From Mexico City, to Princeton college in the US, and an MBA from UC Berkeley to becoming the founder of a $5.5 billion gross booking business, eDreams, meet the impressive Mauricio Prieto. Our conversation starts from his shift from consulting to the travel industry and the birth of eDreams in Barcelona. We discuss how Mauricio and his team navigated the dot com downturn while maintaining consumer trust and how eDreams became a massively successful enterprise.

Join us on a captivating journey with Craig Dodge, the Director at the Phare Circus in Cambodia. An organization that was born out of a humanitarian effort by Veronique de Croix, a French national, to offer Cambodian refugees a form of therapy through art and has now transformed into a beacon of hope offering a future to its artists using the power of storytelling. This conversation promises to unveil not just the inspiring evolution of the Phare Circus, but also takes you through the dramatic changes in Cambodia's tourism industry as seen through Craig's eyes.

In this episode, we embark on a captivating journey through the world of storytelling—a powerful tool in both travel and business. Join us as we unveil the secrets to crafting compelling narratives with Samantha Hardcastle, the visionary Founder behind The Storied Experience.

Samantha shares the importance of starting with the 'why' and harnessing empathy to create engaging tales. We highlight her new groundbreaking App, Reverie, which beautifully guides people through the storytelling process. Discover how stories have the power to bridge cultural divides and connect us on a deeper level.

What if you could build a successful startup while creating a meaningful connections in people's lives? Meet Charaf, an entrepreneur who's taken this challenge head-on. Listen in as he shares his inspiring journey and lessons learned. From his roots in Morocco to his time in Washington and London, and now in Abu Dhabi, Charaf shares the wisdom he's gathered along the way.

Step into the world of luxury hotels with our special guest, Jonathan Raggett, CEO of Red Carnation Hotels. This episode gives you an inside look into the journey of this prestigious hospitality brand that has been captivating guests since 1995. Jonathan provides an intriguing walk-through of the brand's evolution, including the founding and instrumental roles of the Tollman family. He also sheds light on his own inspiring journey from school to the top rank at Red Carnation Hotels.

Discover how the future of travel is being shaped by social platforms, AI, and even your own travel photos! In our latest podcast episode, we bring you a special 'Live from Vegas' edition of Travel Trends that features the highlights from the Travel Tech Day at Virtuoso's 2023 Travel Week. Join us as we delve into discussions with industry experts; Shane O’Flaherty from Microsoft, Stuart Greif from Forbes Travel Guides and Carlos Garcia from Trip Ventures.

Join us for this fascinating discussion and career journey with a rising star, Natasha Lawrence, Commercial and Product Director at Contiki. Natasha provides us with unique perspective on the resilience of the travel industry and her start in hospitality. She remains an ardent admirer of Red Carnation Hotels from her experience there and being a protégé of RCH CEO Jonathan Raggett. Natasha's passion for travel and new opportunities led to her to Contiki.

Discover the remarkable life and career of Bruce Rosard, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Arival. From a hot dog vendor at a baseball stadium to an avid skier and world traveler, Bruce's journey is truly incredible. In our latest episode, we'll take you through his early days at Veteran Stadium in Philadelphia, the birth and growth of his ski business - Moguls, his first encounter with the internet, and his rise to the helm of Sales and Marketing at Phocuswright.

Join me for an exclusive conversation with Pete Comeau, the Managing Director of Phocuswright, the world's largest travel research company. Together, we explore the exciting transformations happening in travel events, media, and beyond.

We dive into Pete's remarkable career and gain valuable insights into the travel industry. Discover the innovative initiatives he's leading at Phocuswright to support early-stage startups.

Ever wondered what it takes to venture into the travel media industry and trailblaze a path of success? To kick off Season 2 of Travel Trends, we have a very special guest in Rafat Ali, the CEO of Skift, who shares his riveting journey from a struggling graduate student to the founder of a highly successful global media company. His story is an exciting blend of personal growth, cultural experiences, and the powerful impact of an encouraging letter from his father. Rafat's candidness is as admirable as his entrepreneurial triumphs.

In the final episode, we bring the curtain down on our successful debut season of Travel Trends. This time, podcast producer Zach Vanasse takes charge and interviews Dan Christian.

Their captivating conversation delves deep into the pivotal lessons and key takeaways from the previous nine episodes, as well as the noteworthy moments from Dan's intriguing lineup of interviewees. They explore the origins of the Travel Trends podcast, its connection to The Acceleration Team, and the inspiring experiences at the Collision Conference in Toronto. Moreover, they disclose a glimpse of the exciting interviews awaiting release in Season 2, which is set to premiere in early August 2023.

In this 9th episode of Travel Trends we introduce you to a rising star - Kait Schneider.

As you’ll learn, Kait was an outstanding rookie at successful start-up sherpa° and is now an established all-star at Plusgrade. She shares the incredible growth story that she was an essential part of during the pandemic with the Travel Restrictions product at sherpa°, which saw the team growing from 16 to over 100 people in a span of 12 months. Truly remarkable. Then you’ll hear how she took a well deserved sabbatical to Thailand before taking on a major role at new travel and loyalty ancillary revenue powerhouse, Plusgrade.

Next, we talk about the travel trends that she is seeing across the airline and loyalty program industries as well as the sites & apps we use when she travels, which is often.

In our 8th episode of Travel Trends, we talk hospitality, sustainability and technology with entrepreneur Ian-Michael Farkas.

Ian-Michael is a unique global talent and growth catalyst. Currently based back in beautiful Colombia, he has lived in Tel Aviv, Sydney and most recently Miami. We talk about his experiences with Local Measure, SiteMinder, AWS and the technology that is shaping our future including AI of course. Currently through his consulting firm he is also in charge of growth and operations acting as the GM for LATAM at NLX.ai a leading enterprise Travel and Hospitality Conversational AI Chatbot builder platform.

As you’ll see, he’s a big thinker, a good friend & supporter, a tequila drinker and apparently also excels at Travel Trivia!

*Special Luxury Travel Edition* - In our 7th episode of Travel Trends, we have a terrific discussion with Fiona Dalton, Virtuoso GM for Australia and New Zealand.

Fiona is a highly respected veteran in the travel industry whose impressive journey speaks volumes. With a passion for mentorship and a wealth of experience in leading luxury brands such as Uniworld River Cruises Australia and her new leadership role at Virtuoso.

We speak about the latest travel trends in Australia, where travel is making a roaring comeback and people are opting for luxurious experiences. Her insights are sure to make listeners both envious and curious. If you're looking for travel inspiration, Fiona's Instagram is a must-follow.

Special AI Edition - In this 6th episode of Travel Trends we have a fascinating conversation with an extraordinary guest, Gilad Berenstein.

Gilad, a VC & Founder, highlights the exceptional opportunities that AI presents for everyone in the travel industry. He talks about his father being an AI Researcher in Israel, his first successful AI Start-up UTrip, and he shares several great examples of how travel companies are leveraging this game changing technology.

We talk about ChatGPT, OpenAI, Elon Musk, our friends at TTC, My Dad, Brian Chesky & AirBnB, Expedia & Sam Altman.

Join us in celebrating Pride Month with an exclusive interview featuring Danny Guerrero from The Culturist Group. To propel brands forward today, Danny highlights how crucial it is to understand the needs of diverse travelers. This includes recognizing the importance of cultural relevance and belonging, particularly for LGBTQ+ and multicultural groups. By doing so, Danny explains that businesses can establish authenticity and trust, and create an environment that values diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In this fascinating conversation, Danny, a coveted thought leader and an award-winning 20+ year travel and tourism marketing expert, explains how he became an advocate for multiculturalism and diversity in travel and how he promotes 'culture-forward' thinking to help increase equity and inclusion in the travel industry.

Danny also provides excellent examples of companies and colleagues who are spearheading this vital movement, and offers resources and advice to help individuals improve their understanding and embrace diversity. We’d both welcome any additional company examples or suggested resources you’d like to share in your comments.

And for the finale, we put Danny's travel expertise to the test with our 5 Question Trivia Challenge! Don't miss this timely and important discussion.

Join us in this exciting episode of Travel Trends, where we have a fascinating conversation with Vanessa Budah, GM of The VIP Dubai and The VIP Global. Vanessa shares her travel background, initially in the stunning city of Sydney, Australia, and why she left for an incredible opportunity in Dubai. Her extensive travels in the region, including her latest trip to Egypt, have granted her unparalleled insights into emerging trends with both travellers and influencers.

As an active user across TikTok and Instagram, Vanessa offers a unique and insightful perspective on current social media trends. And, in a riveting finish, witness Vanessa's impressive performance on our Trivia Challenge. Spoiler alert: She crushes it!

Join us on this episode of Travel Trends, we're in conversation with Jason Sarracini, Founder of Landsby. Jason shares insights into his new media venture, Northern Soul, and talks about building a brand during the pandemic. Jason shares his personal experiences of growing up in a family travel business and details how he navigated challenges in our industry. You'll also learn about his plans to develop a unique voice on Canadian tourism, as our industry recovers from the pandemic.

Don't miss our Travel Trivia challenge, where Dan tests Jason with five interesting questions about Canada. Join us and explore the world of travel with this fascinating conversation!

Join us on this episode of Travel Trends, as we chat with Christian Wolters, CMO of TourRadar. Christian discusses TourRadar's culture, shares his journey into the travel industry, and how he arrived at TourRadar. He offers fascinating perspectives on post-pandemic travel trends and how TourRadar is adapting to them.

To wrap up the show, Dan challenges Christian to our Travel Trivia challenges, which is sure to give you a few laughs. Join us for this engaging conversation!

Join us for this episode of Travel Trends, as we speak with Zach Vanasse, founder of Dinosaur Trips. Discover his inspiring story and why he launched this innovative travel company. Zach discusses his extensive experience in the travel industry and offers helpful advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Stay tuned to learn about the latest travel trends from Zach's perspectives and listen in as we test his knowledge with our Travel Trivia challenge. (Hint - he's going to be looking for redemption in Season 2)