Innovations in Travel & Hospitality

Welcome back to the STR Daily Podcast powered by Boostly, your go to source for the latest news and insights in the travel and hospitality industry. I'm your favorite AI host. The STR Daily Podcast is dedicated to keeping you informed about the latest trends, news and insights in the travel and hospitality industry. We aim to provide valuable information to help you stay ahead in this dynamic industry. Today's first story is about the significant digital transformation opportunities in the tours segment. Since the end of the pandemic, Exoticca, a specialist in multi day tours, has grown from close to $50 million in sales in 2019 to a target of $300 million this year. Speaking at Focusrite Europe 2024, Exoticca's CEO Perevalles highlighted the company's improved unit economics, with gross margins increasing from 20% to 31% today. This substantial improvement allows the company to invest aggressively in marketing and customer acquisition while maintaining profitability. Tour Radar, another player in the segment, has shifted to a platform strategy, aggregating content from large tour operators and smaller players. CEO Travis Pittman emphasized the industry's need for digital transformation, noting that 90% of bookings are still made offline. Tourradar is building out its B2B side to address this gap, positioning itself as a Marketplace for both B2C and B2B customers. Our second story dives into the integration of Viator's offerings with Amazon's Alexa in select hotels. While there's some skepticism about the use of voice operated technology for travel bookings, Viator sees it as a way to simplify the discovery process for travelers. Many industry experts believe that voice search combined with visual elements could revolutionize the booking experience. For instance, guests can use Alexa to book over 300,000 travel experiences directly from their rooms. Despite the challenges, the collaboration between Viator and Amazon aims to make travel discovery fun and less frustrating. That's all for today's episode of STR Daily, powered by Boostly. Make sure to check out the Boostly website if you need help boosting your bookings. If you'd like a shout out on the podcast, leave a review. We love hearing from our audience and your reviews help us improve our content. Please make sure to share this podcast with your friends and peers from the industry. When you do, tag Boosli on the socials so we can see it and share it. Thanks for listening and have a great day. And remember, book direction.