In Phocus Podcast
1) Thayer Investment Partners' Chris Hemmeter on SPAC comeback and space for a new travel brand
Thayer's Chris Hemmeter on travel investment and innovation
2) Are travel companies hesitant to sell ancillaries?
While the ancillary market is lucrative, travel companies still face roadblocks when trying to incorporate extras into their sales model. PhocusWire's Morgan Hines interviews executives from Coras and...Show More
3) Short-term rental experts from Safely and Interhome weigh in on the ancillaries opportunity
CEOs of Interhome and Safely explore the evolution and implications of ancillaries for hosts, lessons companies can take from Airbnb, distribution trends and more in a conversation with PhocusWire sen...Show More
4) Travel in turbulent times with Go City and Dohop
Travel is known for its resilience—bounce-backs after an ash cloud, stock market crashes and a pandemic spring to mind. While travel was down in certain regions of the world, travel companies are ofte...Show More
5) The changing face of loyalty in travel with the CEOs of Loyalty Status Co. and MeProtocol
Where are travel brands going wrong when it comes to loyalty? Mark Ross-Smith, CEO of Loyalty Status Co., and Robert Wesley, CEO of MeProtocol, weighed in on how brands can improve loyalty strategies ...Show More
6) Tours and activities trends in 2025: Younger travelers, later bookings, AI
A wide-ranging conversation with Craig Everett of Holibob, Roisin O'Sullivan of Walks and Devour and Ali Basij of Instahop touched on the latest trends in demographics, booking windows and AI, plus t...Show More
7) CEO Spotlight: Peter O'Donovan of CarTrawler
During a CEO Spotlight interview in the PhocusWire studio, O’Donovan discussed what motivates him, CarTrawler’s use of artificial intelligence and how it’s preparing for agentic AI and the challenges ...Show More
8) Specialist travel brands on being agile and building trust amid volatility with CheckYeti and WingBuddy
CheckYeti CEO Jakob Keller and Michael Carfagnini, chief operating officer of WingBuddy, said that as smaller, more agile operators, they have the ability to adapt more quickly to outside influences a...Show More
9) Travel investor sentiment with Velocity Ventures' Nick Cocks
The lack of funding for travel startups as well as the scarcity of exits were discussed during a recent interview with Nick Cocks, founder and managing partner of Singapore-based Velocity Ventures. He...Show More
10) Fixing the plumbing of travel with Trava's founder & CEO Maxim Sevastianov
Travel's 'plumbers' on the evolving definition of connectivity success, featuring Trava's founder and CEO Maxim Sevastianov