CEO Spotlight: Teresa Mackintosh of Aven Hospitality

Aven Hospitality may be a new name, but CEO Teresa Mackintosh is already deep into the company’s next chapter. Following its 2025 acquisition by TPG and separation from former owner Sabre, Mackintosh has spent the past six months preparing Aven to stand on its own. In this episode, she shares how …

A new age of travel selling: AI, personalization and human touch with Fora and Unravel

Travel selling is evolving fast and new players are redefining how trips are discovered and booked. This episode features Jake Peters, co-founder and chief product and technology officer at Fora, and Maarten van Pijpen, chief growth officer at Unravel, in conversation with PhocusWire senior report…

Data and AI evolution in corporate travel

Gen AI is gaining real traction in corporate travel and this time, it’s more than experimentation. In this episode of In Phocus, Marilyn Markham, VP of AI and automation strategy at American Express Global Business Travel, and Mat Orrego, CEO and co-founder of Cornerstone Information Systems, explo…

CEO Spotlight: Bryan Batista of Skyscanner

Skyscanner CEO Bryan Batista is nearly a year into the job, and he’s already uncovered a few surprises about what it really takes to lead one of travel’s biggest metasearch platforms. Recorded live from the PhocusWire studio at The Phocuswright Conference, Batista joins PhocusWire’s Linda Fox to t…

Expedia's Ariane Gorin on AI visibility, traveler experience and activities growth

What happens when the CEO of one of the world’s largest travel companies spends her weekends experimenting with ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity? You get a front-row view into how Expedia Group is thinking about the next era of travel. In this episode, Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin sits down with …

What technology brings to the luxury travel market with Loews Hotels and Skylark

The definition of luxury travel fluctuates across demographics, and how technology plays into that is also changing with evolving needs and tools like artificial intelligence (AI). “Luxury audiences ... they vary greatly depending on level of maturity of that wealth, where they're hailing from acr…

The travel investment landscape: funding, M&A and IPOs with Oppenheimer and F-Prime Capital

Travel startup funding remained tough throughout 2025, with Phocuswright data signaling the year would likely fall below $5 billion after a modest recovery to $5.8 billion in 2024. A few headline rounds stood out, including Perk’s $200 million Series E, Klook’s $100 million and later raises from co…

CEO Spotlight: John Lyotier of TravelAI

Co-founded by CEO John Lyotier and chairman of the board Chris Jensen in 2013, Vancouver-based TravelAI now operates more than 475 consumer-facing brands. The company generated over $268 million in gross booking value in 2024, and the CEO expects that figure to be be closer to $500 million in 2025…

Airbnb as an everything platform

During its its third quarter earnings call in early November, Airbnb shared some early results of its experiences and services launches. At the time, the company said almost half of those booked were not related to an accommodation booking. Meanwhile, 10% of those who booked a service—think massag…

Addressing current challenges and looming change in ground transportation with SilverRail and Mozio

Connecting the dots of the traveler journey is priority in the ground transportation sector, but tangible examples of connected trip in action are still somewhat “rare.” Travelers can book a full trip in Sweden, including a train, taxi and a bus, which is working well, but there aren’t many models…