6 Things You Didn’t Know About The Phocuswright Conference

This November, Phocuswright – the travel industry research authority – is coming back with yet another must-attend industry event – Unravel the Power Paradox – The 2018 Phocuswright Conference.

Have you heard of Phocuswright before? In this interview we talk to Walter Buschta – Vice President of Marketing at Phocuswright – about the history of this legendary travel industry conference. 

👉 Join the world’s leading travel, tourism and hospitality professionals on November 13 – 15 in Los Angeles, California at The 2018 Phocuswright Conference.

1. What is The Phocuswright Conference?

The Phocuswright Conference is travel, tourism and hospitality’s largest – and savviest – audience of CEOs, executives, investors and startups.

Travel industry leaders from around the world have gathered at The Phocuswright Conference for 25 years to develop business, raise funds, gain knowledge, and expand their network.

During the event, industry executives and company analysts bring our primary research intelligence to life by debating issues, sharing ideas and defining the ever-evolving reality of travel commerce.

Every day around the world, senior executives, marketers, strategists and research professionals from all segments of the travel industry use Phocuswright research for competitive advantage.

Attending the longest-running and most prestigious digital travel industry event moves that needle even further to future-proof their business.

2. Tell us about this year’s theme – Power Paradox?

Travel’s giants have unprecedented might, but the powerful know this paradox best: Scaling is hard; evolving is harder.

Size encumbers, speed wins, and the Next Big Thing often comes from unseen origins.

This year, we’ll take an uncompromising look at the tension between size and speed, between power and agility, between domination and innovation – and how, in an era of concentrated might, travel’s overlords and upstarts seek to harness them to survive.

3. How did The Phocuswright Conference get started?

When Phocuswright was founded in the early 1990s, the Internet was the new platform that had the potential to dramatically alter the travel distribution ecosystem.

At that time, there were less than 100 people that gathered together for the first Phocuswright Conference, recognizing that this emerging platform would be a disruptive force in the industry.

Today, nearly 2,000 of the industry’s best and brightest attend the event and we have moved on from the Internet to mobile, AI, chat and messaging, voice, and many other emerging platforms and technologies.

4. Who are the industry leaders that presented innovations at The Phocuswright Conference early on?

If you look at the conference programs as far back as 10-15 years ago, you’ll see that some of today’s biggest companies in travel present year after year.

Expedia, Booking Holdings, Ctrip, Amadeus and TripAdvisor have long seen The Phocuswright Conference as the most forward-thinking and prescient conference where they need to have a presence. And more recently, newer entrants like Airbnb and Lyft are joining them.

Over the years, so many smaller companies and innovators that have taken our Phocuswright Innovation Platform stages have gone on to have a big impact in the online travel industry and see huge success.

We believe our pitch competitions are the best launch pad to present a new innovation to the travel industry because we’ve seen the results again and again.

There are many recognizable names that presented at our events early on, such as CarTrawler, Oasis Collections, TrustYou, Deem, and Nor1.

Many participants have been acquired shortly after presenting at our events – such as TripIt, SilverRail, Hipmunk, GroundLink, ReviewPro, MTT, Routehappy, Mezi and Bokun.

And many innovators apply to present and get on our stages multiple years, such as AirHelp (5 times!), Travel Appeal, Freebird, Bizly, Sift Science and Uplift.

5. Impress us with some facts and figures!

Since the first Travel Innovation Summit in 2008, Phocuswright has vetted thousands of startups through a rigorous application process.

400+ innovators have demonstrated on stage, and over the years they’ve raised over US$3.4B and 65 of them have been acquired.

But pitching isn’t everything, nor it is the only thing.

The Phocuswright Innovation Platform provides companies access to research, learning, networking and consulting. Companies that participate in Battleground, Summit and Launch benefit from Phocuswright’s longstanding pedigree of tracking travel innovation. The platform hosts the entire lifecycle of innovation, from a learning environment to the practical application of travel’s next great product.

6. What is your personal favorite aspect of The Phocuswright Conference?

Although I am not the typical networking guy, it’s definitely the networking. I have been at a couple of Phocuswright Conferences in different roles (corporate and startup) before I joined Phocuswright.

The conference opens up a huge network of very senior people in the industry. It happens seamlessly.

You know one person, you get introduced to others – be it at the bar, in the networking area, at lunch, breakfast or the parties.

At the end of the 3+ days, you’ve built up an invaluable network of people, with a much closer relationship than you get from a pure networking or educational event.

— Thanks Walter for sharing your insights!

👉 Attend The 2018 Phocuswright Conference this November 13 – 15 in Los Angeles, California. Will you be attending?

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