Oscars of sauce”, triathalons, and how having an AirBnB allowed her the flexibility to deal with health issues

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Utilizing tourism as a force to solve United Nations global sustainability goals…

The decisions travelers make on their trips have a lasting impact on the global community. Whether an elephant wrangler added to an Instagram story, or the hotels travelers choose to stay at, how can travelers align travel itineraries to align with the UN’s goals for sustainability. Kelley Louise, Founder of Impact Travel Alliance (a non-profit organization and community for travelers and travel professionals interested in improving the world via travel and tourism) joins hosts John Matson and Nick Vivion (tnooz) in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Louise discusses the nature of the global goals for the UN, and how, while many doubt the travel industry can solve them, the travel industry can be a significant force of meeting those goals
• Global goal number one, no poverty, and using tourism as a force to solve that
• Launching an initiative last year of hosting a multi-chapter event, with several cities at the same time, themed with addressing a global goal (currently: innovation)
• Impact Travel Alliance as a non profit, and a community for travel and travel professionals interested in improving the world via travel
• Launching the first chapter less than 3 years ago, now some 30 chapters worldwide
• What is cool about improving the world through travel, and how it is universally appealing
• Sustainable tourism focused on business and leisure travel, small pivots that make a big difference, such as donations to charity resulting in discounts on hotels
• Why sustainable tourism/travel doesn’t have to be only budget or luxury
• How The Culture Collective started as blog, became a creative agency, with Louise landing a job in Uganda, then traveling all around and learning a lot about sustainable tourism
• The challenge and opportunity of helping brands identify demographics
• Vegan donuts
• What sustainable travel really means
• The power of immersive experiences in changing travel behaviors and priorities
• How the Impact Travel Alliance is eager and open to collaboration, sharing best practices with one another
• The three parts of Impact Travel Alliance: global conferences, local chapters, and a media network
• How Louise learned to plan events, and how her personal drive to do so is wanting a place in the community that felt like a home in the travel industry
• Seeing something in tourism that is negatively impacting the world, such as elephant tourism in places like Thailand, and a “paradise” that is surprisingly polluted
• Thinking about what one’s long-term impact on the environment is when traveling, and how some things feel good but don’t have a positive long-term impact
• Sustainable experiences are empowering and often the most memorable experiences

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daily bag and luggage storage as part of the sharing economy…

Every year, millions of travelers have the same experience when they check out of their AirBnB: what do they do with their luggage when trying to take in the sights on their last day of the trip? This is the story of someone who had to leave a street-wide amount of luggage under a staircase while traveling, and how they turned that into a business venture — “an AirBnB for luggage.”

Selin Sonmez, Co-founder of Knock Knock City, a storage network connecting travelers, commuters and urbanites to nearby local shops that brings the sharing economy to short-term storage of luggage and personal Items, joins hosts John Matson (VoyagerHQ), Nick Vivion (tnooz), and Brandon McKenzie (MetroButler) in the MouthMedia Network studios in New York, powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Why AirBnBs for luggage are bubbling up suddenly, including because of how established AirBnB has become, the shared economy mindset, and how it is becoming an instinct to shareHow the fact that Knock Knock City is working with local shops enlists trust, and the shops want to make use of extra space
• How businesses are reacting to the business model,
• Retail shops are losing business to platforms like Amazon, looking for additional revenue, users enter the store twice, expanding exposure to, and traffic in, the shop, and how $2/bag per hour can actually add up
• How AirBnB hosts react and handle advising guests on this service
• The goal of digital verification system, which for now collects basic info through social media sign up, then the host is notified, and zip ties are fastened on the luggage or items with custom numbers for extra security
• The fact that Knock Knock City hasn’t interacted with AirBnB Corporate yet, but is a supportive part of the community and on the list of AirBnB supportive services
• What is driving more demand — AirBnB? Shopping? Business travels?
• The kinds of shops most likely to partner, considerations of foot traffic, breakable items, available space
• Why dry cleaners might be great partners
• Looking at and learning from the patterns of users changing their storage plan as their travel and activity plans change
• Future-pacing third-party pickup and drop off services
• Makes use of existing unused space, how the use doesn’t take away from a marketing budget or interfere with operations
• Knock Knock City’s oal to grow into more cities, reach as many people as possible, why it is easy to grow into other cities, given the absence of high infrastructure costs since primarily it is signing people up digitally
• How empty space is shown available via the app, and managing location business hour limitations and any contingencies
• Packing styles, roll or fold?
• That time Sonmez was in Philadelphia, with trade show materials in huge suitcases, and needed to leave them unattended under the staircase at the AirBnB brownstone, and how this inspired a business
• The goal of helping people to do what they want to and go where they want to: moving freely

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An international network of co-living spaces…

What does it mean to be location independent? Dane Andrews, Co-Founder and Head of Growth at Roam (a co-living and co-working community testing the boundaries between work, travel and life adventure) joins John Matson and Nick Vivion (tnooz) in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• How Roam provides for people interested in “Nomadicism”, solving logistical things, and how the difference is the people and the community available the instant you’re in a new city
• How usually you just get to know people when you’re leaving and can’t get deep with people, really know them – and Roam allows you to have people in your life in that city immediately, with authentic interaction, with the spaces set up that way
• A lot is about architecture of space, designer by trade, the social dynamics of hospitality, with a focus more than most co-working providers
• How, while looking like an urban city, it is not about price per square foot, and more about setting up for interactions and maximizing happiness
• Common denominators of seeking out happiness, and how curiosity binds people together
• Various global places differ more in logistics than mindset
• Play spaces, and how design and architecture are intended to be inspiring, and seeing yourself there
• The origin of Roam International, wanting to see them all over the world
• Viewing Roam spaces them as your home, housing from a different perspective instead of hospitality
• Connecting with people via private social media groups
• The 2,000 alumni (“Roamers”), and how they get stamps on their “passport” for going to all properties
• Next properties in London and Tokyo
• A cornbread story
• The company’s financial model, and how they started with leasing properties,
• Benefitting from the idea of AirBnB being around for years, and how they set precedent for how similar models work
• How Roam has a hotel license, which allows people to stay
• Marketing for the company, as somewhere between an apartment an a hotel
• Andrews’ first trip as a child, and finding oneself, finding a Phoenix local in the “dodgiest” place (Athens)
• Never about being exclusive, and always about inclusive

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Responsible travel & tourism with a group adventure travel operator…

Eduardo Cartaya, Regional Sales Manager of G Adventures (G Adventures is a Toronto-based adventure travel company with a wide selection of small-group tours, safaris and expeditions) joins John Matson and Nick Vivion (tnooz) in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Cartaya shares how the way constructing travel was going to a purpose, then G Adventures realized that was why people were traveling with them – because it was both affordable and immersive
• The impact made from altering the local supply chain, insisting on using locally owned business, immersive attractions, spending money more responsibly than other operators in the field
• How the company can make more money, make a difference simply by showing people a fantastic vacation
• Marketing/customer acquisition, going after the immersive travelers who want to do something exceptional and to give back as much as they take
• Trying to impact everyone that tourism touches, doing the right thing part of five core values
• Approaching sales, selling values, selling sustainability, a lot of storytelling of interactions, things they care about can be political, more than 20 offices in 18 countries
• How for 40 poorest nations in world tourism is primary economic driver, and how incentivized trips work to up tourism
• Partnerships, and a partnership with National Geographic
• How G Adventures travelers can maintain their travel independence while traveling with a group
• When traveling brings surprises

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last minute travel subscription service, cheap tickets in exchange for a monthly fee…

Rama Poola, CEO of SkyHi (the first on-demand service for commercial airline tickets.), joins John Matson and Nick Vivion (tnooz) in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• About SkyHi’s most interesting recent use case, with people using it to go to Sundance Film festival, one click and they were ready to fly to Salt Lake City
• How last minute travel is a bit of a business case
• Looking at how removing all pricing allows free flowing travel action
• How SkyHi wasn’t originally targeting corporate travelers, and was marketed toward digital nomads, but realized business people were joining
• How an experience in Lisbon created an idea for the business
• Why technology has been traditionally stifled in the travel industry
• The way SkyHi found a strategic partner out of Hungary who had done this before
• The business model of SkyHi
• OTAs seem to want to haggle for the business, they want the customer to buy, but keep it a distance from them
• How SkyHi is making it easier for customer, but price arbitraging in a seamless, invisible way
• Booking within a minute is game changing in itself
• Loving the experience of flying

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Hosted by industry leaders and relevant business experts, Travel Is Your Business (TIYB) podcast features discussions inspired by recent news, useful in-depth interviews with thought leaders, innovators and top brands setting the pace and changing the face of travel, announcements by business leaders on initiatives and milestones, and commentary about virtually anything in between — making insights into business and technology within the travel industry entertaining, meaningful and accessible.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Events, publications, education, and technology for the travel industry with Northstar…

Tom Cintorino, EVP of Digital for Northstar Travel Media (the leading B2B information, business intelligence, commerce and events platform serving the travel industry) joins host John Matson in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• How Northstar’s team of outstanding editors, ground-breaking journalists, engaging educators and savvy directors is unrivaled in the Travel Industry
• In-depth articles explore the industry’s most critical issues
• Education platforms for travel agents and meetings planners about global travel destinations
• How events play a role in travel industry relationships, because we’re human and we need to meet, and how that concept is right in the center of travel
• The many publications of Northstar including Travel Weekly, Travel Weekly Asia, Travel Weekly China, TravelAge West
• Travel technology such as Phocuswright, Inntopia, Web in Travel
• Meetings & Conventions in the US, China and Asia
• SportsTravel , Corporate Travel, Business Travel News, The Beat, Travel Procurement
• Notable events such as The Phocuswright Conference, Phocuswright Europe, WIT Singapore, Mountain Travel Symposium, CruiseWorld, Global Travel Marketplace, Global Travel Marketplace West, The Beat Live, Innovate, etc.
• How Cintorino became involved with Northstar after the grind of the startup world
• Why the travel industry supply chain is like a bowl of spaghetti, and everyone is doing business with everyone, even if only impacting one part of a traveler’s experience and you might work with most everything and everyone
• Impacting the culture of a company, spending a lot of time on destination experience of a work trip, and raising the bar for personal experiences
• Setting up in China, and early accomplishmentsHow technology plays into vision for Northstar, with acquisitions and how the focus is not just events or media companies but also tech companies
• Geo-cloning

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Real-time explanation what and why happens and what to expect during your flight, and a tool for anxious flyers…

One in three people experience anxiety when flying. Now there is an app that can help. Viktorina Lintsova, Managing Director of SkyGuru joins John Matson and Nick Vivion (tnooz) in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• The most anxious moments for flyers
• Pre-boarding, why the anxiety, anticipation and fear of the unknown
• The inspiration for SkyGuru, with the idea from a pilot and psychologist, who wanted something to be there and support people when he couldn’t be there with them
• Like having a pilot and psychologist in the seat next to you
• One in three people experiencing psychological discomfort, many altering plans due to psychological stresses
• Money left on table for airlines, why airlines haven’t addressed this
• Is a loss of cognitive function due to anxiety a safety issue?
• Freemium vs. pro versions, anxious passengers gravitate to the pro version, which supports through the whole flight
• Looking at how people interact with SkyGuru, whether an anxious flyer or not, and how SkyGuru has been evolving into a travel companion and people curious about aviation
• SkyGuru soon releasing updated version with some augmented reality
• Why the app needs to be flat on armrest at time of takeoff
• Accelerator experience, getting the most out of a 3 ½ month program,
• A home-baked snack with a secret recipe
• Who is the anxious flyer – not who you think, and how it can come out of nowhere.
• Anxiety can cause airlines to lose business travelers, 5% of the highest value flyers are anxious
• SkyGuru has gotten interest in airline industry in industry events, and can be integrated in seatback screens to enhance passenger experience
• How the app can help passengers plan their flight experience better, flight crews can know when to serve the food/drinks, and one can see use with OTAs and travel portals to help passengers plan flight better,
• Bringing the experience back to flying

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merchandising content platform for flight shopping…

Robert Albert, CEO of Routehappy (the industry standard for airline rich content, acquired by ATPCO) joins John Matson and Nick Vivion in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• The most commonly desired amenity in travel: seat, then WiFi
• Selling a singular vision when pitching/building Routehappy
• How it is not actually all about price
• An entire ecommerce category that’s comeditized, we all about the experience from that moment on
• Explaining products and services customers are happier, and the industry does better
• How it was obvious to him that every customer needed this
• Why Albert feels it has felt like spreading a religion, every meeting is positive, but not necessarily a priority all the time
• It is an organic experience, brick by brick building the path forward for the company and the recognition of the need
• How the pace of building the company has helped them build it right, solving a complex problem, and why the company is ready for prime time now and can solve global differentiation problem in flight shopping
• Why GDS’s didn’t solve this prior
• Sales cycles in travel vs. funds for startups
• Massive network effect, explaining the story and getting airlines and distributers to align on the story and potential impact
• How hard Albert and team worked building the company, holding twenty five meetings a week while traveling, making good product decisions that got companies interested
• Originally Routehappy was about consumer flight reviews, then built APIs of data, and operating lean
• Happy and cheap as a product compass
• How Routehappy’s solution was now described as being able to enable the industry with better data, and that resulted in the first serious ways people were paying attention
• Moving from B to C to B to B as a pivot
• Pineapple chunks, and why this Australian treat was the snack, and the meaning
• How Routehappy was recently acquired by ATPCO, software that manages the world’s airfares
• UTA rich context (universal ticket attribute)
• Becoming the “Switzerland of rich content”, how Routehappy can now deliver on the thing they said they were doing for seven years
• Overall vision as the next gen storefront, how it is time to modernize flight shopping, how indirect channels can and should transform, and coming together with the “how”
• The happy empire and the tip of the iceberg
• Albert’s parental inspiration for travel

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leasing long-term rentals and converting them into outstanding vacation homes which provide landlords higher income and eliminate vacancy risk with Vacayo…

Isabel Berney (COO/Co-Founder) and Truth Oladapo (CEO/Co-Founder) of Vacayo join John Matson and guest host Jenny Silber (VoyagerHQ) in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Examining the short term rental market, how much a revenue property can hold, developing a propriety pricing algorithm, scraping websites to see the highest earning potential of homes, and owners can earn at least 40% more at least with short term stays added into the mix instead of long-term leases
• How this is an arbitrage model, and the risk is potentially in any miscalculation in revenue-generating potential of a home — but with historic data, and the fact that the vacation market is growing, the risk appears to be low
• How the model is different and not just profit sharing, so some risk is involved
• Additional risks of a downturn in travel, a major shift in economic conditions, etc.
• Landlords receive a monthly payment regardless, so what Vacayo does to cover that risk
• Insuring each home as well in case Vacayo can’t rent properties due to storms etc.
• How Vacayo has started to install smart devices which revealed people are spending less time in the homes than believed, overcoming the landlords’ misconceptions that homes have greater wear and tear and risk with comings and goings in short term rentals
• How in the future Vacayo will likely be more of a data company,
• Why Vacayo is banking on a nomadic lifestyle
• Providing flexible accommodations with more options and sleeping arrangements than hotels, people prefer vacation rentals as a result
• Vacayo is partnered with Ikea and Wayfair to succeed in getting things ready quickly, with the right team working together can do fast turnarounds in 48 hours
• How they started off on Craigslist, bootstrapping, and were discovered by a landlord
• The six markets Vacayo is in
• “Superhosts” who take care of on-the-ground operations as independent contractors, with easy onboarding, and working on a percentage
• The matching process with renters to properties
• The crowd-funding campaign as a way for people to own a part of the company in a sharing economy, but without the complexity of formal shares
• Why there is little worry about competing with companies like Airbnb, and how there is plenty of room left in the industry, especially for an asset-light business model
• How Vacayo specializes in large group travel
• The story of Berney and Oladapo starting out as roommates

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ecommerce and marketing solutions that reduce OTA reliance & increase bookings…

Gaining ground in market share isn’t the only goal for hotels and hotel chains. Keeping it  — comes in at a close second. To do that in the current industry climate, many hotels must utilize specialized e-commerce solutions to make sure all online presence and marketing resources are maximizing market share opportunities. Fuel Travel, a premier hotel marketing agency, is offering just that — website design, custom hotel apps, and marketing solutions that reduce OTA reliance & increase bookings. Plus, its COO hosts a podcast which can add some “fuel” to a resort or hotel’s marketing strategy. And the one snack you have to try. Stuart Butler, COO of Fuel Travel and host of Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast, joins John Matson and Pavan Bahl in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

 In this episode:

•  How hotels can differentiate in the market
•  Following brand standards and following the flag is more challenging, and in the end hospitality comes down to one thing: hospitality
•  Why the best marketing is hiring the right people and exceeding the expectations of guests
•  Exceptional experiences are priority, and the rest takes care of itself
•  How Butler wanted to work for NASA, originally from the UK, and how while studying physics he got into computer programming
•  Why fuel Interactive rebranded as Fuel Travel, adjusting focus to hospitality
•  The Guest Express mobile app, giving a property the ability to communicate with customers one-on-one
•  The mistakes independent hotels make when launching, how too many are people chasing the bright and shiny buzz vs. paying attention to the basics that have worked forever
•  Email marketing is still the #1 thing one can do as a property and destination property
•  Also, most hotel operators do not have a grasp of the data, or how customer acquisition is happening, or tracking the whole revenue journey
•  The focus on accessing info via mobile, with micro-periods of access, yet mobile is an afterthought for so many web designers for hotels
•  More traffic comes from mobile, but bookings are not following that yet (likely because mobile experience is not as good as desktop)
•  Good profiles are very important to connect with younger generations
•  It is unnecessary to give away massive discounts to get business if marketing is strong enough
•  Podcast helping marketing hotels with the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast
•  Aspirations for space travel, and Star Wars
•  Why marketing should be thought of as a conversation with the guest

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecting travelers with local trip planners for custom itineraries to Iceland, Cuba, and Japan…

Greg Buzulencia, Co-Founder/CEO of ViaHero (a marketplace for travelers to hire locals to plan their personalized trip), joins John Matson, Bess Chapman of JetBlue Technology Ventures, and Pavan Bahl (President, MouthMedia Network) in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Bess Chapman [Episode 003] of JetBlue Technology Ventures (a venture capital spinoff of JetBlue Airways, keeping a pulse on tech innovation and driving deal flow through New York) joins the podcast as a host
• ViaHero works with locals telling people what they should be doing on a trip
• How, being a marketplace, ratings and reviews keeps people in check, whereas travel agents are beholden to commissions
• Cuba, Japan, and Colombia as countries in which Via Hero has presence
• Average user wants local knowledge, people who have tours or Travel Agent plan, they are there for service but want to be independent
• Algorithm matches with people who have same Interest and are in that area
• SEO and user acquisition in various geographies
• Changing needs and expectations of travelers, but there is still a feeling of needing info to help figure it all out
• Hanging out with hosts, immersing in local culture, but it is a digital relationship with a “hero”
• Offline maps with local recommendations and locations
• Consistent trends in data being collected, database of their recommendations to more easily crate the guide books
• The economics of the relationships with the  local “heroes”
• A cross-country trip as a child that made an impression on travel, and the passion of never paying for water

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world’s first influencer-driven discovery platform using social currency for travel…

Gilad Goren, social entrepreneur and Founder of Raleigh&Drake, joins John Matson, Bess Chapman, and guest host Marc Raco in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Gilad Goren on the future of content in the travel context, mix of personalization, instead of celebrity culture of past more local authentic voices and people who align with the travel in the way they view travel, ubiquitous and quality content throughout the journey
• Millennials rarely plan trips until on their way, dreaming and planning
• Raleigh&Drake is not setting new paradigm, instead reading the lines on how people plan their trips, helping with the tool for brands in travel space to adapt to how travelers view luxury
• Many people spend 45 hours on 45 websites when planning travel, but will ask friends on social media what they do and think
• Less than 25% trust recommendation sites, and
• Building a quilt of different sources of insight, aggregating trusted content so brands can deploy into their websites, as a discovery ecosystem
• White label bookable content as a service solution, aggregate great content, make bookable, license to brand who want to increase engagement and increase customer experience
• Power of Instagram was in the visuals from real individuals sharing experiences with others, timeless power of visuals as we are visual beings
• Always looked for advice from people close to us, this is another way of doing it
• Brand can really own an experience, host and facilitate experience, benefit on ancillary revenue, and benefit from enhancing guest experience, all built for personalization which grows as the traveler uses it more
• Necessity of CRMs, how Raleigh&Drake can feed data to a brand’s CRM
• An opportune times to leapfrog
• A route into travel for brands to connect with consumers
• Interacting with local travel resources can lower the carbon footprint, have less cultural negative impact, increase spend into local economies
• Curating and trusting explorers
• Through their lens, a multiplicity of curated authentic unique voices
  Earliest memories of Saturday morning cartoons like GI Joe as a first glimpse into the American hero and American spirit, as an early brand experience forming who Goren is
• How Raleigh&Drake started B to C, and leveraged partnerships and turned B to B
• Goren spending 45 days in Bolivia in an animal refuge in taking care of middle aged pumas

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Designing customer experience in travel…

Liliana Petrova, Director of Customer experience at JetBlue Airways, Visionary, Strategist, Customer Experience Professional and Blogger, joins John Matson, Bess Chapman, and Pavan Bahl in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Liliana Petrova on designing for Experience is like a multi-phase cake
• What is movement,
• Technology design, how to achieve movement as fast and seamless as possible
• How people will feel about the brand and interactions
• Why the experience designer needs to be a vision thinker and can’t design in increments
• Facial recognition, and why with some brands it is like having a same experience like prison or the subway, and determining that will never happen like that with JetBlue as an experience
• Delight comes from the elements and when it works to one’s standards
• Designing experience is like being like a conductor of an orchestra
• Innovation is not building new things, but finding connections that didn’t exists before between existing things
• Getting a sophisticated program up in just four months
• Will airports be the player of the future they are today?
• The quest to eliminate waiting time with bags and taking away levels of friction
• How airports could transform from being simply a processing center, and therefore offer a chance to give you joy
• Other brands doing it right, and those doing it wrong — Milan train system can do better
• Every customer has their own version of an emotional reaction — but engineering things like efficiency can create emotional experiences, creating value
• Being driven by making the world a different place, making life easier
• Liking things that stretch when it is implausible
• Why the Hyperloop is exciting
• How Petrova moved from financial analyst to design
• The baseline of customer experience is process and strategy, making connections and seeing all channels of marketing
• And hard work
• How enterprise brands can’t preserve everything with scale
• Innovation is not the end goal, it’s a way to be relevant to the customer
• The alignment in the interest of the future costumer
• Credit cards and miles/points/rewards
• Petrova on being Bulgarian and a view at her work and the American ecosystem, and having perspective
• Why Abraham Lincoln was amazing
• An intuitive move and coming to America, having two “homes”, being a citizen of the world
• Doingcxright.com

Liliana can be reached at https://thepetrovaexperience.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Personalized photo postcards, greeting cards and cards created online and sent on the go from anywhere…

Felix Wunderlich (Head of Business Development) and Greginald Spencer (Office Manager) of mypostcard.com (photos sent as postcards worldwide) join John Matson, Pavan Bahl, and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• When does one need to send a personalized postcard
• What should reaction be/feeling – happiness
• Physical interaction instead of digital, something tangible makes a real impact
• The text looks like real handwriting
• Process to use — download app, upload photo, the ability to have an envelope because of sensitive photos
• Participation in a German accelerator
• The app saves a lot of time
• Friction on the marketing side, looking at customer lifetime value
• Most customer acquisition via Google Adwords
• Growth efforts via universities, building awareness
• The ability to partner with major social platforms like Instagram
• Whether content changed that customers are sharing, and is it relating to larger trends in the travel industry?
• The shift from digital to physical, sentimental value
• Creative marketing, and a song, changing the world with a postcard
• The path to become a travel lifestyle brand
• Spreading the feeling of that moment, and how to share that feeling and create buzz
• How a postcard is something you share in person with visitors
• Partnerships and collabrorations including prisons
• Winning on the Apollo stage
• A prior career in hospitality management
• How Greginald got to NYC
• Every season is Ramen season
• And someday— Europe as a home?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health food and wellness content for travelers…

Corey Angelo, Founder/CEO of Wanderfuel (carefully curated, seasonally rotating boxes of organic products alongside lifestyle content that educates and supports well-being while traveling) joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• How wellness touches us at all times, taking care of yourself
• Educating people with a great content experience, and how it makes travel better
• Bringing together healthy snack and amenity kits in environmentally friendly packaging
• Wanderfuel‘s core ethos includes nourish, relax, detox
• Meditation, podcasts, intent to become like a Netflix-like safe list of things tailored for type and length of travel
• The biggest wellness snafu on the road and being disconnected from regular wellness routines, committing to rituals and practices each day
• Maintaining rituals on the road
• Something about being on the road where you let go of being healthiest — how do you get people to carry it with you?
• Coaching yourself, how you’ll feel after, and combining it with interesting and fun content experiences
• The travel industry is investing in its consumer
• Working closely to scale offering including with American Airlines, wellness zones in major airports, livening up atmospheres, and working with strong partners
• Angelo’s “Zen place”, and pole vaulting
• Inspiration and a moment of exhale when training for a marathon
• The moment it all clicked
• Staying curious, exploring more

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Partnering with the No. 1 travel technology partner, Amadeus, dedicated to helping travel companies launch, grow and succeed…

Kerri Zeil, Head of Amadeus for Startups, Online Travel Group, Amadeus North America, Inc. (the leading provider of IT solutions to the global tourism and travel industry — Amadeus for Startups provides technology, expertise and guidance to support travel startups throughout their journey) joins John Matson in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Zeil reveals the substantial work Amadeus does in travel and understanding what startups need and what brands like Amadeus can do to help
• Globalizing the startup program, how Zeil is in charge of the Americas
• How Amadeus has a lot to offer, expertise, tech, info from customers already supported, how Amadeus can grow its own business through startups
• No specific business model is larger than the next
• Travel tech startups offer opportunities to scale and provide value
• Amadeus originally looked at the program narrow lens, and it has has gown enormously
• The program has grown year after year, created a partner community to add value, each program looked at uniquely, providing value across the board
  Expertise in various areas of travel and working to harness that, and how internal partners want to help
• Help startups launch at scale
• High quality startups coming into the program and being able to be choosier to come in and can rise to the top, while helping virtually anyone coming in the door
• How Amadeus doesn’t invest or take equity
• When Amadeus cannot help some companies with APIs or tech solutions, but that company might fall into the area of venture partnerships and then introduce to that internal partner
• Looking for companies even outside of core values, but can find ways to plug in that can enhance the business, that can bring value within tech stacks, exploring blockchain a bit, in-destination activity,
• Axa as a great startup story, another is Freebird (a very unique idea) which developed into a partner with Amadeus
• Is there a secret sauce possible at Amadeus for working with startups (think white glove approach)
• Amadeus is located in Spain, how it interacts with the Americas
• Pitching in front of The Dragons Den
• Getting calls from around the world from people who want to help
• How Amadeus created a blueprint for people for this program to work globally, leaders of company started to recognize this is happening everywhere,
• Bankok and Singapore are big spots
• A cultural shift
• Commonality across startups, enthusiasm, the travel industry as a whole isn’t an industry to get into, infrastructure moves at snails pace, complicated and regulated, can be frustrating and difficult to understand, in a discovery phase for info and data to be even do diligence on Amadeus’ part, give startups some hope
• The industry has attention on, and is engaging, startups to help dig out from technological past, recognizing the need for advancement
• Why the travel industry is likely in for the long haul in commitment and funding, albeit cautious and focused approach, at a crossroads of the old travel industries and innovators
• The need to not disrupt cash cow at companies while getting out of same things that keep happening – that’s the right path
• Continuing to shape the future of travel

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Creative tactics and best business practices for hotels…

Andrea Martinez, President of Boom Hospitality (a hospitality consultancy firm helping boutique hotels, independent hotels, and F&B operations, open, grow, or convert their businesses with the use of creative tactics and best business practices) joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• The crucial need to properly understand your market
• Boom Hospitality working mostly with boutique and out-of-the-box hotels
• Tech in modern hospitality is so important, but not every guest is the same, simplicity is important
• Mirrors with digital concierge, interactive maps, fun, equipped with things guests want and will use
• The need to only adapt tech in a way you can adapt
• The boutique traveler is looking for something very specific
• Martinez is living a dream job, started in non profits
• How we make development/construction more sustainable, less destructive on the environment and actually help the environment
• Building a hotel within a mountain in a way that doesn’t hurt things around it
• How it is important that social media and marketing about a project must be part of the conversation from the beginning and a priority, design, construction management guest experience, PR
• Special cookies Martinez is obsessed with for a snack
• An approach to driving to a hotel or a destination?
• Methods of discovery – seeing online, Instagram, website, how common each method is
• People wanting to go somewhere they saw and then researched
• The need to be careful about defining local experiences
• Bringing true authentic local experiences by partnering with and creating alliances with local destinations
• Martinez’s experience in Latin America, Florida, bigger cities in US, Toronto
• Politics plays a big role in how one develops because permits are different

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All inclusive, authentic and immersive experiences in Tanzania…

Justa Lujwangana, founder of Curious on Tanzania (unforgettable, immersive, transformative experiences in Tanzania curated and led by locals), joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia  Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Justa Lujwangana on being curious means search, dig deeper, not just a typical visit
• Putting together guest logistics
• Also an operator
• Impetus of company, out of her own curiosities about her homeland
• Africa offering lot of experiential marketing, like archeology, and big venue space bring South African experience alive
• Having a team across the world while working from NYC
• Giving back to local economy, building something sustainable
• Experiences such as ooking classes, dancing, meeting one of more than 120 tribes
• Zanzabar beach
• Marketing strategies
• Giraffe as a must-see animal

Curious on Tanzania is run by proud Tanzanians working together who are committed to leading and creating comprehensive, thematic travel experiences that make a positive, sustained difference to destinations and local people throughout Tanzania. They call this experiential travel – travel that goes deeper into the lives of those whom we all visit, and creates lasting relationships and true cultural exchange.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A fireside chat on innovation between representatives of two of the most forward thinking travel groups…

Rashesh Jethi (SVP Engineering for Americas & Head of Innovation for Airlines for the world’s largest GDS, Amadeus) and Bess Chapman (Operating Principal for JetBlue Technology Ventures) discuss travel tech infrastructure, innovation, and possibilities at the Travel Disruption Summit presented by Voyager HQ, and sponsored by Amadeus and Fareportal.

In this episode:

• What AI means for the travel industry
• How everything has changed with hyper-cheap hyper-computing
• Used to depend on massive investments for AI, and now it simply requires a lot of data and smart people
• How machine learning sit on top of that, what it means when airlines and other travel business starts really knowing customers
• Machine learning is one discipline of AI, and it means you feed computer data, makes sense of data, make more personalized recommendations, much potential in marketing
• How it is a challenge that many players are at different maturity in technology stacks
• Many are moving to open APIs to encourage growth and innovation
• Regulation issues an inhibitor to innovation, but most regulation is to keep us safe
• Be respectful of regulation that’s there
• GDPR an example
• What it means that not all travel providers can keep up with changes at the same pace
• Antiquated innovation all around
• The biggest white space for disruption in airports
• Why airports will be the malls of the future
• Airports can be an oasis of commerce and relaxation
• Prescreening and biometrics, making screening fast track, frictionless
• Identifying you as a traveler, then providing you a contextual experience and a reference to what is available around you
• Amadeus believes in tapping into the creative energy of anyone, supporting innovation
• Overhyped technology (personal opinion) is blockchain
• Bags as a huge white space, RFID, and more
• How NDC change Amadeus’ current setup, and the next evolution in standard with a lot of interest from customers
• AR and VR in the travel space, ideal use-cases, and why they could just become another screen we get used to
• Using VR to book trips and for in-flight entertainment, shopping, training – and what are the challenges?
• A lot of opportunity for companies to help other companies make money
• What is looked for by Amadeus venture fund

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lithium battery-powered travel…

Ned Horneffer, Director of Business Development for Romeo Power Technology (creators of the world’s most energy-dense battery packs) joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studio powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Romeo Power Technology is counting on that electrical is the future of transportation
• Electrification will take over all forms of transportation, batteries tech will increase
• The challenge of being able to retrofit vehicle with batteries
• Startups can move quickly, they are really sold on lithium and electrification
• Larger players, the secret is to find out how serious they are
• Developing and getting a proof of concept for a fleet of vehicles
• Regional transportation need so great, could affect regulation
• Will technology affect consumer behavior, or will consumer need push technology development and adoption
• Will people know how to handle it?
• Flying cars
• Influencing regulation as a brand
• UL certification important
• How battery power for aircraft can open up airports with noise restrictions
• Marine sector is off and running
• Norwegian strength
• Battery-run cruise ships?
• The danger of batteries and fires
• Level of confidence in safety, tech is at a point that if you build batteries the right way they will never explode, single cell fault tolerance and pack construction avoid chain reactions
• Punctures are a primary danger
• Transportation is a means to an end
• Appreciating the world is big when things go wrong with travel

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The state of travel, the explosion of travel technology, venture capital, and the future of the industry from the perspective of investors in the travel space…

Thomas Sparico, Founder/Managing Partner of Brand New Matter and Gillian Morris, Founder of HitList [Episode 33] join John Matson, Bess Chapman, and guest host Brandon McKenzie for a MouthMedia Network Live event recorded in front of a live audience at Experience by Knotel, an interactive space located in the heart of Noho in New York City (666 Broadway) designed to showcase the experience of working in a flexible, adaptable, always energized environment. Sponsored by Knotel – Your agile business deserves an agile space. Knotel will find, customize, and operate your ideal office while you focus on your business. Discover more at www.knotel.com

In this episode:

• The fundraising landscape in travel, how it feels like someone else is getting all the money
• A lot of investors have been burned in the travel industry
• Location matters such as NY vs. SF
• Knowing where to look, right people to talk to
• B-to-B, B-to-C , and is B-to-C is the graveyard?
• Liking people, liking business, taking data drven justifiable approach
• Developing strategic and meaningful relationships
• What Brand New Matter looks for in a company and founders
• Strategic vs. nonstrategic money
• Taking dumb money and how it affects a cap table
• Q and A

Thomas Sparico is the Founder & Managing Partner of Brand New Matter (BNM) Ventures. BNM Ventures invests in pre-seed and seed stage companies. His current investments include Leaflink, Bizly, VenueBook, Seatboost, AirportSherpa, LYNQ, Beachy and Buster. He is an advisor to several travel industry companies including Rocketrip and Curacity. Tom is a career entrepreneur, inventor, operator and investor with 22 years of experience. He was part of the founding team at priceline.com and a named inventor on over 100 patents at Walker Digital Corp. He was the founder and CEO of Internet Travel Enterprises, led the acquisition and turnaround of Hickory Travel and the turnaround and subsequent sale of ECS to Onyx Centersource.

Gillian Morris is the founder and CEO of Hitlist, named one of the 50 Best Apps of 2016 by TIME. Before entering the start-up world, Gillian worked as a consultant, journalist, and educator in Turkey, China, the Gulf states, and Syria. Her work has appeared in/on the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Buzzfeed, CNN, CNBC, TechCrunch, The Next Web, and LifeHacker. She is a proud mentor with the School of Leadership Afghanistan and Gaza Sky Geeks and serves on the board of Data4America, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank dedicated to bringing data and conversations to advance the understanding of policy.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The real story behind WiFi on flights with Viasat…

Chris Dankberg, who runs Partnerships for Viasat (a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected) joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• How Viasat is about solving really hard problems
• Why WiFi is slow on flights
• Prior to 5 years ago,ViaSat was about WiFi via satellite for government and private air services
• People got used to texting and checking sites that were urgent for destination (weather, hotels, etc.)
• The growth of market for Viasat’s tech , high capacity satellites over different frequency bands enabled differently, market wasn’t ready
• Why WiFi on planes is so expensive
• Allocating capacity on an as-needed basis
• Unprecented bandwidth economics
• The abiity that you could hand off seamlessly from ground to air started being palatable
• The opportunity waited for Viasat to launch a satellite
• Demand wasn’t forecasted correctly, so there wasn’t enough supply for demand
• Started with business travelers with expense accounts
• Battery life on laptops got better, people started using phones
• Something not considered was that the whole plane would use wifi
• Tech is evolving, organizing data on what is important to customers how they used it
• Second and third screen use and solving that need
• Pain point – trains – slower with more tunnels, different angle to sky
• On the early side of making online video streaming real with companies like Amazon
• Disconnecting when traveling because of little kids demanding full attention
• Trips that changed Dankberg’s life, created big decisions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day-use hotel rooms with early check-in as a hospitality marketing and revenue hack…

Yannis Moati, CEO of Hotels by Day (gives travelers a comfortable daytime hotel room for half the price of an overnight stay), joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• The biggest opportunity hotel revenue management – the idea of reimagining a hotel
• Revenue management is a new science, becoming complex
• New orthodoxies in hotel revenue creation being developed regularly
• Conversation has changed from disinterest to wanting to discuss
• A niche play in nascent sector
• Flexibility of hotel consumption, responding to an on demand society
• A rigid check-in/out schedule doesn’t work for today’s society
• Protocol, tech, marketing funnel to become more flexible one step at a time, because it’s a big operation
• Hotels don’t see this as hourly play – more like a block of time
• Types of hotels that Hotels by Day works with, segmenting customer base based on hotels they have
• Sweet spot are 4 stars, then 3 stars, then 2 stars if they have a record of accomplishment
• Customer acquisition is costly
• A marketing hack to acquire new customers
• Growing organically
• Experience is the key in a day stay
• Being on Shark Tank
• Why Hotels by Day will be the winners by allowing hospitality to join when they are ready
• Barely scratched surface of possible demand, giving it time to grow
• Part of sharing economy, using idle space and making use of it in a different way
• Technology doesn’t allow flexibility and agility to follow trends of modern society in hospitality, don’t have the right tools
• And the reinvigoration of the soul by the sea
• The main drive of being able to help people

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Virgin and its mission of changing (travel) business for good…

Allison Daniels, Investment Manager at Virgin (a leading international investment group and one of the world’s most recognised and respected brands), joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Changing business for good
• Taking mundane experience or pain point and turning it into something better
• Making things better from sustainability to safety videos
• Capital intensive investment strategy, legacy and opportunistic
• Taking people to the next frontier
• Virgin Voyages  – new cruise business
• Whensuper-expericed people live and breathe the Virgin ethos and lead a new initiative
• A new way to cruise in a sector hungry for disruption, integrate health and wellness and a beautiful ship designed in part by known designers on land, making ship work for customers, technology plays a big part
• A lot more to be revealed about the ships, and the ecosystem on how the ships are built and limited suppliers
• How new technology and innovation can allow Virgin to make new experiences available
• Opening more hotels, how fit in voyage ecosystem
• Hotels have distinguishing elements making them feel very “Virgin”, such a club that makes it feel like a members club
• All rooms are chambers
• Ships can sail where the hotels are, an entire Virgin experience
• Virgin loyalty program, and creating a structured Virgin ecosystem
• Making venture investments into innovation that have synergy to the general Virgin portfolio such as Ring
• How offerings are changing because you have to do better for the customer has lasted in the industry
• People now know what Virgin stands for
• Brands to admire

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In-flight entertainment and connectivity in aviation…

Bess Chapman, Manager of In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity for jetBlue Airways (bio), joins special hosts Marc Raco, Rob Sanchez and Julie Macalaster (Head of Strategy & Growth at Def Method) on-location at the Millennial 20/20 Summit in New York City.

A place for the latest and greatest, next-gen features, and bringing humanity back to travel

Chapman discusses falling in love with the aviation industry and how the job at jetBlue fell into her lap working at a media agency, what she prefers in on her own in-flight entertainment, what features and controls are necessary, on-demand capability, legroom, looking at the entire realm of what’s possible, wanting to replicate the at-home experience in the sky, enabling dual screening, free hi-speed internet, and making the aircraft a place to see latest and greatest and try new things. How jetBlue is trying to introduce passengers to their new favorite things, easing customer experiences, and defining interiors and next-gen experience for new aircraft. The number one value, making the airlines family-friendly, making features specific to in-flight, creating a next-gen mapping experience, and putting a “jetBlue spin” on everything. Bringing humanity back to traveling, and larger trends in tech and media instead of the same old formulas.

Personalization, an Amazon partnership, and VR

Personalization, how NFC communication can allow pairing of devices as the next level of experience, what the jetBlue brand means and how it is related to technology innovation, how the jetBlue Channel tries to be appealing to all ages, partnerships with PureWow and Vice, looking at the data of watching habits and how it points to comedy, and the popularity of Dance Moms and How to eat Sushi. Denim seats, a lot of market research, Amazon as a big content partner partnering in data, dealing with disturbing live programming during in flight, live TV as a major market draw to jetBlue, the expectation of VR becoming significant in the future, and how jetBlue will only commit to VR it when it is ready and compliments the customer experience.

Games, rewards, and exotic butterflies

Future physical integration into the system for platform games, and potential for on-board gaming competitions. Unpacking the Amazon partnership for onboard “FlyFi”, shopping on Amazon on-board with jetBlue rewards for purchases, integrating voice commands in a thoughtful way, and looking at destination-based Amazon purchases. Off the Beaten Path covers being lost in Switzerland and the kindness of strangers, exotic butterflies in Thailand, and finding Wicket.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Streamlining the interaction between event organizers and venues…

Kelsey Recht, CEO/Founder of VenueBook (a platform offering event venues that you can search, discover and book), joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• A look at the meeting and events industry and what drives growth
• Despite digital, no substitute for in-person meetings, companies are hosting more events, but the types are changing
• Different ways people thinking about meetings, how the travel industry has to adapt to changing landscape
• VenueBooks’s user acquisition
• The influx of accidental event planners
  
• Circumventing issues with inventory side
• Becoming skilled at helping venues skew inventory toward what is most in demand
• The attention to better experiences
• A focus on top notch booking experience overall, a very sophisticated platform
• How VenuBook conversion rate is at 20%
• Availability and pricing are generally the biggest friction.
• Transparent pricing helps
• Customers are in the market 45 days in advance of event, booking around 30 days in advance
• Traditional hotel chains have dropped commissions with the promise of better tech tools
• Making it easier/faster to book event spaces for planners and venues
• Venues are top of funnel
• Spinning up in new cities and with new venues, helping people think of spaces as venue spaces, giving hotels ideas for selling inventory they wouldn’t think of

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guiding consumer insights to build audiences, optimize marketing campaigns, collect data, and utilize life moments…

Eric Bamberger, SVP of Hospitality for IgnitionOne (an award-winning Customer Intelligence Platform enabling marketers to understand, value and engage with their customers in real-time), joins “Fashion Is Your Business” podcast hosts Pavan Bahl and Marc Raco on location at the IgnitionOne Summit in New York.

In this episode:

• Data has always been important to travel and other lifestyle industries
• Bigger companies operating with legacy systems, making consumer insights difficult
• Department of hospitality, organizing data, making it effective with clients
• IgnitionOne has a fundamental understanding of the customer journey
• First party data – the data a company can personally aggregate from their site, most companies don’t even know what to do with this data much less integrating third party data
• Connecting with CRM files
• Starting with cookies, using tags, create a scoring algorithm
• Processing in real time, which gives a leg up on others
• Working primarily with enterprise customers, larger hotel chains
• Reading macrotrends, such as oil and gas mining in Texas relating with a hotel occupancy standpoint, adjusting strategies to react on trend data
• Messaging vs. using data to drive direct bookings
• Loyalty is less important, more about saving money
• IgnitionOne’s proprietary scoring algorithm, custom machine learning algorithm for each customer, get high accuracy prediction on propensity to convert, which then leads to bidding decisions
• Platform, ads, the spend used defending brands—-generic type key words for searches
• Everything can be an acquisition channel with the right conversion strategy
• Ad experiences in personalization
• Considering trends in social platform use related to driving spend and conversion, and searching for all inventory sources
• The relevance of apps
• New data impacts each consumer visit, various sources of info for strategy in connecting uniquely to that person
• The wins in digital marketing that are possible with real effort

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flexible, scalable cloud-based enterprise software solutions for the Reservation and Ticketing Management (RTM) space…

Tal Shalit, Founder & CEO of Betterez (a leading reservations and ticketing management solution specifically designed to address the needs of travel, transportation and admissions companies, and part of the JetBlue Technology Ventures portfolio) joins John Matson (VoyagerHQ) and Bess Chapman (JetBlue Technology Ventures) in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• How Shalit used to work with Porter Airlines
• Learnings for bus industry – originally built a reservation system for small airlines
• Customers bus brands
• B to B, or B to B to C
• End to end reservation system, and how acquiring brands
• Selling the vision as assembling components
• Omnichannel experience for operators
• Getting going on any channel you need help with
• An intelligent way to set it and forget it and adjust over time
• An overlap for airlines
• Potential for air to bus to cruise, seamless customer journey
• Considering the volume of bookings and speed through any operator
• How the bus industry doesn’t have the legacy infrastructure that airline or rail has — so you can leapfrog over that and jump to mobile and latest tech faster, big opportunity
• The economic downturn has a positive impact on bus travel, although a downturn doesn’t stop people from moving and traveling
• The bus of the future, experiences
• An engine to sell tickets, reconciliation
• RTM (reservation and ticket management) – many crossover opportunities, building something flexible, even for events, can get into the market even with attractions to medical equipment reservations

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The next-generation gifting platform offering a smart, easy way to gift air travel…

Fernando Camara, Co-Founder and CEO of Skyhour (creating the ultimate air travel currency that powers travel across platforms and industries), joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Gifting travel, inspiring friends to become better people, inspiring people to go to new places and get new points of view, make an impact in their lives, travel is the best thing you can do
• How it started, a friend wanted to travel
• $140B on gift cards and less than 1% is spent on travel
• The goal of connecting giting and air travel industries
• Offering flight hours for $60/hour, and the ability to apply to virtually any airline
• The opportunity to crowdfund a flight
• Being able to sell tickets without dates or destinations
• Like creating a new currency
• Getting around liabilities in some restrictions
• The money goes to escrow accounts — if you don’t use the hours, the money goes back to person you gifted to
• Works with Sabre for accessing the inventory of airlines
• Being a JetBlue Technology Ventures portfolio company
• Potential partnerships with hotel chains, clothing brands, etc.
• Camara’s other companies in digital marketing, real estate, then told a friend about the Skyhour idea, and how he needed someone to help build product, and thinking about hiring agency and agency (which loved it so much, sold the company and brought best the guys in to work on it)
• Why New York is the best place to launch company in the US
• A $5.5M seed round, working on Series A
• Raised an initial round starting with cold calls
• Seasonality, ebb and flow—flight frequency varies but people give all year round
• Dealing with gift card restrictions
• Only make money when people book a flight
• Time between buying and booking, prompting booking and re-gifting actions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A luggage shipping platform leveraging existing logistics networks, and including options such as doorstep pickup and additional coverage, with LugLess…

Brian Altomare,  Director of Business Development for LugLess (a next generaton luggage shipping service), joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• The first low-cost alternative to luggage and baggage shipping fees, start at the door, not at baggage clam
• Being friends to airlines
• With airlines, it is possible to be an asset
• The opportunity for partnerships
• How LugLess doesn’t need operational help
• Being in stealth beta mode for 12 months, with consistent growth
• New brand, positioning, model
• Can be an asset to any OTA with a booking engine
• Making agreements with hotels, airlines and OTAs, or direct to consumer
• API not a feature, it’s a tool
• Friction  – the effort to bring and do it ahead of time
• Can increase service
• Most are economy travelers with convenience
• Insurance considerations, relationships with FedEx and UPS and DHL
• Low-price shipping several bags, dynamic pricing
• A mass travel economy play
• LugLess is a platform to do something for less and more convenient
• Strangest things shipped
• Why LugLess is currently domestic only
• Shark Tank and how it changed LugLess, why LugLess gutted everything, rebuilt
• Low-cost, API, drop-off
• Brian on making fun of himself in articles
• Why LugLess didn’t rebrand
• Turning negative press into a positive
• Staying healthy when traveling
• Feeling at home when abroad

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Discovering  locations around the world by horseback riding and other adventure activities with local people…

Darley Newman (travel expert, published author and the host, writer and producer of Equitrekking, the Emmy-Award winning PBS TV series, and Travels with Darley on PBS, Create TV and on AOL, MSN Travel, Huffington Post, Amazon and over 2000 partner sites) joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studio powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Botswana
• Salt pans and stargazing
• Discovering experts, keeping track of them for use indifferent locations
• Complicated logistics involved
• Horses and their personalities
• Getting charged by an elephant
• Being a safari guide
• Finding the right guides
• Less remote areas are still unique on horseback
• Something connects people because of horses
• Why horses are therapeutic for both mind and body
• Starting the show, how Darley manifested it, a background in journalism and behind the scenes
• How she started with a website and some videos
• Horses are a vehicle to get to know people and places
• Creating a second show, “Travels with Darley”, started short form, and the many places to distribute content
• Curating content for the right platform
• How a trip-planning business came organically out of the show
• The aspect of ecotourism aspect
• What’s next, and the one place Darley would like to travel to next (because of the food…)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CRM-driven reservation management…

Joel Montaniel (bio), CEO/Co-Founder of SevenRooms (helping hospitality operators make better service easier with a customizable, CRM-integrated reservation book that intimately ties reservations to existing guest profiles and helps hospitality businesses to build new ones) joins Pavan Bahl, Peter Crysdale and Tamara Wood.

Empowering hospitality, a 360-view of each guest, and keeping consistency

Montaniel talks about what brought him from a career in finance to a switch into the tech world, making guests feel at home at hotels, nightclubs, restaurants, and more, about an essential data aggregator that’s helping hospitality groups make informed decisions, and how info on guests was built far more manually in the past. The difference in the sense of experience when different personnel are present. Moving from transaction-based business to understanding the guests at a multi-tier level. The power of integration with POS systems, the ability to access and aggregate data cross multiple brands for a hotel group, giving a 360-degree view of each guest across multiple properties. Making sure a customer is comfortable with info sharing, creating a channel to provide more info, offering up ways for guests to feel more comfortable and what can be done that is amazing for a guest. How proper hospitality feels like a luxury service and great hospitality is free with employees standing there anyway; how to empower them to know more about guests to provide better experience. Hospitality doesn’t just translate to luxury operations. And when SevenRooms started with the nightclub industry, then moved to restaurants, and how nightlife data was previously managed via pieces of paper.

The growth of food and beverage, owning the customer, and follower employees

How SevenRooms moved into restaurants and hotels, the emergence of food and beverage for hotels, how Vegas non-gaming revenue surpassed gaming revenue and then proprietors needed to understand how to manage revenue growth. Unlocking the full value of guests while previously only able to track food and beverage if charging to room, now being able to track wider than that, and the ability to market to people who aren’t. Looking at patterns of data in profile and link what they care about and find experiences and places to make recommendations in line with likely interests, predictable free will. Avoiding assumptions based on profile, given unpredictable variables uses coaching of staff from the hospitality group. How SevenRooms helps make more informed decisions, instead of flying blind. Segmenting for certain actionable patterns, the distinction from OTA’s, and the pain point for hospitality groups of being reliant on platforms to bring business. The ability to own customer again and give them a reason to come to them exclusively, upsell, and capture them into the marketing database. How the tech can be embedded in the provider’s website as a technology vehicle to capture information, with no third party in equation, and the ability to review all captured data. How it helps reduce marketing costs. Being able to customize every part of the experience, and be tech enabled and people driven. “Follower” employees of a hospitality group who follow customers or groups of customers, and being able to act even if not on site.

Travel warmth, milt, and relationships

Personal questions from a segment of Off the Beaten Path cover how being outside one’s comfort zone associated travel with a sense of warmth, the mystery of milt, and relationships that last.

References:

• Zach Chodorow (China Grill Management, Black Seed Bagels, Red Farm)
• Liveperson

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A visionary executive and experienced senior revenue and strategy leader in the commercial airline business offers insight into what has turned the aviation industry on its head again  and again over the last 30 years…

Marty St. George, EVP of Commercial and Planning for JetBlue Airways, joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser. Note that Bess Chapman is interviewing Marty St. George only in the capacity as a podcast host – she also works for JetBlue Technology Ventures, a subsidiary of JetBlue.

In the episode:

• Marty’s history with JetBlue and the Airline industry
• JetBlue focus cities and outlook on growth
• The fascination with bankruptcy and what he’s learned from it
• Changing with the times and evolving to meet demand; From down turn to profits, low cost to premium
• How customers will always dictate and pick what business model suites them
• JetBlue training; everyone from baggage handlers to vice presidents share the experience
• The future of the Airline industry
• Maintaining the upstart attitude at a larger scale
• An anecdote about Mint, and a “missed” business opportunity
• The 5 core values of JetBlue and the secret sixth
• White Leather 90s
• What JetBlue is doing to future proof for recessions
• The business vs leisure argument; which is more important
• A love for building networks and the competitive nature it brings out
• Data, from the new ways aircraft manufacturers are collecting it inflight to the need for protection
• The mass amounts of data that are available to due regulations
• The need for airlines to be more customer focused, and restructuring CRMs
• Viewing JetBlue as a service business and not an operator
• Overseeing JetBlue ventures; outside the box solutions from outside heads
• Wouldn’t it be great to have a solution for Air-Traffic Control and the weather?
• Identifying a business problem, and finding the means to properly address it
• The future of JetBlue, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years down the road, and what Marty thought JetBlue would be doing now, 10 years ago
• Hush Puppies and PBRs, a guide to outlasting “hipness”
• Doubling down on successes
• Improved Airline safety and JetBlue’s brand new 220 aircraft
• Marty’s love for all things Boston, Necco, The Patriots, The Sox, and the small city charm

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does one of the world’s oldest and largest international tourism companies think about innovation?

Jared Alster, Vice President of Marketing for Cox & Kings (offering customized private and group travel tours to India, Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Antarctica, Australia, and the Middle East), joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Marketing to Americans outbound
• Domestic vs. international
• UK and Australia, different mindset than US, people brought up to be travelers.
• Brand loyalty largely non existent in the US
• Challenges of multi-day tour packages
• When operators makes sense in US – i.e. national parks
• US is largely a road trip approach
  
• B to C focus
• Being like a travel advisor
• Designing a site for clarity and purpose instead of for design’s sake
• More opportunity with people in later years than the past
• Reaching down as well into small luxury groups
• Government incentives, bodies rely on operators and agents for CTA to book a trip, may impact what regions are strategically focused on at a time
• Centralized content the last shoe to fall in industry

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An eCommerce fraud protection solution that protects travel companies…

Dean Locke, Head of Business Development at Riskified (the world’s leading eCommerce fraud-prevention company, trusted by hundreds of global brands – from luxury fashion houses and retail chains, to gift card and ticket marketplaces), joins John Matson and Bess Chapman  in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• Travel as a high-ticket item, attractive to fraudsters because they can sell per transaction
• Smaller margins mean magnification of chargebacks
• How fraud happens
• Gift cards are highly targeted
• When revenue streams must shut down due to fraud

• A Cakeboss treat
• Being received in the travel space
• The shift to digital payment, and preparing for cryptocurrencies
• Indicators of risky transactions
• The tech scene in NYC

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The growth of Brussels Airlines in the Americas..

Andrea Bonaiuto, Marketing Manager for The Americas with Eurowings Group, joins John Matson and Bess Chapman  in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• The most effective B-to-B and B-to-C channels for Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, depending on gaol and purpose
• Having a smaller budget, acting in startup style in the Americas
• Working two brands
• Brussels has three points of departure in North America, but Eurowings has seven gateways in North America
• Local targeted events, getting people who haven’t travelled to a destination before, acquiring new customers, strategic partnerships
• Tomorrowland as the largest music festival in Belgium, seeking to create  a seamless customer journey experience and  related experiences, with live DJs at 30,000 ft
• A fun activation, working with United Airlines
• Gate parties
• Keeping customer loyalty when the customer may not be interacting directly with brand, consistency, quality service and experiences, and staying in front of customer
• The deal with airline food, and how at 30,000 feet your taste buds change, t more he need to add more sodium
• Business class menus created at a high culinary level
• The “bleisure” markets
• How promoting airlines is constantly changing with digital opportunities and new platforms
• Virtual reality at a lot of events, experiencing what the inside of cabin and business class is like

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Organizing business trips 90% faster, 30% cheaper via AI with a human touch…

Filip Maksymilian Bloch (CEO) and Daniel Flynn (Business Development Manager) of Hotailors (a next-gen AI-powered travel platform  allowing organization of corporate travel faster, at a lower cost) join John Matson in the MouthMedia Network studio powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

• What does Hotailors see changing in corporate travel bookings?
• Hotailors wants to treat your employees right
• Who’s driving the change in corporate travel?
• Identifying and relating to the pain of being a traveler
• Trimming down the “waste time” spent booking a trip
• SMD vs Enterprise
• Winning the market and becoming a unicorn
  
• Sizing up the market
• How Filip and Dan met
• Narrow Domain Intelligence vs General Form Intelligence
• Applying AI to the travel space
• Where Filip sees AI succeeding and thriving 
• How Artificial Intelligence will help travel be better, smarter, cheaper, faster, and more comfortable
• The competition in the travel AI space
• Hotailor’s hybrid approach to travel – Merging A.I. efficiency with human touch by employing a network of 3,000 travel agents across the globe
• Building a product so good, customers won’t want to leave – the key is to be faster and more robust
• Hotailor’s approach to product research and development
• How Hotailor built a network of 3,000 travel agents across the globe
• The early struggles and mistakes made while growing Hotailors
• Where Filip believes AI will be used and where he wants to see it utilized
• Filip’s upbringing running hotels with his parents

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.