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The Future of
Travel and Hospitality

A 5-day immersion program for executives

Available Online and In Person

What Is The Program About?

The digital transformation of the travel and hospitality sector is driven by artificial intelligence, internet of things, virtual reality and other emerging technologies. In partnerships with startups using these technologies to build innovative, disruptive products and services, legacy companies are seeking themselves to transform into customer-centric, data-driven enterprises capable of meeting rising customer expectations. 

Our immersion program will educate you in these trends, connect you with the companies pioneering groundbreaking solutions and inspire you to turn your own company into a leading innovator capable of long-term growth.

Travel startup innovation map

What Will I Learn?

Our immersion program will show you how, why and by whom the travel and hospitality industry is being disrupted. It will also teach you how to capitalize on the trends and technologies driving this digital transformation so that you can achieve innovation within your own organization. We cover topics such as:

Mobile

Mobile remains an important technology for the hospitality sector; our immersion program will show you why. As mobile phone penetration continues to grow globally, booking everything through a smart device will become more prevalent, as will other “smart” aspects of the travel experience including opening hotel doors via bluetooth, downloading boarding passes for flights and hailing a ride home from the airport.

AI and Chatbots

Brick-and-mortar travel agencies are few and far between, instead we have a plethora of online portals and to go with them chatbots to field customer queries. Hotels are using artificial intelligence platforms to provide guests with all the information they need, order breakfast or set an alarm. Our travel and hospitality program will show you where and how bots are used today and introduce you to the companies building the “smart” platforms of tomorrow.

Internet of Things

Join our immersion program to discover how the internet of things is changing hospitality in exciting new ways. Totally connected and integrated devices mean incredible guest experiences. And when everything turns into a data sensor, that information is the lifeblood of the digitally transformed organization, feeding back into products and processes to delight consumers over and over again.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality is becoming a crucial marketing tool, the ultime “try before you buy” experience. We educate you in how the hospitality and travel industry is making a big bet on the technology and introduce you to the startups building the virtual reality platforms that will disrupt the industry.

Program Agenda

This schedule is tentative and features past speakers and participating companies.
Subject to change without prior notice

Day 1

The Digital Disruption of Travel and Hospitality

How are digital technologies changing the travel and hospitality sector and where is this journey taking us? Why is the digital revolution happening now and what are the forces driving its expansion? These are the questions we answer on day 1 of The Future of Travel and Hospitality We explain how entrepreneurs have capitalized on industry trends, new technologies and the ready availability of venture funding to create startups pioneering disruptive industry innovations. We visit companies such as: Instawork, an on-demand staffing app for gig workers and hospitality businesses; Anyplacea marketplace for fully furnished accomodation on-demandand Bluecart, a web and mobile platform to streamline procurement for hospitality industry buyers and sellers. Other possible participating companies: ChewseEat ClubRevinatePeekUplift

Day 2

Exploring Market Niches

The journey continues on day two with an exploration of the limits of the disruption to the travel and hospitality sector as they exist today. How many areas are seeing radical change? What is the nature of this change and how fast is it moving? We answer these questions through visits to startups operating in a wide range of niches. Potential meetings include: Switchfly, a travel-commerce and loyalty software as a service (SaaS) platform; WhereTo, an AI-based business travel booking tool; and FlightCar, a platform to connect locals and visitors for car sharing at airports Other possible participating companies: CabinTripHoboVayableSonderTripactions

Day 3

Emerging Technologies for Travel and Hospitality

Day three of the immersion program is dedicated to the technologies fueling the disruption of the hospitality and travel sector. We hear from experts in artificial intelligencemobileinternet of thingsand virtual reality to learn what these technologies can currently do and what they will offer in the future. We visit companies such as Skylights, builders of cinematic VR for inflight entertainment; Inbenta, a cloud-based, AI-powered natural language search for customer support and e-commerce; and ResortPass, a web and mobile booking platform for access to resorts and hotels worldwide. We see how these companies use emerging technologies to create competitive advantages and provide innovative, market-disrupting products and services.    Other possible participating companies: Surf AirCitconBeyond PricingTripItVayable

Day 4

Corporate Innovation for Travel and Hospitality

Having seen and heard how digital is disrupting the travel and hospitality industry on days 1 to 3, on day 4 of our immersion program we challenge attendees to turn words into action. Participatory workshops with leading Silicon Valley experts on design thinkingdesign sprintsventure capital and open innovation provide executives with the blueprints and frameworks they need to deliver innovation within their own organization.  We analyze how legacy hospitality and travel companies are adapting their businesses to digital and survey the industry’s success in collaborating with the startup ecosystem. We visit companies that have joined forces with bigger, established players including HotelTonight – now acquired by Airbnb – and Pillow, acquired by Expedia. Other potential meetings include some of the biggest names in the travel and hospitality such as Airbnb as well as the big tech companies, including  AmazonGoogleApple and OracleWe see what role they will play in the travel and hospitality industry and learn how they maintain cultures of constant innovation. Other possible participating companies: MeziTripActionsWeTravelMozioLiftopia

Day 5

The Future of Travel and Hospitality

What’s next for the digital disruption of travel and hospitality? Day 5 brings the program to a close with its sights firmly set on the future. We learn about trends still in their infancy and meet the companies seeking to capitalize on those trends. Possible visits include: Wheel the World, a platform for people with disabilities to book accessible travel experiences; Globaleur, an AI travel engine for personalized and automated planning and booking; and Voom Flights, an on-demand helicopter booking service. Other possible participating companies: Skydreamer, VolleyArise TravelSwayPayConciergeBot

Download Full Sample Agenda

Why Should I Join?

Inspiration

Meet the Silicon Valley innovators passionate about using the latest technologies to create new value. Learn the frameworks and methodologies of the experts and embrace innovation with confidence.

Long-term value

Apply newly learned innovation skills to your own company to ensure its survival and prosperity in times of technological disruption.

Connections

Turn motivation and knowledge into concrete actions with the business development opportunities that make an established business a world-class innovator.   

Technology insights

See the disruptive power of the latest technologies and learn how they are being applied to solve humanity’s greatest challenges.

Education

Gain insight into the digital disruption of the travel and hospitality industry and see how startups are applying emerging technologies to redesign the user experience.

New perspectives

Challenge your thinking on what it means to run an enterprise in the 21st century. Make innovation part of your personal mission and commit to the future of your business.

What Companies Will I Meet?

Instawork is the on-demand staffing app for gig workers and hospitality businesses.

Anyplace is a marketplace that allows people to live flexibly.

BlueCart™ is a web and mobile platform built to streamline and modernize the wholesale procurement process for buyers and sellers.

Revinate is an enterprise-grade, cloud-based SaaS platform sold on a monthly subscription basis to hospitality companies.

Uplift makes travel more accessible, affordable, and rewarding by enabling travel providers to offer flexible payments to their customers.

The AI-based smart business travel booking tool.

Peek is a travel activities marketplace based in San Francisco, California.

FlightCar inspires and enables local owners and visitors to come together to list and rent each other’s unique cars at airports nationwide.

Chewse is a platform that allows companies to handle their food catering and workplace culture needs.

Vayable is an online marketplace enabling people to discover, buy and sell unique travel experiences, activities and extended trips.

Switchfly is a travel-commerce and loyalty SaaS platform that enables enterprises to rapidly deploy state-of-the-art online travel services.

Pillow, an Expedia Group company, is the leading short-term rentals solution for the Multifamily Industry.

Mezi is an AI-powered personal travel assistant, accessible 24x7, over messaging.

Google is a multinational corporation that is specialized in internet-related services and products.

Amazon is an international e-commerce website for consumers, sellers, and content creators.

TripActions is a corporate travel management company.

Cinematic VR on planes as passenger inflight entertainment

ResortPass is an online booking platform for access to resorts and hotels for the pool, spa, fitness, and amenities.

Airbnb is an online community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book accommodations around the world.

Castbox is an award-winning global podcast platform that enables anyone to easily find, access, create and enjoy spoken audio content.

Sonder is a tech-driven hospitality company offering spaces built for travel and life in cities around the world.

Citcon is an integrated mobile payment and marketing platform that connects global merchants with Chinese consumers.

Wheel the World is the one stop shop for people with disabilities to book accesible travel experiences beyond they thought possible.

Vudu is a content delivery and interactive media technology company distributing movies over the internet to television.

TripIt is a trip planner that enables its users to create a master travel itinerary and provide them with online and mobile access.

Mozio is an airport transfer search and booking engine that enables users to find the fastest means of getting to the airport.

WeTravel is an online payment platform that offers organizers with pre-departure tools to collect funds and organize logistics.

Surf Air is a membership airline that offers first-class travel on executive aircraft.

Voom operates an on-demand helicopter booking platform.

HotelTonight is a mobile hotel booking application that allows users to find and reserve same-day hotel rooms from their smartphones.

Interactive AI Travel Engine for Personalized and Automated Planning & Booking.

Automated data-driven pricing for your Airbnb and vacation rental is here.

Triphobo helps users plan a trip by suggesting a customized vacation itinerary with flights, hotels and interesting things to do.

Cabin is the first hospitality transportation company on a mission to make the most of every waking and sleeping moment.

EAT Club is a food technology company allowing offices to order and get food delivered from local restaurants via the web or mobile devices.

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Price starts at: USD $8900

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