A basic marketing principle to unlocking success is to understand who your customer is and what their behaviours are. In this session we unpick some of the biggest trends we’re finding across the sector and what’s the importance of these trends for business and opportunity. We’ll look at the methodology and technology needed to utilise this insight into actionable takeaways.

From contactless check-in to controlling your room via an app on your phone, this emerging technology has a plethora of benefits that improve a customer experience for friction-less service. In this case study, we hear how and why a global hotel brand has taken this next step with technology.

A lot of confusion remains about the pertinence of payments, the fundamental role it plays in user experience, customer loyalty, managing risk and consumer confidence. In this discussion we’ll delve into busting some myths and opinions surrounding FinTech use cases in travel and how it continues to revolutionise the way we operate with the emergence of blockchain and tokenisation.

Digital transformation is sweeping the industry and while some companies use legacy systems, some have already begun their integration journey of new technologies like AI and Cloud. Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless or MACH Architecture is a customisable and flexible platform which allows multiple tools to be accessed from one place as well as integration of a company’s own features. A new tech stack can propel a business’ ROI, find out how MACH might be the solution to improved performance.

As our industry becomes more digitised and our products and services become reliant on emerging technologies like AI, IoT and cloud, security risks increase. In 2019 Trustwave found that tourism and hospitality organisations were third after retail and financial institutions for the most incidents of compromises. This session will explain challenges and how we can protect ourselves, while building cybersecurity capability.

An Accenture survey of more than 25,000 consumers across 22 countries, found that 59% of respondents said they would switch to a travel provider that promotes sustainability. While sustainability should play a role in every businesses’ strategic plan, to what extent should it? How can it ensure that we future-proof our business through sustainability-led initiatives for cost saving, brand reputation, and risk mitigation, and what innovation is taking place to address sustainability issues like green software practices.

The paradigm shift from traditional GDS model to modern retailing of air travel products is sizeable, with offer and order management. It plays into customer centricity with payment agility, merchandising and personalisation but can also offset distribution costs through to increased revenue. With NDC starting to pack a punch but still in its infancy, why are TMCs slow to adopt now that there’s movement with GDS’? What key actionable takeaways are there that are low lift to implement, avoid sticking points and might make a real difference in the interim? We will also delve into other tech solutions that are evolving the way airlines operate.

Customers are at the core of everything in our sector so therefore personalisation should be at the core of everything we do. A Mastercard-sponsored Harvard Business Review report shows that more than half of respondents cite customer personalization as an important way to increase revenue and profits. But how does it affect business and to what extent do consumers expect it? What other efforts should we be focusing on aside from AI chatbots and email campaigns?