As companies seek to help travelers determine how to identify sustainable options and help businesses understand how to operate, certification has become something of an important - yet murky - area.

“There is a ton going on in certification,” said Sally Davey, CEO of Travalyst in an interview in the PhocusWire Studio at Phocuswright Europe 2024.

The lack of clarity is not new. Plenty of small and large players have taken shots at removing the haze. Startups have popped up with the intent to solve the problem once and for all. And Booking.com, which partners with Travalyst, introduced a Travel Sustainable program in 2021 and recently dropped its sustainability badges from its site after authorities in the Netherlands claimed its indicators were "misleading." Instead, Booking.com plans to lean on third-party certification.

Davey and James Lever, chief technology officer of Weeva, touched on certification and more in a wide ranging conversation on sustainability sensibilities in the PhocusWire studio at Phocuswright Europe in Barcelona. 

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"The innovation isn't over yet." It's been 20 years since Steve Hafner and Paul English co-founded Kayak, and two decades later it's hard to say which is more remarkable: How much travel has changed since 2004 - or that Hafner is still championing innovation as the company's one and only CEO.

In a far-ranging conversation from the cabin of his boat in Miami Beach, Hafner spoke of how an itinerant childhood shaped his worldview; his excitement for the potential of artificial intelligence and bringing the same insights and innovation to business travel as Kayak did for consumers; the keys to preserving a startup culture even at a company that would be old enough to vote; and why not even a travel executive as talented as his friend and former partner has succeeded in creating a "Kayak killer."

If there's one takeaway from the 18-minute conversation, it's this: Hafner isn't done. Asked what he hopes the next 20 years brings, for himself and for Kayak, he said, "I'm hopeful that they bring as much innovation as the first 20, if not more so."

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During the company’s recent call to report its Q1 2024 financial figures, Ekert said the results “exceeded expectations,” with quarterly revenue of $783 million. 

A year into taking up the CEO role at Sabre, the metrics are going in the right direction for Kurt Ekert. Revenue is up alongside EBITDA in the first quarter, and all the business units are reporting gains.

But more than that, as Sabre continues to execute on its growth strategy Ekert sees significant opportunity for further growth across hotel and air distribution as well as Sabre's payments and IT solutions business units.

In a broad ranging interview with PhocusWire, Ekert discussed the current mood of the distribution landscape, advances in new distribution capability and how penetration might grow in 2024 and the move to "offer and order" sales.

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For nearly 25 years, the Travel Technology Association has represented the interests of companies such as global distribution systems, online travel agencies and metasearch companies and short-term rental platforms in Washington, D.C. The association advocates for public policy that promotes transparency and competition in the marketplace to encourage innovation and preserve consumer choice. Association members include Booking Holdings, Expedia Group, Airbnb, Amadeus, Travelport, Sabre, Skyscanner and more.

In a conversation in the PhocusWire studio, association president and CEO Laura Chadwick discussed some of the policy issues that are at the top of its agenda, including travel reviews, ancillary fee transparency and generative artificial intelligence.

Chadwick also explained how earlier this year the association expanded its membership opportunities to attract more startups and small- and medium-sized travel technology companies. Note: this episode was recorded in November 2023.

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While personalization of data for travel marketing has been talked about “forever,” it had always felt out of reach. For the most part, the best data could provide in the way of insights was about an “average” traveler — one who didn’t really exist.

In this week's episode, Kurt Weinsheimer, chief solutions officer at Sojern and Demi Horvat, CEO at AirDNA, joins news editor Derek Catron to discuss the potential for how the increased scale and speed of use of data can inform better decision-making in travel.

During the conversation, Weinsheimer shared insights from Sojern’s “State of Destination Marketing” report. Horvat discussed the potential that came with AirDNA’s acquisition in July 2023 of Arrivalist. They also talked about how data and social media can shape sustainability, particularly in terms of dispersing tourism beyond the most popular sites.

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There's a massive opportunity for experiences in the $1 trillion dollar travel market. 

A potential $100 billion opportunity doesn't have to only be in the OTA space, but could be on the operator side as well, argue this week's guests Luuc Elzinga, founder and president of Tiqets and Stephen Oddo, co-founder of Walks. The big play could be happening now, with a tremendous amount of investment in infrastructure and technology being made throughout the segment. 

Additionally, the two experts discuss the potential of AI in martech to improve content and consistency, and how the tech could make it easier to continually update and enrich data. Could real opportunity come in the form of personalization to drive value, especially in the booking phase? How about the biggest trends to look out for in 2024 and Google's evolving role in tours and activities? Find out in this week's episode.

Note: this episode was recorded in November 2023.

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Maud Bailly joined Accor in 2017 as chief digital officer, in charge of the French hospitality company’s information systems, hotel and guest systems, digital products, data and global sales. In late 2020, she became CEO for the company’s businesses in Southern Europe and then in January 2023 she moved into the role of CEO for four of its luxury brands: Sofitel, Sofitel Legend, MGallery and Emblems. 

In a conversation in the PhocusWire studio at the Americas Lodging and Investment Summit in Los Angeles in January, Bailly shared how new customer expectations and habits are driving more interest in the luxury hospitality sector. 

Bailly also discussed the importance of driving total revenue per available room through dining, wellness and other experiences. She also explained why the “luxury of tomorrow has to be sustainable” and how her brands are taking concrete actions to improve their social and environmental impact. 

And she has three pieces of advice for young women entering the travel industry today.

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Hoteliers have a lot on their plates when it comes to technology. Sorting hype from reality in GenAI is just one challenge on a list that includes addressing technical debt, optimizing revenue and incorporating data science. 

Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight) and Klaus Kohlmayr, chief evangelist at IDeaS, joins senior reporter Linda Fox in the PhocusWire Studio to discuss how cloud tech can help drive innovation in gradual steps and that there is momentum in hotels investing in technology and upgrades.

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Chinmai Sharma, Sabre Travel Solutions' global head of lodging, land and sea, whose appointment was announced in November last year, joins Linda Fox in the PhocusWire Studio to talk about hotel technology developments, the experience he brings from previous roles and what's on the 'to do' list for 2024. 

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After several successful exits in both offline and online hotel distribution, you could say Bob Diener, president and co-founder of Travel Funders Network, has been there, done that.

He was there and very much involved in the early days of online hotel distribution as the co-founder and president of Hotels.com and later held the same roles at Getaroom, before selling it to Booking Holdings in late 2021. 

In this episode of In Phocus, Diener covers a lot of ground, from how it all started with a call-center business and later selling to USA Networks (which later acquired a controlling interest in Expedia) to monetization opportunities for hotels beyond selling rooms and the technology challenges that come alongside the opportunity.

He also touches on the role artificial intelligence will play in hotel booking and has some advice for travel startups.

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