Spectrum & Ardent Online Travel Leadership Dinner, March 2019

On the evening of 26th March, Spectrum and Ardent co-hosted a private dinner in Mayfair for leaders in the online travel industry.

Eighteen senior executive guests joined us for networking, and a discussion over dinner on the key themes currently shaping the travel industry. Topics discussed included:

  • The cost of online customer acquisition is becoming ever higher
  • Online platforms are not yet as good as they need to be regarding personalisation – and data will be an enabler of achieving this goal
  • Offline booking value can be substantially higher than online
  • Complex holiday and travel itineraries serve the high street travel agent well
  • Those who had booked recently via a travel agent, reported very positively on the experience
  • As do online reviews – the lack of trust in online reviews drives consumers to an agent they can talk to
  • Technology drives the ‘back end’ of the travel industry – but the biggest challenge is system interoperability and connectivity
  • The choice for the consumer is therefore at the ‘front end’: whether they want to engage and buy digitally, or in-person
  • In person is not exclusively face-to-face – telephone interaction has a significant role to play, and the significant contribution of online chat was also discussed
  • The role of Facebook was explored, as was the impact of ‘influencers’ – and that different demographics respond to different types of influencer
  • Digital done well is about sales generation and brand enhancement
  • Consumers now mix-and-match: they might take a cheap flight, but stay in a very expensive hotel, for example

To register your interest in attending our next London event, please contact Sarah Rush at Spectrum.

 

About Spectrum

Founded in 2001, Spectrum is a specialist London-headquartered leadership consultancy that partners long-term with ambitious European technology organisations to help them grow: by advising on, and subsequently appointing Board members, executive management, and interim executives.

About Ardent

Ardent is a boutique corporate finance house with a specific focus on the digital arena. Advising growth companies on financing and arranging exits/ trade sales, clients include online retailers, brands and publishers as wells as technology and service providers, both in the UK and across Europe.