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.

All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocus

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Travel brands have been encouraged to try TikTok in recent years as a means to engage with younger generations and get a feel for what resonates with them. But as with every medium, TikTok is evolving. Short form videos can now be 10 minutes long, many often dubbed "corporate" travel brands are establishing a presence and the transactional layer is developing.

Hannah Bennett, industry lead of global business solutions at TikTok, stopped by the PhocusWire Studio to talk about the latest trends. She provided insight into the the volume of travel-related videos on TikTok as well as how brands are maturing with the medium and what they might mean for those later to the party. 

She also gave some advice for travel brands on how to start engaging with the TikTok audience and finding their voice and tone on the platform.

All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocus

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Technology development was high on the priority list when Paul Abbott joined Amex GBT as CEO four years ago. He felt that while the company was strong in travel management services, he also wanted it to be able to offer software services. Now, he said 77% of its transactions are digital with 66% of those across Amex GBT’s own channels.

A further development over Abbott’s tenure has been addressing the largely unmanaged small- to medium-sized business market. Today, 50% of the company’s revenue and profits come from the SMB market. Abbott doesn’t claim these developments as personal achievements but rather credits the 20,000-strong team he said has “transformed the company.”

In a wide-ranging discussion with senior reporter Linda Fox in the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference, Abbott discusses the company’s goals and challenges for the year ahead as well as what the wider travel management industry is facing.

All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocus

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In April Peter Kern will mark four years in the role of CEO of Expedia Group, although his involvement as a board member dates back to 2005. Kern took over the leadership role at a time when the entire world was paralyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic and when the company had to focus on damage control. But from day one he also began talking about efforts to simplify the company and reorganize its technology. 

In the last year some of those efforts have come to bear – the completion of Expedia Group’s tech migration to a single platform and the launch of its One Key integrated loyalty program. The company also jumped in early on generative artificial intelligence and has expanded its B2B efforts with partnerships with Mastercard, Walmart and more.

In this CEO Spotlight, Kern shares his thoughts with PhocusWire editor in chief Mitra Sorrells on a variety of topics, including next steps for the One Key program, how the company is evolving its generative AI strategy and the potential – and limitations – of AI agents and the company’s B2B strategy, which in 2023 included cutting ties with Hopper.

All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocus

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With funding for travel startups hitting an eight-year low in 2023, it won’t take much for 2024 to be better. Some travel companies feel more optimistic about the months to come and who might be best placed to attract funding.

PhocusWire senior reporter Linda Fox is joined by Mike Scott, managing partner at Derive Ventures and Mia Morisset, a principal at Inovia, with both sharing insights on how 2024 might play out for travel startups. The broad ranging discussion also touched on potential deal sizes, where investment opportunities lie, the likelihood of merger and acquisition activity and the role of AI.

All episodes: https://www.phocuswire.com/in-phocus

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