wtm london travel forward review


‘Tech drives behaviour’ T


ravel technology is not just responding to changes in traveller behaviour but driving


some of them, according to experts speaking at Travel orward. Mike roucher, Travelport’s head of technical strategy and chief architect, opened the event with a presentation explaining how the travel industry was forcing consumers to behave in a way that suits industry systems, rather than reflecting how and what they want to buy.


e argued that the backbone of the industry has traditionally been systems of record, and that today’s consumers expect to be serviced by systems of intelligence and systems of engagement. ystems of intelligence are new ways to connect supply and demand and have artificial intelligence capabilities integrated in the platform. roucher referenced opper, the -based recent recipient of a 100 million funding round. opper has developed algorithms that track historic flights pricing data and advises cost-conscious travellers on the best time to buy via an app. It is reverse-engineering the revenue


management systems of airlines, he explained.


Instagram was another topic, with


roucher saying it was a valuable tool 0 of the content on Instagram is travel-related. Travelport and easyet have jointly developed a way to connect images on Instagram with easyet’s booking engine. The ook and Book extension enables travellers to directly book a flight from looking at a picture of a destination.


ompanies must make it easy for content to be consumed in multiple ways, he said. laf later, abre ospitality’s


senior director, international strategy and innovation, repeated roucher’s assertion that the industry is designed around siloed processes and not the customer. e talked about history hindering a great customer experience. later described the order of the hotel industry’s engagement with guests as rates, room, amenities, destination and experience, but added that millennials in particular would expect the conversation to begin with the experience that the hotel can offer.


unding easily accessible’ F


unds are readily available for travel technology ideas whether or not you have the platform already, Travel orward delegates heard. usie tanford, associate director at ivingbridge, a  private investment firm that has a strong track record in travel, noted that capital is not a scarce commodity and that startups with genuine potential would always find someone to back them. owever, she cautioned she was interested in Is rather than headlines and that data is table stakes  entrepreneurs who have qualitative data get more value from s. reg Webb, senior vice-president and general manager, racle ospitality, observed that the current landscape allows startups to allocate any capital raised towards people and ideas, rather than their tech infrastructure. Webb added technology was enabling hoteliers to think differently about the potential value of a customer If you know that someone who has booked with you has 100,000


followers on Twitter, that person should be treated as a I because of their social profile.


TripNinja awarded Startup Pitch C


anadian multi-city flight search technology specialists Tripinja has won the


inaugural Travel orward tartup itch. The alifax-based firm was chosen


from a shortlist of four, with attendees at the event voting for the winner after a series of presentations. The competition took place on the closing day of the inaugural Travel orward event. The other three finalists were 1too, a group travel application designed for millennials ly ow ay ater, which allows travel brands to offer customers the option to pay in installments and Thimus, an Italian business specialising in travel-specific applications of applied neuroscience and biometric data.


The startup pitch competition was sponsored by madeus and its executive vice-president for online western Europe, Middle East and frica rancesca Benati appeared on


wtm.com


a panel discussing the relationship between brand and distribution. he said Ts were increasingly thinking about technology as a means to define their brand. It is becoming harder for Ts to attract and retain customers, so they are looking at offering a seamless experience, not just in the booking flow, but also in how they relate to the users, she said.


Workspace hailed N


ew features set to be introduced on irgin tlantic aircraft have come as a result of social media in the workplace, the airline said. irgin started using Workspace by acebook, an online collaboration tool, last eptember. Its usage spans the entire workforce, from pilots to travel agents.


teve larke, the airline’s senior manager, communication channels, said that by the end of the year, 0 of staff had adopted the tool, ahead of its original target of . urrently 90 use Workspace by acebook, which was launched two years ago. larke said some of the inflight


TripNinja


chief executive Andres Collart


features to be included on the airline’s new irbus 0-1000s came about as a result of conversations that took place within Workspace. The first of 12 of the new aircraft go into service next year.


winter 2018 wtm insights 13


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60