Events

Listed below are the conferences and seminars that Genesys has organised or in which Genesys consultants are participating. As well as future events, details are given of past conferences where transcripts or slides from presentations are available online. We have also written reports about other conferences we have attended.

Past Conferences

AI & Beyond

Wednesday 20 September 2023

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this conference for TTI. How is AI already being harnessed and put to use? What is its potential for the future? These are just a two of the questions that were addressed by a line-up of senior executives - expert speakers who agreed to share their experiences and their thoughts on the future.

Speakers
(click on speakers names to view their presentations)

Mark Thompson, CIO, Palatinate Group
Jon Pickles, Chief Revenue Officer, Inspiretec
Markus Stumpe, CEO & Co-Founder, AIntesify

Shie Gabbai, CEO, Roam Around
Lee Ainsworth, Head of Operations, Advantage Travel Partnership

Click here to view the video

What does the Future Hold for AI in Travel & Tourism?

Wednesday 14 June 2023
House of Lords

Genesys organised TTI's Summer Forum.  ChatGPT and Google's Bard have put artificial intelligence in the news. AI is already in action in travel and tourism but the technology is developing fast. At TTI's Summer Forum we heard from two leading authorities about what the future might hold for AI in Travel and Tourism.

Speakers

(Click on speakers' names to view their presentations.)

TTI Travel Tech Summit 2023

Thursday 23 March 2023
What are 2023’s key travel technology issues?

Paul Richer of Genesys organised the TTI Travel Tech Summit 2023. The group of distinguished speakers, each of whom covered a vital area of travel  technology, from how to succeed on TikTok to how to guard against cyber-crime wrecking your business.

Speakers
(Click on speakers' names to view their presentations.)

Click this link to view the video.


Inspiretec's CEO, Simon Powell, in Conversation

Wednesday 25 January 2023

Simon Powell is one of the UK's foremost travel technology entrepreneurs. He is currently Chief Executive Officer at Inspiretec, a customer-first technology partner providing end-to-end digital and technical solutions to help travel and leisure businesses grow.​

His involvement with travel tech started when he was a Director at Holiday Express, a successful travel agency chain founded by his father, David. At Holiday Express, Simon was responsible for IT, seeking to improve the efficiency of the business. So successful was this that it led him to co-found his first travel technology business in 1995, Comtec. In 2016, Simon founded Inspiretec.​

Click here to view the video of the webinar.

Travel Technology - Back to the Future?

Wednesday 14 September 2022
Venue: Holiday Inn Regent’s Park, London

This was TTI's Autumn Conference organised by Paul Richer. For its Autumn Conference, TTI assembled a group of forward thinking technologists to present their views to you on where the industry is heading. They gave us the lowdown on some of the latest technologies, from artificial intelligence to virtual reality, from Blockchain to mobile apps. We learnt how these technologies are being applied to the travel industry to create new opportunities for improved efficiency and completely new ways of doing business.

Speakers

(click on speakers' names to view presentations)

Click here to view the video of the conference.

Travel Republic's Managing Director, Antonio Fellino, in Conversation

Friday 19 August 2022

Originally founded in 2003, Travel Republic has built a reputation for being one of the UK’s leading online travel companies. Antonio Fellino was appointed as the company’s Managing Director in 2020 and so has captained Travel Republic through the Covid crisis. In this webinar, he was in conversation with Paul Richer. He talked about the pressures that the travel industry has been under, how Travel Republic has coped during the pandemic, the importance of getting product and technology right and how he has the objective of repositioning Travel Republic as one of the foremost technology-led travel companies.

Antonio’s long-standing travel e-commerce experience, dating back to his time at Thomas Cook, has him well placed to achieve this objective.

Click here to view the video of the webinar.

Hospitality & Tourism – Back in Business?

Thursday 16 June 2022
House of Lords

The Government gave no special support to hospitality or tourism during the pandemic, although the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was welcomed by restaurants and other venues offering food and non-alcoholic drinks.

How has hospitality and tourism fared over the last two years? What is the current situation and what is the prognosis for the future?To answer these questions, TTI lined up two expert speakers who gave us the lowdown on what has taken place and what may happen in the near future.

In addition, we heard from a special guest, Sally-Ann Hart MP, Vice Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hospitality and Tourism about its role and the role of Government in supporting an industry that, pre-pandemic, was contributing over £100 billion per annum to the UK economy.

Speakers

(Click on speakers names to view their presentations)


Click this link to view the video of the Forum

Latest Hotel Automation Technology

Thursday 12 May 2022
Webinar - 11:00 to 12:00 (UK)

Paul Richer of Genesys has gain agreement from one of the world’s leading authorities on hotel automation to lead this webinar. Daniel Wishnia is Chief Digital Transformation Officer for Aroundtown SA. Daniel’s many roles include being an Ambassador for Temi, the World's first, truly intelligent, mobile, personal robot that is currently being trialled assisting guests at hotel check-in. He is regularly invited to speak at many conferences across the globe.

In this webinar, Daniel will present a round-up of the latest developments in hotel automation technology. You will have ample opportunity to question him about the subject. Attend TTI’s special webinar and learn for yourself about the future of automation in hospitality.

Expert Speaker

  • Daniel Wishnia,Chief Digital Transformation Officer, Aroundtown SA

Click this link to register on Eventbrite

Riding the Roller Coaster

Thursday 24 March 2022
Live in London and streaming on Zoom

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this conference for TTI. Thanks to Covid, the travel industry has been going through a period of extreme volatility. At the start of the pandemic, the industry effectively came to a standstill. However, the demand for travel did not diminish. When holiday destinations such as Portugal announced that they were opening their borders to inbound tourists there was an immediate surge in bookings. When the UK Government imposed a quarantine on return requirement, bookings collapsed whilst tourists fought to buy flights to get back to the UK before the start of the quarantine regime.

Speakers

(Click on speakers' names to view their presentations.)

Click this link to view video

Customer Engagement

Wednesday 1 December 2021

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this webinar for Travel Technology Initiative. Customer engagement is key to the travel industry's post-covid recovery.TTI assembled a group of expert speakers who presented from their own specialist perspectives and gave us a better insight into how to excel at customer engagement.

Speakers

Click here to view the video

Travel Futures

Thursday 23 September 2021
conference - London

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this conference for TTI. We have been living in uncertain times. The pandemic has been disastrous for the travel industry as countries have shut their borders and, where travel has been allowed, draconian isolation and testing regimes have been introduced.

However, it seems that the pandemic is starting to wind down and that COVID-19 will become just another virus we learn to live with, like flu or the common cold.

It is time to look forward to the future. How this might pan out is hard to discern. Whilst no one can predict what the future holds for the travel industry, those with long-standing experience and expertise in travel have the knowledge needed to better see into the future. With this in mind, TTI assembled a group of speakers that spoke with authority on where the industry is heading.

Speakers

(Click speakers' names to view presentations.)

Click here to view the video

Glenn Fogel in Conversation

Thursday 5 August 2021
webinar 15:30 to 16:00 (UK)

Glenn Fogel, Chief Executive Officer and President of Booking Holdings agreed to be in conversation with Paul Richer of Genesys Digital Transformation.

Booking Holdings is the world’s leading provider of online travel and related services, provided to consumers and local partners in more than 220 countries and territories through six primary brands: Booking.com, Priceline, agoda, Rentalcars.com, KAYAK, and OpenTable. The business has over 28 million listings of hotels, homes, apartments and other unique places to stay across its brands. In 2019, pre-pandemic, gross travel bookings totalled over $96billion.

Glenn has served as Booking Holdings Chief Executive Officer and President since January 2017 and has been Chief Executive Officer of Booking.com since June 2019. Previously, he served as Head of Worldwide Strategy & Planning and Executive Vice President, Corporate Development. Prior to joining Booking in February 2000, Glenn was a trader at a global asset management firm and prior to that was an investment banker specializing in the air transportation industry.

This webinar was a unique opportunity to hear from Booking Holdings' most senior executive about his 20+ years in the online travel industry and how he has steered the business to become the powerhouse that it is today. We heard his thoughts on how the pandemic has affected the travel industry and his views on what form the industry's recovery will take.

Click this link to view the video

The New Normal

Thursday 17 June 2021
webinar 10:00 to 13:00 (UK)

Will travel be back to normal or will there be a The New Normal?

By mid-June, we will know the initial green list of countries to which travellers can travel. For the lucky destinations, flights and hotels will have been filling-up with UK tourists since mid-May. Those destinations on the amber and red lists will be seeing little in the way of UK tourists.

With a month having past since 17 May 2021, the earliest date that international travel is allowed, the travel industry will have gained several weeks of experience of how best to handle bookings for those taking international trips this season.

The big question is whether this new normal with all its concerns and inconveniences is The New Normal or just an interim period before slowly and steadily we return to the freedom with which we travelled prior to the COVID-19 pandemic?

For its Summer Forum and to address this crucial question, TTI has assembled a team of the most senior experts from a variety of travel sectors. They will be able to provide their authoritative views and opinions on where the travel industry is right now and where it may be heading in the near future and in the longer term.

Speakers

(Click speakers' names to view presentations.)

Click here to view the video

Getting Past the Pandemic

Thursday 18 March 2021
webinar

The pandemic has been nothing less than catastrophic for the travel industry. Airline schedules have been decimated, hotels are mostly empty, countries relying on tourism dollars to boost their GDPs have suffered from massive financial shortfalls. In the travel industry there have been only losers.

However, vaccination programmes are now rolling out worldwide. Some countries such as the United Kingdom have been fleeter of foot than others in getting the most vulnerable inoculated, but all countries will catch-up.

With travel having been suspended for so long, household savings are at a high. Couple this with a huge pent-up demand for holidays and the seeds are being sewn for a fast resurgence in travel as soon as conditions permit. For TTI’s Spring Conference organised by Paul Richer of Genesys, we assembled a group of some of the most influential people within travel and tourism. They gave their take on working together to get past the pandemic and get back to profitability.

Speakers:

Click this link to view the video.

The Fight Back

Thursday 12 November 2020

All players within the Travel Industry have suffered significantly from the drastic reduction in business brought on by the restrictions introduced by Governments across the globe. The rules that have been imposed are like shifting sands, changing all the time. This has let to considerable consumer uncertainty. Given that travel is a product that is usually bought well in advance of its consumption, this has led to consumers simply not wishing to book for fear of their trips being cancelled. At TTI’s Winter Forum organised by Genesys, we examined how the travel industry would fight its way back to normality.

Click here to view the video of the webinar

Click on speakers names to view their presentations

Let's Get Emotional

Thursday 24 September 2020

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this conference webinar for Travel Technology Initiative. Emotion is a powerful motivator. Positively appeal to a person’s emotions and they will act as you need them to. This is the basis of just about all advertising from political campaigns to selling travel.

Click here to view the webinar video.

Click the speakers names to download their presentations:

Search Engine Marketing – 2020 and Beyond

Thursday 13 August 2020

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this webinar for TTI. With Google previewing new ways of ranking sites, based on how its algorithms perceive user experience and an ever-growing focus on content, where should brands be directing their efforts? We will look at the current state of play and outline what the future may hold. And we’ll provide some tips to help you prepare your digital experiences to compete and excel in 2020, and beyond!

Click here to view the webinar video

Speaker
Kier Humphreys, Head of Customer Experience, Sagittarius

Strategies for Survival and Beyond

Thursday 18 June 2020

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this webinar for TTI. Covid-19 and its associated lockdown has had a devastating effect on the entire travel industry, with our customers unable to or simply not willing to travel. For this event, TTI assembled a team of experts across a variety of different disciplines.  The aim was to provide some guidance and inspiration that could contribute to business survival and help attendees look beyond the current period to how one might start ramping up business as better times begin to beckon.

Click here to view the webinar video. (first presentation missing)

Click the speakers names to download their presentations:


Genesys Session: The Future of Digital Travel

Wednesday 6 November 2019
World Travel Market

Three digital travel and tourism experts will present their views on what it takes to succeed online. They will tackle topics such as digital tourism, smart destinations, virtual reality photography and customer engagement, based on own their hands-on experiences of driving their organisations forward into the digital world. You will have the opportunity to question the experts on the issues that really matter to you.

Click on speakers' names to download their presentations:


Digital Travel 4.0

Thursday 19 September 2019

Genesys organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative. Consumers are switching from the pre-Internet ways of researching and booking travel to using their mobile phones, tablets and computers. There may come a time when only the smallest percentage of travel is researched and booked offline.

Digital Travel 4.0 holds out the prospect that online travel will be the new norm with search and book capabilities that are intuitive and easy to use. Aided by artificial intelligence driven personalisation, consumers will be able to quickly home in on the products they want rather than spending hours and hours of research, trawling websites.

Click the speakers names to download their presentations:


Hands-On with Customer Engagement

Thursday 13 June 2019
Holiday Inn London – Kensington Forum

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this forum for Travel Technology Initiative.  Opportunities for meaningful customer engagement in the digital world are many and varied. From the first time a potential customer hits your website through the many years of a customer’s entire life cycle with your organisation there are ongoing potential touchpoints that, if well managed, can strengthen the bonds between your customers and your brand.

Hands-On with Customer Engagement, TTI’’s Summer Forum, covered some of the practicalities and methodologies you can use to build better relationships with your customers, keeping them engaged with your business rather than your competitors’.

Click on Speakers' names to view their presentations

CX and the Disloyal Customer

Thursday 21 March 2019
London

Paul Richer organised this event for Travel Technology Initiative. We heard from the experts who provided us with their take on creating the best customer experience whether this is purely online, mobile app or web, or involves real-life person to person interaction.

Click on speakers' names to download their presentations::


AI – The Dawn of a New Age

Wednesday 7 November 2018
World Travel Market

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this event for Travel Technology Initiative. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to affect all our lives. As we move to a new age of sophisticated machine learning, AI is set to revolutionise the way we conduct business, yielding opportunities for improved customer service, increased business efficiency and more effective customer targeting.  In this forum we heard from four experts who are already making use of AI to transform businesses.

Click on speakers' names to download their presentations:

Genesys Session: Must Have Web Technologies for 2019

Tuesday 6 November 2018
World Travel Market

What are the web technologies that your business really needs in 2019?  There is a constant flow of new digital applications and techniques being introduced, usually in a fanfare of hype.  It is difficult to know which are the ones that will positively impact your bottom line and which can be left alone.  In this seminar, Paul Richer of Genesys homed in on three must have technologies for 2019 – gaining control of meta-search to bring the customers in - Visual Composer to easily create stunning websites - virtual reality imaging to bring your website alive.  These technologies are not expensive and could yield a considerable return on investment.

Click on speakers' names to download presentations:

The Content Revolution

Thursday 20 September 2018
London

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative. Content is king, so the old saying goes, and that statement has never been truer.  A quiet revolution has been taking place that is seeing content becoming increasingly sophisticated, taking centre stage as one of the most important drivers of online business success. As the whole content arena becomes more complex, it is vital that you stay up to date with the latest techniques and opportunities.  

Click speakers' names to view presentations:

All About Blockchain

Thursday 7 June 2018
London

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this event for Travel Technology Initiative.

Blockchain is being hyped as the new, great technology that will disrupt the Internet. It has gained infamy as the technology behind speculative crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin but, those in the know, see it as a useful piece of tech that will enable us to conduct business in new ways.

For travel, there is potential for blockchain to be used to record transactions between industry players, so not requiring a settlements authority such as IATA’s Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP).  There is also potential for new entrants to the travel industry to take advantage of Blockchain to lower transaction costs or create loyalty schemes.

For this forum, TTI assembled a team of blockchain experts who will gave the lowdown on blockchain.  

Click on speakers names to view their presentations:

Smart Tourism 2020

Tuesday 24 April 2018
Arabian Travel Market, Dubai

Paul Richer organised this seminar.  Smart tourism is the new frontier for destinations.  It describes the increasing reliance of tourism destinations, their product providers and their tourists on emerging forms of digital technology.  From artificial intelligence to advanced mobile apps to the use of virtual and augmented reality, destinations are competing to use the latest digital technologies to bring in and retain tourists.  .

Click speakers's names to download their presentations:

ATM and GENESYS Digital Futures Summit

Monday 23 April 2018
Arabian Travel Market

PTravel distribution has undergone radical change over the last few years.  Traditional sales and distribution techniques are fading into obsolescence as we move further and further into a digitally connected world.  At this Summit, you will hear from the experts about how distribution is set to change for our two primary products: flights and accommodation.  


Accommodating the Future: 10:30 to 11:30
Accommodation distribution has become increasingly complex in recent years with hotels seeking to optimise their channel mix between resellers such as the OTAs and their own websites and other outlets.  In this seminar you will hear about how accommodation distribution is set to develop in the future.

Click speakers' names to view their presentations:


The Future of Air Distribution: 11:30 to 12:30
With IATA launching its New Distribution Capability and technologically sophisticated flight aggregators competing with the GDSs, air distribution is undergoing a period of significant change.  At this session, you will learn about the developments that are taking place, the concerns for the industry and how air distribution is set to shake out in the future.

Click speakers' names to view their presentations:

AI and the Rise of the Bots

Tuesday 13 March 2018
London

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this event for Travel Technology Initiative. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is driving a paradigm shift in the way we use data and is giving rise to intelligent bots that are almost human in their interactions.The opportunity of utilising data, applying artificial intelligence and developing bot applications is being grasped by the travel industry.  Forward thinking travel organisations are finding that they can offer higher levels of customer service, increase customer satisfaction and raise sales levels by introducing AI-driven bots to their customer bases. For this conference, TTI has brought together a group of experts from across the travel industry who are already applying artificial intelligence and have already developed customer-facing bots. 

Click on speakers' names to view their presentations:

Genesys Summit – Future Digital Thinking

Tuesday 7 November 2017
World Travel Market

Future thinking requires you to look ahead three to five years and put strategies in place that will allow your business to continue to thrive in these ever-changing times. Is your organisation addressing the growing consumer market of digital natives?  Are you positioning your business for the future?  Where should you be focusing your resources? These were just three of the questions that were addressed at the Genesys Summit.  

Digital Thinking in the Hospitality Sector
The application of technology in the hospitality sector is quite variable.  Some hotel chains are forging ahead into the digital world whilst others are still lagging.  In this session we heard from three forward thinkers who are making the most of the opportunities offered by the digital world.

Click on speakers' names to view their presentations:


Meet the Innovators
New travel businesses continue to be launched, focusing on unexploited niches and making the most of the digital environment.  We heard from three founders of new online businesses about the lessons that they can teach their more established competitors.

Click on speakers' names to view their presentations:

The Future of Technology in Travel and Hospitality

Monday 6 November 2017
World Travel Market

Paul Richer organised this event for World Travel Market and Travel Technology Initiative.  What does the future hold for the travel and hotel industry?  As technology continues to evolve, new opportunities present themselves to operate our businesses in an increasingly sophisticated manner.  Yet these opportunities also provide an entrance into our industry for new technology-led companies that are challenging the accepted orthodoxy – and revolutionising the way travellers connect with independent hotels, hotel chains and OTAs.  At this seminar we heard from leading industry players on how the industry is set to develop in the years to come.

Speakers:

Hands on with GDPR

Wednesday 11 October 2017
London

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this forum for Travel Technology Initiative. At the Forum we learnt from the experts about the General Data Protection Regulation and how you need to prepare for when it comes into force.  We heard from travel company executives who are already in the midst of their GDPR compliance project,  as well as finding out about the opportunities better data handling can bring.

Business and Leisure Come Together

Tuesday 19 September 2017
London

Paul Richer organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative.  Travel management companies (TMCs) have evolved to serve business travellers and their corporate organisations.  Leisure travel companies service consumers’ desire to take a break, whether this is a weekend away or a round the world cruise. At first sight, one would guess that the two sectors have little in common.  However, a growing proportion of travel can now be categorised as Bleisure, a business trip combined with a leisure break.  and this has catalysed TTI to bring the business and leisure travel communities together to explore the commonalities and differences between the two.  At this conference we heard from tech companies, corporate and leisure agencies and product providers serving both sectors.

Click on speakers' names to view their presentations:

Getting to Grips with GDPR

Tuesday 6 June 2017
London

Paul Richer organised this Forum for Travel Technology Initiative. From May 2018 the EU General Data Protection Regulation will apply to all organisations located within the EU as well as organisations located outside of the EU if they offer goods or services to, or monitor the behaviour of, EU data subjects. The penalty for breaching the regulation  will be up to 4% of your annual turnover or €20 Million.  Thus it is vital that you understand GDPR and what your company is required to do to comply. At this Forum learnt from the experts about the General Data Protection Regulation and how you need to prepare for when it comes into force.  Click on speakers' names to view their presentations:


ATM Digital Transformation Summit

Tuesday 25 April 2017
Arabian Travel Market, Dubai

Paul Richer of Genesys organised the 2017 ATM Digital Transformation Summit. We heard from industry thought leaders who are making a real difference in the world of digital travel. Click on presentation titles to view the presentations or click here to view the video.

The Digital Transformation of Online Travel in the Middle East
Benjo Van Laar Hoven, Chief Executive Officer, Prizm

The Middle East is forging a strong path into the era of digital travel but there are many twists and turns to be negotiated.  In this session, we heard from an expert who understands both the Middle Eastern travel market and what is required to succeed in the digital world.                               

Addressing the World - what3words
Richard Lewis, Partnerships Director Travel & Tourism, what3words

what3words is a trail-blazing, disruptive business that is changing the shape of global mapping.  Every 3 metre by 3 metre square of Planet Earth can now be referenced by a 3 word address.  We heard about the potential forwhat3words’ global addressing system to transform travel and tourism.                               

Digital Transformation in Travel 
Three top digital transformation experts presented on and debated different aspects of digital travel.  We heard about the transformation of hotel distribution, how trip planning is being revolutionised and how data is being used to personalise customer interactions.   

  • The Transformation of Hotel Distribution - Toni Jo Portmann, Chief Executive Officer, DHISCO
  • Trip Planning in the Digital Era - Jon Arni Bragason, Chief Operating Officer, TripCreator
  • Harnessing Data for Customer Interactions - Dimitri Metaxas, Regional Executive Director – specialist companies, Omnicom Media Group MENA
    (presentation not available for download)

Game, Set and Match

Tuesday 14 March 2017
London

Paul Richer organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative. You need to be in the personalisation and data game, understand and use any data-sets you can gather about your customers and match your product offerings to their expectations. The conference explored the use of data to improve the effectiveness of customer communications, raise sales conversion rates, increase customer loyalty and manipulate price in response to demand.

Click on speakers' names to view their presentations:

Genesys Digital Transformation Summit

Tuesday 8 November 2016
10:30 - 12:30 Platinum Suite 4, World Travel Market

Digital Transformation is the number one goal for every travel and tourism organisation. Your consumers are online and digital savvy.  The Summit was split into two one hour sessions.  

10:30 to 11:30. Established Players Make Good

The first session featured speakers from established travel companies who are successfully making the transition to become mainstream players in the digital world.  Click on the speakers' names to view their presentations:

Click this link to watch the video

 11:30 to 12:30. New Entrants and New Business Models

The second session featured speakers who have seen the opportunity to launch new business models.  Typically, these are intermediary plays, using technology to power their new businesses in a way that was simply not possible pre- the digital era.  Click on the speakers' names to view their presentations:

Click this link to watch the video

WTM Travel Innovation Summit in association with TTI

Monday 7 November 2016
16:00 - 17:30 WTM Global Stage - AS950, World Travel Market

Paul Richer organised this summit on behalf of World Travel Market and Travel Technology Initiative. We heard about the latest trail-blazing developments in travel distribution. Click on the speaker's name to view his presentation. Topics and speakers were:

Click this link to view the video

New Horizons in Digital Travel​

Tuesday 27 September 2016
London

Paul Richer of Genesys moderated New Horizons in Digital Travel at ETOA's Showcase.Digital.  Click on the links below to view videos from the session:

Digital Travel - State of Play

Tuesday 20 September 2016
London

Paul Richer organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative to place a marker in the ground, to assess the current state of play of digital travel. Speakers provided their thoughts and opinions based on their own experiences of digital travel.  They were drawn from across the spectrum of digital travel. They are long-established travel players, new start-ups, dotcom entrepreneurs, social media and digital technology experts.

Click on speakers' names to view their presentations.

Click this link to download the conference leaflet with details of the agenda.

The Customer has Arrived

Wednesday 6 July 2016
London

This seminar was held jointly with Happiest Minds as part of the Genesys Happiest Minds Executive Series. 

As travel companies develop more sophisticated customer relationship management, there is an increasing emphasis on owning the whole customer trip from booking to departure, from arrival to in-stay services and activities.  The trip is a vital part of the customer’s commercial journey with your company.

Speaking at the event were:

(Click on speakers' names to view their presentations.)

Money for Nothing

Tuesday 7 June 2016
London

Increasing profitability whilst not selling any additional inventory is just one of the benefits of revenue management. Revenue management is one of the most important disciplines to grasp in an industry such as travel that has a finite and perishable stock; finite because we cannot easily build more hotel rooms or increase flight seat capacity; perishable because once the flight has departed or the hotel stay date has passed, any unsold inventory has been irretrievably lost.  It is not only vital to fill the rooms or seats but do so whilst at the same time achieving the maximum revenue possible giving the demand environment.

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this forum for Travel Technology Initiative and European Tour Operators Association
We assembled a team of revenue management experts who talked about this discipline from the perspectives of tour operators and hoteliers.

Do we all have the same issues? Are there common solutions?  Can one industry sector learn from another? Where does one start with revenue management? These are just some of the questions that were addressed at the Forum. 

Click on speakers names to view their presentations. Speakers were:


Travel Distribution Summit Europe 2016

Tuesday 19 April 2016
London

Paul Richer of Genesys chaired this conference organised by Eyefortravel

You can view a video of the Day 2 keynote session from this link.  This was called 'Mobile Savvy, Data Driven and Consumer Focused - What's driving intermediaries?' Speaking at this session were:

  • James McClure, General Manager UK & Ireland, Airbnb
  • Hugo Burge, Chief Executive Officer, Momondo Group
  • Andrea Bertoli, Deputy CEO, Lastminute.com
  • Johannes Thomas, Managing Director, Trivago
  • Alex Saint, CEO, Secret Escapes

The Ux Revolution

Tuesday 15 March 2016
London

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative. From pure voice to virtual reality, there has never been such an extensive range of user experiences (Ux) that can be used by consumers to access the digital world. Voice services such as Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana personal assistants are becoming increasingly intelligent. Amazon is bringing a voice-based personal assistant into the home with its Amazon Echo. At the other end of the sensory scale is virtual reality with immersive technology such as the Oculus Rift Gear VR and other VR headsets providing a completely immersive 360 degree sound and vision experience. With many travel companies having created mobile responsive websites, high utility apps and providing context specific content, the travel industry is certainly at the leading edge of the Ux Revolution; but are we doing enough?

Click on speakers' names below to view their presentations:

Digital Transformation

Saturday 21 November 2015
London

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative. Our customers are undergoing a paradigm shift in the way that they conduct business with us. Digital is now the primary method of communication and transaction. Digital transformation has become the new imperative. In a poll conducted by CMO.com, 51% of senior executives surveyed believe it is critical to implement digital transformation in the next 12 months. Yet they estimate that, at best, companies are 25% of the way toward realising the end-state vision for their digital programmes. Travel companies are realising that to meet the demands of the evolving consumer and competitive environment they must undergo a digital transformation. Click on speakers names below to view their presentations:

Click here to download the conference leaflet with full agenda.

WTM Genesys Sessions 2015

Tuesday 3 November 2015
Platinum Suites 3 and 4, World Travel Market, London

This year Paul Richer of Genesys once again organised a series of technology and online travel seminars at World Travel Market. All these events were free to attend with top class speakers providing some fantastic insights into how to make the best use of technology.

Customers Crave Content (10:30 to 11:30)

Great content turns lookers into bookers. What consumers see and read about your product will persuade them to make that purchase. Travel is information at the point of sale - it cannot be touched or sampled like other products - so it is vital to make that information compelling and persuasive. Our team of experts described the tips and techniques they use to ensure that content counts.

Click on this link to view the video of the Session or click the speakers' names to download their presentations.

Search Engine Update 2015(12:00 to 13:00)

Search engine marketing and optimisation is an ever-evolving science. The search engines regularly update their algorithms and introduce new features. You need to keep abreast of these to avoid falling behind your competitors. In this session we heard about the latest updates that the engines are introducing.

Click on this link to view the video of the Session or click the speakers' names to download their presentations.

Getting Personal (13:30 to 14:30)

Big data is driving personalisation. The ultimate goal is one to one marketing with your customers, building a relationship that is personalised to customers' individual needs. This approach requires the collection of pertinent data and the use of sophisticated analytics. This may sound complex but the payback is huge. Our speakers provided their expert insights into big data, analytics and personalisation.

Click on this link to view the video of the Session or click the speakers' names to download their presentations.

Digital Marketing (15:00 to 16:00)

Digital marketing is one of the key success factors that drives a profitable travel business. It is complex, though. Your customers are viewing your business on multiple devices: mobile, tablet and computer. They are learning about you through channels that you don't control such as social media and review sites. In this session, our speakers gave the guidance you need to steer you through the digital marketing minefield.

Click on this link to view the video of the Session or click the speakers' names to download their presentations.

WTM Travel Innovation Summit In Association With Travel Technology Initiative

Monday 2 November 2015
WTM Global Stage, World Travel Market, London

Innovation drives the travel industry. At this Summit we heard from senior travel executives who have led innovative initiatives within their own businesses. They shared their thoughts and experiences. From starting a new innovative travel business to looking into the future of travel distribution and online search, the Summit provided vital insights that are applicable to your own business.

Click on this link to view the video of the Summit or click the speakers' names to download their presentations.

Innovation in Business

A Look at the Future

The Hotel Distribution Revolution

Monday 1 June 2015
London

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this Forum for Travel Technology Initiative. The tools and techniques that are in play for the distribution of hotel accommodation have changed out of all recognition to pre-internet days. The world wide web would provide hotels with a platform to sell direct, blowing apart the intermediary model. For many hoteliers this simply has not happened. Instead they have seen new intermediaries entering the market, primarily the online travel agents. The subject has become frighteningly complex yet. Click on the speakers' names below to view their presentations.

Arabian Travel Market Seminars 2015

Wednesday 1 April 2015

Paul Richer of Genesys organised two technology seminars at Arabian Travel Market. These events were free to attend with top class speakers providing some great insights into how to succeed online and digital transformation.

You can view speakers' presentations just by clicking on their names below.

Succeeding Online

How to succeed online is far from straightforward. It is easy to fail, so that your online presence becomes expensive to maintain with little to show in the way of profit. In this seminar we heard from three leading lights of the online world of travel. Each provided their perspective on how to succeed online. We learnt about how to harness the mobile channel, create compelling content and raise your online conversion ratio so that more lookers become bookers. Click on the speakers names to view their presentations.

Speakers:

Digital Transformation

There are 10 facts you need to take account of when transforming your organisation to meet the challenges of the digital age. In this seminar we learnt about these facts and what they mean for your business. In addition, we heard about the latest technology that is transforming our lives. Click on the speakers name to view the presentation.

Speaker:

The Mobile Customer

Tuesday 17 March 2015
London

Paul Richer of Genesys organised this conference for Travel Technology Initiative. There is no other industry that needs to be embracing mobile more than travel. It is just information when it is being researched and purchased, so lending itself to electronic delivery. When our products are being consumed, our customers are actually mobile themselves, increasingly reliant on their handheld devices to deliver the information they need to enhance their travel experiences. Moreover, travel is charismatic, encouraging our customers to share their experiences on social medial using their mobiles. This viral marketing aspect of social media is a powerful way in which to bring in new customers. It is, therefore, vital to understand how mobile is developing and how the travel industry’s thought leaders see the market changing. With this in mind, TTI assembled a team of experts that gave their views. Click on the speaker names below to view their presentations.

Click this link to dowload the conference leaflet.

If you are thinking you might need our expert help, call or email us now.