Expert Panel: EyeforTravel Speakers on Future Travel Trends

Seven speakers at EyeforTravel North America share their views about future trends, loyalty programs, and whether blockchain is all hype or a game changer for the travel industry.

Join professionals from industry leaders such as Google, Expedia and Facebook at this year’s conference in Las Vegas (October 18-19) to hear from the below speakers and more. Get the brochure.

Introducing the panel:

Brandon Ehrhardt (Director, Strategic Initiatives) – Expedia
Tim Goodwin (Chief Technology Officer) – Vacasa
Marina Shumaieva (CTO & Co-Founder) – CruiseBe
David Armstrong (CEO) – TravelPirates
Claudia Infante (Director of Revenue Strategy) – Margaritaville
Alejandra Martinez (Product Performance Manager) – Booking.com
Morana Bakula (VP Customer Experience) – Bond Brand Loyalty

What’s the single biggest threat facing the travel industry in 2019?

Brandon Ehrhardt, Expedia: “Not evolving with consumers. Traveller behaviour is shifting, it’s increasingly going mobile – if you don’t have a robust mobile experience, prepare to lose share.”

Tim Goodwin, Vacasa: “Data monopolization. Consumer choice is at the intersection of how motivated a user is to seek out a certain company versus how convenient it is. Companies like Google (right now) and Amazon (as potential) have the advantage here via their network effects.”

Marina Shumaieva, CruiseBe: “One of the major threats for the travel industry is the possibility of hacking attacks. Modern travel companies aren’t “impregnable fortresses”. Their security systems are easily bypassed by hackers.”

David Armstrong, TravelPirates: “I would say political instability and conflicts in or around popular destinations around the world.”

Claudia Infante, Margaritaville: “Data corruption issues such as with companies like Facebook. They corrode the consumer’s confidence in the marketing efforts and ability of travel companies to reach their customers.”

Alejandra Martinez: “The necessity to make all aspects of a travel experience easy for the end customer -from searching to booking, to transportation, to experiences, to payment – is both an opportunity and threat. It’s vital to connect all the dots for the customer.”

Morana Bakula, Bond Brand Loyalty: “One area that, while perhaps not an immediate threat, is the need for the industry to think more broadly and more disruptively about how to define itself – brands that curate and unlock new travel experiences that go beyond functional travel needs are poised for success.”

What is the biggest issue facing the travel executive?

Tim Goodwin, Vacasa: “Automation of the industry: If travel companies can get this right, it can stymie the threats from question one (i.e. data monopolization); therefore, it’s the biggest issue travel executives should focus on.”

Morana Bakula, Bond Brand Loyalty: “Giant monopolies as they make it hard for smaller companies to compete and develop.”

Marina Shumaieva, CruiseBe: “Differentiation in a time when there’s very little space left for it in terms of product.”

David Armstrong, TravelPirates: “The disloyal user and spiraling distribution costs – the better one manages client retention, the lower one’s budget has to be to acquire new customers.”

Claudia Infante, Margaritaville: “Giant monopolies – it’s very hard to be competitive when giant organizations control the marketplace”

Alejandra Martinez: “The disloyal customer – it challenges all of us to be at the forefront of technology, creativity and/or our loyalty programs.”

Has the user experience replaced the loyalty programme?

Brandon Ehrhardt, Expedia: “No, but it is forcing many properties to revisit the way they are restructuring their loyalty programs. Many are taking a greater focus on experiential and finding new ways to adapt the points for room nights model.”

Alejandra Martinez: “Although the user experience is important, the service we receive when using the product and what we get for continuing to use it will continue to be just as important.”

Marina Shumaieva, CruiseBe: “User experience and loyalty programs are different things – in my point of view, the presence of a great user experience is more valuable for the product.”

David Armstrong, TravelPirates: “Yes, absolutely! Convenience and ease of usage are now the driving forces behind retaining users.”

Tim Goodwin, Vacasa: “In the digital world, consumers have the ability to always and easily shop around. We cannot expect the loyalty of customers to remain static without continued innovation that support a quality experience.”

Claudia Infante, Margaritaville: “Yes and no – for some consumer segments (millennials, leisure travelers) it has but for B2B,  loyalty and points are still a main driver of brand selection.”

Morana Bakula, Bond Brand Loyalty: “Every brand needs a way to identify their best guests, score them in a way to inform the experiences they will provide, and use the data they have to guide the personalized human and digital conversations they have with customers.”

Would you say blockchain is a game changer or all hype?

Marina Shumaieva, CruiseBe: “To me, it’s all hype”

Brandon Ehrhardt, Expedia: “It’s too soon to tell.”

David Armstrong, TravelPirates: “I believe it has the potential to disrupt but I cannot see that immediately happening in the travel industry.”

Claudia Infante, Margaritaville: “All the other disruptions happening in the “data stratosphere” will eventually create the right context for blockchain to become the “standard” security and transactional protocol.”

Alejandra Martinez: “To me, it’s a big disruptor.”

Tim Goodwin, Vacasa: “The industry is still figuring itself out; whether it will become a true disruptor remains to be seen.”

Thanks to everyone for their insights!

Read the full answers on the Discussion Lounge.

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